Advice for a new bunny mom please! (smushy poo)

[MsBinky]

*is waiting anxiously*

 

[Orchid]

wow...it has felt like a very long two days....

We went to the Avain Exotic in Raleigh, got there about 3pm.
We saw Dr. Stacey who was available. She is young, but I liked her well enough and she seemed to know what she was talking about. (FYI - felt much better about her than I did at Dixie Trail)
She did an exam, said she felt formed poo within, heard good sounds in the tummy. Said his ears, eyes, teeth etc all look fine. He looked well hydrated and more or less ok except for being covered in poop.
They ran a fecal exam and did indeed find Cocidia....I can't spell to save my life and just not even bothering to try right now.
She felt the fact that we did not have watery poo and not even consistent smushy poo was very encouraging. Because the test for e-coli and the other were 140...I could not afford them. So...at this point we are running on the thought, that we will give alban for the cocidia....Beni Bac Gel to settle the tummy and they sent home some mush food called critical care incase he decides to not eat on me. If it is not settled soon, she said we could look to get either the bayatril but did not talk much to me about the other (metro something) without the 140 dollar test.

Poop cleaning as much as possible is needed...and the fact I tore down the cage and cleaned EVERYTHING was a great idea apparently. Cool! When in doubt I clean. lol
Anything that has smushed poop on it and could not go through the machine, thrown out. The food we had, I threw out and bought a new bag today. I also picked up a grass matt and some botanical hay from the vet. I do have to say I am weary about the Timothy and Alfafa I had...as there is such a difference. I could almost say the botanical feels moist compared to the others. I don't know if that is the type or just what can tell me how old hay is...but darn.

So we are home now and his cage is put back together but rather empty. He seems all tuckered out and I can not blame him a bit. I put him in the litter pan to show him some of the hay and try to tell him its there are darn if he didn't poop and pee in it...but thats ok. I guess he is starting to get the litter pan idea. Didn't seem like he had been at all. He munched down hard on his pellet when we got him back in his cage and I felt very encouraged by that. When I got back in from dropping my friend off at the bus station, Simon was still laying on the floor of the cage in the corner, but got up and drank some water when we came in. He had seemed to perfer the ledge in his cage, but I am thinking perhaps he is just too tuckered out to be bothered with climbing anything when all is pretty much on the first floor. Can't blame him one bit.

She really felt that because it was intermintent smush, combined with the possitive fecal float with cocida...that is probably our main problem and aggravated by the mustard greens.
There will be no treats in this house for awhile...and I will say the vet and the people were saying when everything was settled I could try again, but no. I will be more than happy to wait for the 6 month mark.

Right now I am feeling really grateful for the hoops my friend went to get here (he doesn't drive) and the fact he lent me over a hundred dollars to get Simon checked out. Very happy Simon made it to vet, very happy we have the things at home we do now and that I can settle my mind some.
I will still be watching very carefully and pray we have no return of smushy poo.

Thank you all for your well wishes and support,...

I have much to still pick up around the house...it is amazing to me how destroyed it looks from me tearing everything apart...and how there is just hay EVERYWHERE! lol
So I am off for now to try to get some of this mess cleaned up and hopefully get some sleep, least at a decent hour.

I hope everyone is doing well...Thank you again!!

 

[TinysMom]

I've been at work for the last several hours and really worried about this - this is one of the threads I HAD to check out before I left for the night...

I'm so glad you got him checked and for all that happened. I don't remember if anyone shared the link with you to our section on diaherrea - here it is:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11935&forum_id=10

It sounds like you're on the right track and getting that cage cleaned is so important - I think you need a bleach solution but I don't remember right off.

I'll check back in either later tonight or in the morning..

Peg

 

[MsBinky]

I am so relieved! Glad you took him in, and great advice from Randy and the others. Hope you bun feels better soon :rose:

 

[Dill]

How is he doing?



sas :?

 

[Orchid]

I know it is rather silly of me, but I feel like if 3am comes and the smushy poo has not returned all will be well. So I am still up and watching. He seems to be doing just fine. He has been sleeping on the bottom instead of his shelf which has me a little worried.
He has seemed to prefer sleeping there to anywhere else, unless it is me he can sleep on. Yet the pellet, 2 of his hays, and his litter pan, water and house are on the bottom. His timothy hay is on the shelf. Perhaps he just is not up for having to go up and down tonight.
He is awake right now...and I am about to go over and check the status of our poo..it has been solid and shaped well for quite some time now, but we went through that the night before. I am keeping my fingers crossed it will be ok.
I tossed the pellet we had, and put fresh in. He has been pigging out on that since he returned to his cage. He started the meds while we were at the vet and I am hoping that with the time, it has already started helping and working its way through his system.

So I am off to go get some snuggles in and hopefully get some sleep after that.

Thanks all again for the help, advice, concern and well wishes and please know that i do read every reply even when I do not answer each one. I hope everyone has a good night, already did, or will be soon! Sleep well to all and every!

