Urgent Health Problem

[Joe689]

It has been two days and my rabbit has stillremained very still in the back of his cage or under hischair. He has the whole basement open and its been like thatfor 5 years. He always runs around and comes fortreats. Yesturday he was confined in his cage.Usually he doesn't even like to go in there. It has been verycold in Buffalo the past few days but nothing we haven't hadbefore. When looking at him, he is slighty shaking as if hewere shivering. His shoulders behind his head are constantlyvibrating His ears are a little colder that usual.His stomach area seams to be moving inside. When putting myhand on his side moving. When i move my hands up furthertoward the head, the should area, a constant vibrating ispresent. He seems to be in disconfort however no teethgrinding is occurring. I not to sure what this could be butwas wondering if there was anything at home I could give him.He usually gets a cup of pellets and carrot topps daily. Hehas not or little eaten the past 2 days. I have also observedthat when he exhales, his diaphram tightening closer to him, he hassome irregular movements. His inhaling and exhaling, in termsof how in his stomach area, looks like a irregularmovement. There has been past health problems whenhe would eat some couch foam, stop eating, and have similar appearanceproblems, none of which that seamed this bad. His waterintake is minimal too. Is there anything i can give him?someone suggested pineapple juice would help him pass whatever if everhe ate. There is no evidence of himeating something bad, we have thrown out the couch with foam a yearago. Unfortunately we are tight on money and can not affordto go to vet so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Joe

 

[ariel]

I am far from an expert as I haven't been in thebunny world long , but If I were you i'd go to the vet. Maybe bring himinside the house and keep him warm whilst you call, I don't know aboutthere but over here our regular vet lets us pay her off if ever we getstuck for money(we have used this same vet for ages now for all ouranimals) .

When my chloe passed I had the vet out at 9pm on a sunday night,the vet said to me don't worry about cost , if you can't afford it youcan pay the bill off as no one expects their animals to get sick soquickly . (which was nice of her cause I never even mentioned money orhow much would it cost, was the furtherest thing on my mind but becauseshe was taking Chloe home with her not leaving her at the surgery soshe could watch her closely I guess that's why she said that to me)

I'd bring your bun inside though for sure and check him right over,feet ears everything , maybe you could try nutrical or some pumpkin(canned pumpkin)

Good luck and I'm sure others will come up with some ideas for you too

 

[Delphinum]

Is your bun still pooping? Have younoticed any diahorrea? If so, it may be impaction which meansthat something is stuck in the gut. It may be somethingcompletely different, but if you see diahorrea go straight to the vet,I'm sure they'll be able to work out some cost effective way oftreating your bun. i.e. installments, etc. When wetook Binky to the vet for impaction, it cost 60GBP, but he died from itafter a day of being in the vet's. This makes me very waryabout it.

You'll need to get the bunny to take some water though, as if theydehydrate, they can deteriorate quickly. Plenty of hay isalso a must. Try syringing some water into the bun's mouth ifhe won't drink. Try putting a little vanilla extract into hiswater to encourage him to drink it and as Ariel said some nutrical willhelp to get some calories into him too.

I hope he's okay!

Ang xx

 

[*nepo*]

Good luck with her!

Btw, reading this post reminded me of somethingNepo does: when he takes a deep breath sometimes, he exhales reallyfast and his stomach moves in fast too, its weird I don't know if I'mdescribing it well . I'm not concerned because otherwise he is fine.I was just wondering.

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome Joe689,

As to a blockage, click on my name, go to view profile, when you get tothe screen look for the file that says, "Topics". Go through the topicsand look for a post called "GI Stasis - Tucker's having problems". Goto page 10, there's a list of things in there that I learned along theway.

Having a furball as to having foam is completely different, as you know. Fur will break down, foam or material won't.

If you have a heating pad, I'd suggest you get it, put a towel over it,and keeping it on low. If your rabbit is having problems with stayingwarm, she can move over towards it. Make sure she can get on and off ofit as she needs to adjust her temperature.

Keep her hydrated even if you have to syringe feed her the water.Dehyration quickly can take a rabbit's life. You might drop a carrot orsome dark lettuce in the cage as well.

There's a product called NutriCal that is a dietary supplement,primarily geared towards cats and dogs, but it works well for rabbits.If they go off their feed, it can stimulate their appetite, it booststhe immune system, provides the nutients and vitamins the rabbit needswhile off feed, and will help them to go to the bathroom. It's $10 orso in a pet store. Definitely worth having in the house.

