Two (Still) Sick Buns...Oy...

[Jenk]

Zoe and Emma return to the vet tonight;my emotional resolve is close to breaking.

Zoe's (again) having a major poop range, from small to huge. Her poop's also often misshapen and moist to the touch. (If mucous causesthe excess moisture, it's indistinguishablefrom the poop itself.) Plus, her tummy's getting louder, and she seems uncomfy throughout the day.

Emma still has odd symptoms, which the vet thinks are metabolic in nature (per test results); but I suspect Mycotoxins based uponthe start of her symptoms as related to the time that I began feeding her pellets again. It's scary seeing her sway from side-to-side (and sometimes front-to-back) while sittingand to observe her other myriad of odd symptoms, all of which are related to Mycotoxins. :shock:

Zoe's been through umpteen-million vet visits due to digestive issues;so while I'm worried about her now, Emma's symptoms have me more concerned. I will ask the vet if we can treat her forMycotoxins even before I have the pellets tested for them--just to see if she improves from it.

Please wish us all luck!

Jenk

 

[Michaela]

I hope everything goes really well for them both Jenk. :hug:

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear this. Best of luck at the vet!

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Any news on your buns? Thinking of you!

 

[Haley]

Im so sorry to hear youre having troubles. Is Zoe on simethicone for gas?

As for Emma, are her only symptoms that shes swaying? Could she be scanning?

 

[Jenk]

Thank you for the well wishes, Everyone. At this point, though, I've no news.

Per the vet, Zoe's tummy gurgles and feel are good, consideringhow they've been in the past. (Even after 10 mos., I'm still not an expert in determining a "normal" feel of her stomach/intestines. The vet teased me that he's "only been palpitating bunny tummies for 18 years" and said that I shouldn't feel badly for not having it mastered just yet. )

I happened to mention that Zoe's passed some almost triangular-shaped poops. At that point, the vet asked if she's passed an hexagons or octogons, and we just cracked up. (Even serious vet visits need some levity at times. )

We're tryingan herbal supplement for Zoe's stomach, which is helping another bunny patient; we're not putting her on any motility drugs as long as shecontinues movinga good amount of stools--as odd as they may be.

Emma is the mystery now. Before leaving for the vet's office, I noticed a lot of pee in her litter box. She'd been drinking a lot of water the past two days (about 150 mL/ day). Even more strange, her previous blood work (from just a week ago) didn't indicate any kidney issues. So the vet took more blood last night;I should hear from him by tomorrow (Sat.) at the latest. Hopefully, the tests will indicate something, so that we can at least try to help/heal her.

 

[Jenk]

Haley wrote:

Im so sorry to hear youre having troubles. Is Zoe on simethicone for gas?

As for Emma, are her only symptoms that shes swaying? Could she be scanning?

I gave Zoe three doses of Simethicone over the past two days. I don't know if the Simethicone is the reason, but the vet didn't feel any gas/bloating in Zoe's gut. (I think that I've turned into a bunhypochondriac due to her past gut issues.)

When Emma sways, she's usually staring forward or slightly downward. She often has a rather blank (tired-looking) expression. That wouldn't be would I call scanning; but then again, I don't know bunnies so well I can easily identify scanning.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Jen, I'm so sorry. This is all so troubling. And to have BOTH of your bunnies sick at once Why can't their just be some way to find out exactly what's wrong with our rabbits? Like hook up a lie detector test to them and ask... "do you have pasteurella??", "are you suffering from mycotoxins??", "are you having kidney issues??" Poor bunsies. When Tallulah was about 10 weeks old, she pooped the hugest poop ever, it was larger in diameter than a quarter and was made of lots of poops stuck together. It was rather soft, but somehow managed to remain round. I have no idea how she managed to get it out of her little body! Another feat of bunny poop to add to your triangular poop.

 

[pla725]

I hate to consider it but did the vet rule out EC? Bloodwork is needed to consider it. I know the titer usually indicates that they have the antibodies in their system.A titer over 1.5 would concern me. Anything over 2 is strong positive which means there has been a past or there is apresent infection. A repeat titer is needed within 4 weeks. An increase means there is an active infection. It takes about 7- 10 days to get the results.

 

[Jenk]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

Jen, I'm so sorry. This is all so troubling. And to have BOTH of your bunnies sick at once Why can't their just be some way to find out exactly what's wrong with our rabbits? Like hook up a lie detector test to them and ask... "do you have pasteurella??", "are you suffering from mycotoxins??", "are you having kidney issues??" ...When Tallulah was about 10 weeks old, she pooped the hugest poop ever, it was larger in diameter than a quarter and was made of lots of poops stuck together. It was rather soft, but somehow managed to remain round. I have no idea how she managed to get it out of her little body! Another feat of bunny poop to add to your triangular poop.

