Bentley Update

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Bentley

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Central Minnesota, Minnesota, USA
For some of you who have read my threads about Bentley being sick, here is a quick update. (sorry if im not suppose to post it here.. )

-started sneezing in January
-diagnosed with 'snuffle' -but more of a upper respiratory infection
-treated 2 weeks with some pink medicine (can't remember exact name)
-still had a few symptoms, though she has improves
-got a new $95 medicine, (if you want exact name, ask. im to lazy to go look it up) I'm treating her for 2 weeks with that

-- she stopped eating / small poop yesterday, so we called the vet and he said feed her vegetables, grass, ect. try and get her to eat anything. Gave her ton of carrots, and radish tops ***thats when it hit me

I had given Bentley radishes 2 days before that, and I didn't realize that it probably wasn't the best idea. I'm leaning towards its not the medicine, but the fact I gave her radishes.

-She's eating the radish tops and carrots, but still not eating her regular food, and her poop is still small. I'm hoping things improve, otherwise we'll be bringing her back to the vet.



who knew one rabbit could be so hard to take care of!
 
Bentley wrote:
For some of you who have read my threads about Bentley being sick, here is a quick update. (sorry if im not suppose to post it here.. )

-started sneezing in January
-diagnosed with 'snuffle' -but more of a upper respiratory infection
-treated 2 weeks with some pink medicine (can't remember exact name)
-still had a few symptoms, though she has improves
-got a new $95 medicine, (if you want exact name, ask. im to lazy to go look it up) I'm treating her for 2 weeks with that

-- she stopped eating / small poop yesterday, so we called the vet and he said feed her vegetables, grass, ect. try and get her to eat anything. Gave her ton of carrots, and radish tops ***thats when it hit me

I had given Bentley radishes 2 days before that, and I didn't realize that it probably wasn't the best idea. I'm leaning towards its not the medicine, but the fact I gave her radishes.

-She's eating the radish tops and carrots, but still not eating her regular food, and her poop is still small. I'm hoping things improve, otherwise we'll be bringing her back to the vet.



who knew one rabbit could be so hard to take care of!
lots of info to digest here,..you are on the right track/diet,--need to address this problem with lots of grasses,some quality pelletsand water,,keep him hydrated--stasis is not far away.//.the pink med,sounds like a sulfa drug called sulfadime-(antibiotic)-,try to hold back on the vegy,s--maybe only a few weeds( from the safe list)--watch the poops,,-need to offer a probotic.ie benebac,etc.--if you have a farm supply store nearby,they carry probotics for horses and small mammals.//.-you say he is currently on another med,,is it-also- for sneezing ,,without a nasal culture your dvm is shooting in the dark hoping to hit the target--could be enterococcus-bacteria.??--my website covers diet,nutritional needs,,etc--you are welcome to view,anytime...sincerely james waller
 
I'm watching her poop closely, and the vet said we only needed to get a probiotic if she still wasn't eating or drinking and her poop wasn't well.

I'm only giving her the expensive medicine now - treatment for upper respiratory infection - she doesn't have any symptoms anymore - yay! - except for the fact she isn't eating.
 
Can you try different types of hay :
carrots in excess are too sugary and can disrupt the normal gut flora ; they should be givenonly as a treat and a small amount

radish top are OK but not in excess.
The vet did not mean literally to feed "anything" to the rabbit.
it is too easy to cause serious GI issues

try sprinkling a little apple juice on the hay
if you would look up the name of the medication we could help you determine if that particular medication disrupts appetite.

Right now I suggest giving a probiotic and also some simethicone.

Also get some pedialyte to hydrate her

if this continues you could try feeding a small amount of pure canned pumpkin out of a syringe
(place it in a bowl first as your rabbit may eat it on his own)
 
Well I've stopped giving her radish tops, but I gave her a few more carrots before bed. Fruits are mainly high in sugar, not carrots? I set a large mound of hay in front of her and she took a few bites then stared at me like I was dumb.

Her poop got a little bigger, but its really dark now so I'm thinking the radish tops had something in them. Not sure. The worst part is I'm leaving for work tomorrow evening, so I'm really nervous but I'm leaving her in the hands of my mom. More than likely she's going to be bringing her to a vet.
 