Keep us posted.

-Carolyn

 

[*nepo*]

Oops, I hadn't noticed you were a new member. Welcome!

 

[Joe689]

Thanks for the quick response. I havehim drinking some pineapple juice from a syringe to keep himhydrated. As for food, he is not eating. He seemsvery thin. Its probably been 2 days with no significant foodintake however he was at a good over over weight before he gotsick. He is an inside rabbit also. Wethink we are going to give him till Sunday to recover hopefully beforetaking him to the vet. The important thing is that he isstaying hydrated. Thanks for all your quick responses, theywere great help.



Thanks
JOE

 

[*nepo*]

Try to give him vegetables, hay, oats, friuitsor stuff he really likes .

 

[rabbitgirl]

I noticed one of mine will actually stopbreathing sometimes. She's just fine, but it seems like bunny breathingpatterns are a bit unusual.

In your case, though, it sounds like other things are going on. I hope he's ok!

Rose

 

[Carolyn]

Joe,

You might try putting some pellets in some water, letting them turn tomush, and then syringe feed it to him. He needs to get some nutrientsand vitamins in him to stay strong.

I wouldn't delay getting him to the vet. The page I sent you to in thatone post about GI Stasis is all home remedies for a hair blockage. Youreally have to be aggressive in the treatment if it is a blockage, buthonestly, the breathing and shivering is a big concern.

-Carolyn

 

[JimD]

Welcome to the forum Joe.

I'd plan a vet visit asap. If the vet understands the situation maybe they will work out the payment with you.

The GI tract definitely needs to keep moving and even a day or two can cause further problems.

Be careful if you use a syringe. Don't "force" the liquid or the bun could take the liquid into their lungs (aspirate?).

Hydration is important as well. The pineapple juice is great. You mighttry adding some juice to the water supply to tempt the bun to drink.

Parsley has always worked for me to get the buns to eat. It's light, tasty, and gets their appetite going again.

Thoughts and prayers sent your way. Keep us posted.

~Jim

 

[Stephanie]

I would read Carolyn's post about GI, she went throught it with one of her rabbits and came through successfully.

You need to bring your rabbit in to the vet asap, I wouldn't waitanother day. As they are "grazing" animals, they need to keep theirsystem moving constantly or else it'll shut down.

Another thing to try to tempt her with is oats. The real kind, notinstant. When I had to feed one of my rabbits with a syringe, I made amix of ground up pellets, canned pumpkin and oats, with water.

 

[Carolyn]

What's going on, Joe?

-Carolyn

 

[Joe689]

Peter died on January 29, 2005. We puthim down. He had lost all his energy. He was unableto get up. His legs and hands had no strength. Hewas so weak we decided to put him down. His was 5 Yearsold. We plan on getting a new one.



Thanks For your Help

JOE

 

[Buck Jones]

Joe689 wrote:

...someone suggested pineapple juice would help him passwhatever if ever he ate.

I think that has to be fresh pineapple juice, if I am not mistaken.

Oops, just read your last post. I'm so sorry!

Won't change anything, but if you're not familiar with the concept of the Rainbow Bridge, please link to:

http://www.lisaviolet.com/ecard/rainbowjavax.html

It has offered some consolation to many of us here at the Forum.

Buck

 

[Delphinum]

Oh no, that's such a shame! My thoughts are with you...

Ang xx

 

[Emmy-webby]

Oh No..I'm soo sorry Joe about your lostof Peter. May he always be with your presense and the presence of therabbits forum. Take Care, xoxo Katy

 

[Carolyn]

Oh, Joe

I'm so sorry. For what it's worth, I definitely think you made theright decision. If I were the little guy, I'd wish to go fast ratherthan suffering.

I'm sorry.

It was obvious how much you cared for him. My heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to you and all that are grieving the loss.

With Deepest Sympathy,
-Carolyn

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

Thats so upsetting Joe.My condolincesand I hate to ask but what cause this so suddenly. Was itsomething Peter ate, a blockage? I ask becuase in Peters lossperhapps he can help in are awarness. Joe I'm so sorry

Peter

 

[bluebird]

Welcome,im soo sorry about your bunny,rabbits can be such delicate creatures.bluebird