Cadbury bunny is sick (Resolved)

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slj84

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madison, Ohio, USA
Hi all, I'm new here and looking for some help.

I have a 8 year old male neutered dwarf Rabbit named Cadbury. Thursday night he was nibbling on his hay but wasn't his normal perky self. I am a reg vet tech, so I took him into work with me Friday. Side note- we have been on Baytril for the last week because he also got pasturella.

I took some X-rays and it showed he had something in his stomach. We're not sure if it's food from the gi tract not moving or a tumor. He also had large amounts of gas in his belly.

This has been his treatment since Friday morning

*Sq fluids- 50-100ml twice a day
*baytril for his pasturella ( should I be stopping this? It's been rotated between giving it as a intramuscular injections and orally. The vets were not really keen on stopping it because pasturella can also kill him)
* Simethicone twice a day
* belly massages 2-3 times a day
*hot water bottle on his belly for probably a good 6-7 hours a day

He will only eat carrots, craisins. Will not eat his hay or pellets. Also have been giving baby food carrots and bananas several times a day as well.

His belly does gurgle and moan with the massages and heating pads, but it seems like he should be clearing this by now. He is pooping but it is only semi formed mushy stool.

Is there anything else I can do for him. I plan to ask for some meta am for
him tomorrow as during his massages now he seems a bit painful.

Thanks
Sherri

Edit: I also forgot to add that I also ran a stool sample on him since he does go outside on nicer days and he is parasite free.
 
Definitely get some probiotics into him. BeneBac can be found at pet stores in the dog/cat section, and Probios can be found at farm stores. I like to give the horse version. If that doesn't help get his GI back to normal, you might want to stop the Baytril, or go to a different antibiotic. Injected (sub-q) penicillin can help with pasturella and has a very low incidence of GI side effects.
 
How about fortiflora? I have that at work. If not I will swing by the pet store tomorrow. I can switch to penicillin and I'll stop the Baytril.

Is it okay to take him some fresh grass from outside that hasn't been treated?

Also how long should I keep trying to treat him without improvement? As much as me and his brothers will miss him, I don't want him to suffer.

Sherri
 
Fortiflora is probably ok. I read the ingredients and it seems that it will work, but it doesn't have all the ingredients that are in BeneBac and Probios. I am not sure about the grass--spring grass (the stuff that comes up first in spring) can cause gas because of the high sugar content. You can try a little bit--like less than a handful--and see if he's ok with it after 12-24 hrs, I think. I would ask the vet about Critical Care--it's a replacement liquid diet for sick bunnies that won't otherwise eat. You can syringe feed it. It also contains the probiotics that he needs.
 
I want to add that you want to make sure he's adequately warm because a cold bunny won't eat. He might need a heating pad or rice sock. You never want to force feed a cold bunny. You may want to take him in to the vet for 24-hr care. They could also place a feeding tube to his stomach via nose and administer critical care that way. As far as what to do, do whatever you feel is right. If he's truly hating life, it's not worth it. However, there is a lot that your vet can still do--it would be more like being in the ICU, though.
 
Thanks for all the tips I'm defiantly trying to do right by him. He still grooms himself, which is good sign! I also got him to nibble on some hay for he. He always has a warm water bottle with him.

Also he finally gave a semi solid turd when I went to change is bedding this afternoon! Maybe he is starting to get through it! I'll still see what I can get probiotic/critical as well to get him back on the right track.
 
In the mean time I decided to try and get him to eat some grulled up pellets, and he ate a couple of tablespoons full! Getting a little more hopeful that maybe I am making some headway with him.

Sherri
 
Just thought I would update. Still seems gassy, but is more into eating when I hold food up to his mouth. Poops are small and sparse but they are there and semi soft, much better then it was. And no poo stuck at all to his toosh today. Had our other vet take a look at the X-rays for just another view point and he agreed with the first that it looks like Cadbury has a hair ball stuck.

I started the probiotics this afternoon and continuing to do what I was minus the Baytril like suggested. I plan to re X-ray him Monday if he continues to improve and sooner if he starts to do worse again.
 
I hope he keeps on moving in the right direction. Fingers crossed
 
I think we are in the clear after a full week! No more grumbly belly when put on the heat pad. I stopped the gas meds, and he was fighting with his brothers over the dried bananas and Crasins this afternoon! He is also pooping little turds, still not as good as I want but it's much much better then his runny very few poo!

Now to keep workin on getting rid of the pasturella!
Thanks for all help I thrilled my little runt is back to his feisty self!
 
To help prevent hair balls in the future you can give papaya tablets. Glad he is doing better and that it was just a hairball. Do you know if it ever passed?
 
Glad to hear he's doing better! Hope you can get him through the Pasturella problems soon.
 
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