Much love from,
Simon and Em

 

[Orchid]

It is a little after 3am now and there is NO smushy poo! All I see in there is solid well shaped poo and all in the litter box to boot!
and I think I found a toy he likes lol....I used a swiss miss box to put the new hay in, didn't want it just on the floor and he seems intent to destroy it lol!
He is currently up on his shelf nibbling on his Timothy Hay...which has me THRILLED!
I really feel like we are out of danger...

Sigh...a long two days...and now I think I can sleep. I just wish my daughter had tomorrow off of school so I could sleep in lol...but we can't have everything now can we...

:dancingorig:

 

[Marietta]

Em, you're such a good bunny mom! So thorough and so considerate! I'm glad that Simon has been diagnosed and treated and is already feeling better. I wish that he gets back to normal soon. Having no diarrhea for the past hours is very positive.

Marietta

 

[Orchid]

Well, wasn't I just exhaushted lol. Just waking about a half hour ago now.
Simon has some smush again in his litter and food this time.
It was not however the same as it has been. It had been like a big ball of smush and pretty smushy at that. Today it looks more like very soft cecals and a bunch of them together. Not really defined, but more so than they have been.
I called the vet. This one actually got on the phone with me. Told her the pellet was out of his cage till like 7pm last night..(I think) and I was wondering if perhaps it was the pellet presenting part of the problem. Told her a bunch of things.
She said that they pass the cecals at night and that it is not umcommon to see a rabbit who is over weight or not feeling well, not eat them. Said she is not surprised we saw this and does not feel it is a cause for concern. The meds will take time and this is am improvement over what we had been seeing. She asked how he seemed and looked and even told me to make sure I get more sleep.lol
He is playing, eating, drinking, nibbling and does seem more himself that has the last two days. I just watched him do a few laps around his cage lol.
So I guess things are improving alright. I have that knot back in my stomach now though.

 

[Orchid]

Marietta wrote:

Em, you're such a good bunny mom! So thorough and so considerate! I'm glad that Simon has been diagnosed and treated and is already feeling better. I wish that he gets back to normal soon. Having no diarrhea for the past hours is very positive.

Marietta

Thanks hun!
He does seem more himself today so I am encouraged. Can't help but worry though.
I do not look forward to having to give him the meds. He did not like that one bit yesterday. The tech had told me to try offering him a treat with it, but I am not doing that. Randy said no more treats and I don't feel it would be a smart move either.
He only seems to stay mad at me about an hour when something happens he doesn't like..lol ..I can live with that.

I forgot to mention he has gained weight too! A week ago the other vet said he was 1lb 3/4 oz. Yesterday he wieghed in at about 2lbs.

 

[Haley]

Youre doing a great job with him. Its going to take a little while for him to get back to normal poops (for his system to even out). Just keep doing what youre doing, lots of hay and hydration.

You and your boy are in my thoughts and prayers.

Haley

 

[Orchid]

Thank you Haley...

I am such a worry wort I know..lol

He doesn't care about the new hay, which is ok I guess as I saw him nibbling on his timothy earlier. Though I am going to go buy new hay...concerned that the old, was just too old. It seems so dry and crumbly compared to what I bought yesterday.
He is resting now..and I myself need to get going as I have doc appt for me..lol
I have had a bit of a cold..I hate being sick...who doesn't though.

 

[TinysMom]

If he is starting to act like his old self - that is a good sign.

I'm so glad you got him help and he's on his meds.....another couple of days and you'll be seeing so many more improvements.

You're a great bunny parent.....even if your bunny doesn't want to say so!

Peg

 

[Orchid]

TinysMom wrote:

If he is starting to act like his old self - that is a good sign.

I'm so glad you got him help and he's on his meds.....another couple of days and you'll be seeing so many more improvements.

You're a great bunny parent.....even if your bunny doesn't want to say so!

Peg

Thanks Peg...

Simon seems to be doing ok. He has started chewing on more things. A lot of the toys I had I threw out just in case they could carry anything that would reinfect him. There is one or two that is left and he has started chewing on them and when he is out, chewing on anything in his area he can. He has stopped sleeping on the shelf and now sleeps in the bottom corner of his cage keeping himself right next to his pellets.
I had draped a blanket over that side of the cage because my back door is right there and I didn't want a draft to make things worse.
He seems a bit different, but I don't know how to explain it really.

I myself have been sick so I haven't been spending as much time with him as I would like. Think this is perhaps making him mad. He seems a little more snippy now.

I keep finding random smush poo..tonight had me a little worried but he seems to go right back to normal poo. I don't know what to make of that. Hoping it is just the meds working thier way through his system. He does seem to be eating and drinking ok. He is hydrated and playful for the most part when he is out.
He takes his meds really well. He sat there yesterday and ate them out of the syringes. I was so proud of him. He did not like getting wrapped up and it was such a struggle...glad he was so good about it yesterday.

Just thought I would send out an update...

Thanks again to everyone.

 

[JimD]

Orchid wrote:

.....but did not talk much to me about the other (metro something) without the 140 dollar test.

Was it Metronidazole (GI antibiotic) ??