Bentley wrote:
Well I've stopped giving her radish tops, but I gave her a few more carrots before bed. Fruits are mainly high in sugar, not carrots? I set a large mound of hay in front of her and she took a few bites then stared at me like I was dumb.

Her poop got a little bigger, but its really dark now so I'm thinking the radish tops had something in them. Not sure. The worst part is I'm leaving for work tomorrow evening, so I'm really nervous but I'm leaving her in the hands of my mom. More than likely she's going to be bringing her to a vet.
i am sorry,,but any antibiotics will unbalance the-gi tract(flora bacteria) thus inducing a problem--without probotics you are fighting a losing battle,..i have fired many wantabe vets for less.//.i urge you to visit http://www.medirabbit.com this website will help you ,,also look at the carrot myth,,carrots are carotene and converted into sugar thus creating another gi-tract probem ,,stick with a regular diet of grasses,water,some pellets,and probotics--for a couple weeks,--sincerely james waller--dvm-exotic-,advocate
 
Update --- Bentley is back on her medicine w/ the probiotics. She has been eating a little more, but not a whole lot. Her poop changed from being very small, to being clumped and small - I'm not sure what to do next? I'm just going to keep her on the meds and hope for the best .....
 
It would help to know the name of the meds. Sometimes they can cause lack of appetite or other side effects.

Don't worry about smaller, darker poops if she's eating more veggies than hay, that's normal. It doesn't mean they're less healthy, she's just getting a 'roughage' type fiber rather than the dry fiber, both are fine.

Are the clumped poops cecals? Are they runny?

Cut back on the carrot, but you don't have to cut them out.

What exactly is she eating, and what isn't she eating?

Is she back on the meds because she's sneezing?


sas :?
 
Pipp wrote:
It would help to know the name of the meds. Sometimes they can cause lack of appetite or other side effects.

Don't worry about smaller, darker poops if she's eating more veggies than hay, that's normal. It doesn't mean they're less healthy, she's just getting a 'roughage' type fiber rather than the dry fiber, both are fine.

Are the clumped poops cecals? Are they runny?

Cut back on the carrot, but you don't have to cut them out.

What exactly is she eating, and what isn't she eating?

Is she back on the meds because she's sneezing?


sas :?
I would give you the names but I'm not at home right now. They aren't runny and I don't know what you mean by 'cecals', there are just dark clumps of small poop. She is eating timothy hay and a little bit of regular rabbit food. Most rabbit food is the same.. she isn't eating as much rabbit food as she usually does tho. She will eat a little bit of most stuff I give her, just not as much as she does - and from what I know she hasn't been drinking at all. She is back on the meds BECAUSE she was sneezing, but all of her symptoms are gone now - atleast something has gone right! But the doctor wants her to finish up the medicine.

 
CecalFecal.JPG
 
Rabbits usually eat their own cecal pellets which look like grapes. They are very vitamin rich and very beneficial for the rabbits Gi tract to continue to function normally.

Rabbits who leave their cecals often are eating too much protein and sugar in their diet and produce excessive cecals

Keep the diet simple :
grass hay , (green veggies if the rabbit is used to them) and a small amount of pellets daily
 
Well I haven't been home the past few days, so I'm not sure if she ate them or not. But I think she didn't, and she had to much sugar

Now I have her (after giving her to much vegetables and other food) on a strickpellet and hay diet.
 
Update: Bentley is doing a lot better. Her poop is back to normal, and she's eating better - not as much as I'd like her to eat - but she's back to her normal self also. She's actually coming out of her cage and laying in the sun instead of sitting inside her hut all day ^^ I'm trying to keep her off the carrots, but my mom insists she 'needs' them. She gets like 2 a day, so I don't think its making any effect on her. The best news of all is all of her symptoms are gone now- so she's no longer sick. Yay!:big wink:
 
I'm glad that she is better. :)

2 carrots ( unless they are tiny baby carrots ) is too much in a day /

Rabbits in movies and cartoons and storybooks and advertisements are always shown with carrots ; this must have reinforced your family's feelings that rabbits need them.believe me they do not

they should be given only as treat food in a small amount.
 

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