The girls' vet agrees: When he walked into the exam room, he said (to them), "Didn't we discuss this already? There's no having problems at the same time."

I likeyour "lie" (or truth?) detector idea; I'd certainly use such a machine, if it were available.

Some of Zoe's poops are the same waybviously composed of more than one poop. Other times, they just look like onelarge poop. (The vet said that Zoe's semi-larger poops are the size of Flemish Giant poops. :shock

After I told the vet the triangular poop story, he asked of Zoe (while lifting her tail and insertingthe thermometer), "So, what else ya' got up there?" I replied, "Oh, the usual: pink hearts, yellow moons, green clovers, purple horseshoes...." :biggrin2:

 

[Jenk]

pla725 wrote:

I hate to consider it but did the vet rule out EC? Bloodwork is needed to consider it. I know the titer usually indicates that they have the antibodies in their system.A titer over 1.5 would concern me. Anything over 2 is strong positive which means there has been a past or there is apresent infection. A repeat titer is needed within 4 weeks. An increase means there is an active infection. It takes about 7- 10 days to get the results.

Per the vet, Emma's blood work isn't indicative of EC. (I forget which particular values need to be "off" to indicate it, but, apparently, Emma's are normal.)

Jenk

 

[pla725]

Seems EC and mycotoxins have similar symptoms. Just a thought. Hope everything turns out okay. You could always get a second opinion.

 

[JimD]

Jenk wrote:

Some of Zoe's poops are the same waybviously composed of more than one poop. Other times, they just look like onelarge poop.

This sounds so similar to Chippy....she leaves "cow piles" of poop. (aka: mega colon syndrome)

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

JimD wrote:

Jenk wrote:

Some of Zoe's poops are the same waybviously composed of more than one poop. Other times, they just look like onelarge poop.

This sounds so similar to Chippy....she leaves "cow piles" of poop. (aka: mega colon syndrome)

I have the same problem with Bernie. He has never had "normal" poop. He always has large oval boulders. Every few months or so it seems like he has trouble getting them out and he won't eat and I'll have to give him simethicone and pumpkin. We're going thru it right now unfortunately. I gave him simethicone before I left for work so hopefully I'll find some poops when I get home.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Jenk? How are they doing? How are their poops?

You others that posted here, how are your buns doing?

 

[Jenk]

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

Jenk? How are they doing? How are their poops?

You others that posted here, how are your buns doing?

Things have evened out a bit--and I'll take that at this point.

Emma's poops are normal except for still smelling like dill. (Weird, but true. :?)The vet advised me to give her Reglan if her poopsstill smell oddly by today.I'm to update him tomorrow, at which timehe'll advise me further. (This is a strange post, if I do say so myself.)

Zoe poops more during the night than during the morning hours (when she and I are both awake); soI can only gauge things by what's in her box by the morning. So far, she's still passing her business (albeit oddly-shaped business).

She's on a different herbal supplement which, surprisingly, seems to be balancing the color and dryness/moistness of her poops. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll actually benefit the shape/size of them, too. (Again, this is such a strange post.)

:biggrin2:

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I've heard stranger ones.

That concerns me a bit that your vet wants you to give Reglan for smelly poop:?. Randy normally advises against using it at all.

Glad to hear things are a bit better though!

 

[Jenk]

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

I've heard stranger ones.

That concerns me a bit that your vet wants you to give Reglan for smelly poop:?. Randy normally advises against using it at all.

Glad to hear things are a bit better though!

I'm glad that you've heard "stranger ones." :biggrin2:

I know that Randy's not a fan of motility drugs;I'm of the opinion that some buns truly need them to operate (when nothing elsemoves their stools). Emma is able to move her stools at this point and won't be on Reglan long term. This is just to see if moving things alongalter her stools for the better.(At her last vet visit, her stomach felt a little doughy, per the vet, though he said it wasn't problematic.)

Ifanyone has any experience with dill-smelling poop, I'd like to hear about it. Honestly, even the vet--who's been treatingrabbits for 18years--isn't certain what could be causing this particular pungent odor. (Emma's poop did stop smelling for a few days' time; then it started to smell again.And I didn't change much in terms of her diet, either.)

 

[tonyshuman]

You know, I'm not sure if this will help, but I got a free sample of Zupreem Timothy hay pellets the other day, and their literature talks about how their pellets are so much better for bunnies with sensitive stomachs because they don't have wheat or soy ingredients, which can cause trouble. My bunnies have steel tummies (knock on wood), so I didn't really think about it at the time, but maybe this brand would be a better choice for your (and others') sensitive bunnies?:dunno

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Glad to hear all is ok for now. Just thinking about you guys. Keep us posted!

What's funny is it makes me think they must be eating Dill for poo to smell like...Dill! Weird. I have no clue there.:?

Anyone?