Gas/Slowdown

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minmelethuireb

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Location
Chambersburg PA
So this weekend I had a bunny emergency with Lucy (doesn't this stuff always happen when the regular vets are closed?)

I noticed around 8 pm last night that she had eaten all the food I gave her the night before, but was sitting in a corner and wouldn't eat the new food I gave her. She was hunched with her stomach sucked in, pushing it on the floor sometimes like she does when she gets gas. She seems to have a small attack every few months. Usually it gets better after a few hours and a little simethicone, but this time it didn't go away. I checked on her at 10 this morning and she still wasn't eating, so I took her to the vet.

The vet did an x-ray and saw some gas, but not a ton and she didn't see anything else unusual except that her intestines looked a bit full. The vet gave her two huge syringes of subcutaneous fluids, a metoclopramide shot, and an injection of bovine thymus (nutrients?).

She also gave me critical care, oral metoclopramide, and benebac.

As soon as I got Lucy home, she started munching on her hay and pellets a bit. She also ate some basil and a leaf or two of green leaf lettuce. I wasn't satisfied with how much she was eating, though, so my husband and I also got 50 ml of critical care into her (1 part critical care 2 1/2 parts water). I also dosed her the metoclopramide and some simethicone. I'm letting her rest now. She doesn't seem to have gas pain any more. She seems tired. I'm thinking she didn't sleep too good from the gas pains. I'm just really hoping she gets better.

According to the critical care bag it says 3 tbps per 1 kg of weight. Lucy weighs 5.76 lb, so I'm thinking I need to get about 6 tbps per day into her. That seems impossible. I got maybe 1 1/2 in during our feeding today.

Lucy did poop a bit since I got her home, but it's definitely reduced. I'm hoping she'll do better now that we got a decent amount of food in her.
 
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Something that made this really stressful was that it's really hard to get an emergency rabbit vet around here. Lucy's regular vet has emergency hours until 10 pm on weekdays, and some Saturday hours. Nothing after that though. The 24-hour hospital I took Dewey to last year when he got really sick (and died the next week :( ) apparently doesn't see rabbits anymore. I had to take Lucy to her old vet, which is an hour's drive, and she's not an emergency clinic though she will open her office if you have an emergency. My total bill came to $561.75 - so much for my savings account. :p I do like that vet though. I wish she was closer.
 
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Hi Guys,
IMPORTANT! Exercise and massage and feed!!!!
I am blessed to say that my rabbit just recovered from a complete over 12 hour blockage. Could have lasted longer because I only noticed when I woke up that he wasbt eating and just sat in the corner of his cage with no movement.
We went to the vet and he got some meds that would help(he got hydrated and an injection to unblock) and critical care which we were told to sirenge feed him. We fed him A LOT all day and massaged his belly. In the evening my boyfriend read about how exercise helps them overcome gas. So we took him to the end of the garden and made him run for a few minutes, and he came back and pooed a few bits. After that he did a while pile. So please see the vet, exercise, keep it hydrated and massage the belly and sirenge feed him.
Thank you
Nat.
 

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