I opted for the $140 test, but the vet went ahead and gave the Metronidazole to us before the results came back.
It works very fast and within a day or so Chippy was much better.

Here's some good excerpts from Randy's advice to me when Chippy got so sick...

ra7751 wrote:

.....Metronidazole (Flagyl) had been prescribed. If you can go back on some of my posts regarding stasis/ileus, this drug specifically targets the bacteria Clostridium which grows due to a die off of beneficial bacteria...and imbalance. When the gut starts to move, most of the time it will be a very smelly event and many times with mucous.

.....The use of probiotics is controversial. In a stasis event and gut imbalance, something that quickly kills off beneficial bacteria is a rapid change in pH. The idea behind using a probiotic is not so much the bacteria (which is mostly lactobacillis which is not a naturally growing bacteria in a rabbit's gut) but getting the pH back to where it should be. This can also be achieved by using acidophilus powder...or Vitamin C (abscorbic acid) like the supplements used for guinea pigs or even small pieces of citrus fruit. As far as Bene-Bac...it is available at major pet chain stores usually in the cat section.



Randy

 

[Orchid]

JimD wrote:

Orchid wrote:

.....but did not talk much to me about the other (metro something) without the 140 dollar test.

Was it Metronidazole (GI antibiotic) ??

I opted for the $140 test, but the vet went ahead and gave the Metronidazole to us before the results came back.
It works very fast and within a day or so Chippy was much better.

Here's some good excerpts from Randy's advice to me when Chippy got so sick...

ra7751 wrote:

.....Metronidazole (Flagyl) had been prescribed. If you can go back on some of my posts regarding stasis/ileus, this drug specifically targets the bacteria Clostridium which grows due to a die off of beneficial bacteria...and imbalance. When the gut starts to move, most of the time it will be a very smelly event and many times with mucous.

.....The use of probiotics is controversial. In a stasis event and gut imbalance, something that quickly kills off beneficial bacteria is a rapid change in pH. The idea behind using a probiotic is not so much the bacteria (which is mostly lactobacillis which is not a naturally growing bacteria in a rabbit's gut) but getting the pH back to where it should be. This can also be achieved by using acidophilus powder...or Vitamin C (abscorbic acid) like the supplements used for guinea pigs or even small pieces of citrus fruit. As far as Bene-Bac...it is available at major pet chain stores usually in the cat section.



Randy

Hello Jim!

Yes, Randy is the one that talked to me about the Metro...the Vet did not want to give the med. She said we could talk about giving it without the test ( cause I told her I just don't have the money for it) if this all continued. Well she actually didn't say yes or no to the Metro, she just said she did not want to needlessly medicate him, he is young, he looked good, was hydrated, and felt Alban and Bene Bac would resolve it.
The smell we were having with the smushy green poo is gone, the smushy green poo itself is gone. What we are seeing now is dark in color, smushy but not like that green poo. This she feels is the cecals that he is not eating while his body gets back in gear. I called her the next day to ask. She said it was not umcommon for over weight or sick buns to not eat them.
For the most part I see normal poo. Since she said it is transmitted via poo, it is good he isn't eating the cecals than..I guess. The only thing I wonder about, is they are not clustered. Least the smush I see now is not. The smush green poo we were seeing had the consitancy of say applesauce, this reminds me more of say, maybe like chewed gum...thicker than that I guess but can not think of something that would give a good example. But soft and smushable.
I, myself am still nervous because I am so unfamilar with what should and should not be ok. I am watching him as closely as I can and hoping she is on the money about it.

 

[Orchid]

Well I have to say I think everything is good!!

I have not seen much smush at all. I am firmly convinced what I do see now is just cecals he is not eating, which the vet said would be normal while he is not well.
Figure if that continues past his meds being done I will call and see what the vet thinks of that. They called here today to ask how he was doing...I liked that. Gave me more warm feelings towards them. Now I just wish they would lower the cost of a neuter lol.

 

[Hazel]

Hey I was just wondering if you were still feeding alfalfa hay. Sometimes I ditz out when I read and miss information, haha. I just wanted to say that I know alfalfa made Hazel have smushy poo and as soon as she went to all timothy, her tummy settled down.

I'm glad things are going better!!!

 

[Orchid]

Hazel wrote:

Hey I was just wondering if you were still feeding alfalfa hay. Sometimes I ditz out when I read and miss information, haha. I just wanted to say that I know alfalfa made Hazel have smushy poo and as soon as she went to all timothy, her tummy settled down.

I'm glad things are going better!!!

Actually I haven't been...not for about a day. What I had I felt was too old and I have been using the timothy in his litter. I know he is still munching on that, but he has been eating the botanical. The vet said it was a good choice for picky eaters. So I thought I would buy a bag while I was there. It seems much fresher than the Alfalfa and Timothy I have so I have been offering more of that. Waiting to hear back from Bunnybales about what they have coming in the kit before I make a purchase. Wish they would list a phone number , frustrating waiting for an email.lol

I wonder if that was a contributing factor. I guess I will offer and see if we have a problem when I get some new stuff in. Thanks for mentioning it.