Chalk just isn't well...

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mouse_chalk

mouse_chalk

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Chalk doesn't seem right..

Steve fed them this morning but then went straight to work. i got downstairs about an hour later, and a lot of the food was gone, but I didn't see who ate it...

Chalk hasn't been out to play all day, at first I just thought she was acting sleepy, they do sleep alot in the day sometimes, but it's 11.35pm here right now, I fed them at 8.30 and she wont touch a thing. She hasn't even nibbled on any hay at all today...

I've tried pushing a few greens, lettuce etc, but she just backs away from it.

I've checked her tummy, it's not making any noises, doesn't feel hard at all (although I only gave it a gentle squeeze cos I didn't want to hurt her), doesn't seem to be abnormally bloated... I can't be 100% sure about the whole day but I'm pretty sure she hasn't pooed at all all afternoon and evening...

We did think earlier that she was hopping funny, like she would be ok around the floor, but then when she jumped from level to level occasionally one of her back legs would drag.... Steve picked her up just now and she'd weed herself... :?

Her ears felt really cold, so I wrapped her in a towel and she just stayed still for 15 mins, and normally she wont stay still for even a few seconds so she definately isn't right....

Ok, I have Metacam, (she's not grinding her teeth as if in pain), and we could go to the shop tonight to get some Infacol if that would be of any help... there's also an emergency vet/animal hospital nearby if that's needed too....

Which should I do? I might be over panicking here, I just can't seem to work out if she's in pain, if it's her back, her legs, her teeth, gas, or what?

Please, any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks....

:?



ETA: she's been sat sort of hunched all day too, not flopped like usual... I can't tell if she's pressing her stomach to the ground, or if she's sat funny because she's hurt somewhere?!!

 
Hi,

I would suggest getting to a rabbit savvy vet as soon as possible. My first thought was a urinary infection.....but when you combine her urinating when picked up and a "lazy" leg....my thoughts turn a bit toward E Cuniculi. The first "markers" of an active EC infection are dragging a leg sometimes and a urinary issue. Many times the urine will be quite concentrated and she might become soaked in urine. I would get on top of this one quickly. Still could be a UTI...but better safe than sorry.

Randy
 
Thank you Randy... I'm so glad you were online!

I'm just waiting for the emergency clinic to call back now... she's calling the on call vet and then we can go down there...

I hadn't thought about the urine issue until she peed on herself, now she isn't litter trained and she will normally wee and then casually go back and sit in it a bit later. She did that earlier, in fact, and I washed her back paws, just so it didn't irritate her, and she seemed fine... (apart from being quiet and not moving much, but at the time I just put that down to her being a bit sleepy...)

The only other thing is that our male rabbit Barney, who she doesn't live with but is bonded to was humping her earlier (both are fixed), and at first she just took it, but in the end I shooed him away cos she didn't seem happy. He's about 3 pounds heavier than her and I wonder if that could have hurt her back or leg at all....?:?

I don't know.....


 
I'm so sorry to hear about Chalk. You and yours will definitely be in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

:pray:poor Chalk. Get well for your mom! We're all pulling for you.

My PM is open if you ever need to talk. I really hope all is okay and that it's something easily treatable. Please let us know what happens.
 
I have to admit my first thought was EC too, but whether it's EC, UTI, or leg damage from humping, it sounds like something to get on top of immediately. I'd take her to the vet tomorrow morning.:?
 
:pray:for Chalk. :hug1
 
Thans guys...

We just got back from the animal hospital... I'm not sure that I'm happy, but then I didn't know enough really to say much...

Randy, you're not gonna like this, but the vet gave her 10mgmetoclopramide... which she's had once before, and responded to well, but I'm just not sure in this situation if it was necessary or not? She also gave her Metacam, in case she has damaged her leg/back in any way, and the one thing she said that I guess made sense is that if she responds to the Metacam that we will have a better idea that it's pain related? I feel so bad, but then I just wasn't confident enough of my knowledge to know if it should be questioned at all...

When I mentioned E.C, (the vet didn't bring it up at all)she vet said that it was a possibility, but she wasn't displaying any neuroglogical issues(??) so it might be too early to tell... She didn't see Chalk dragging her back leg, as she just refused to move the whole time she was there..

She also gave us a probiotic as well, called Protexin Bio-Lapis, to put in the water...

I mean, I'm familiar with all these treatments, I just don't know if they were the right course to follow? It wasn't our usual vet, as it was at the emergency clinic...

I'm staying up with her all night, sleeping on the sofa so I can keep an eye on her, and I'm calling our regular vets first thing in the morning. The vets there are really good and I trust their opinions.

I guess it's just really hard to explain to someone who's never met your bunny that this is just NOT how she is... I've always worried that I wouldn't be able to tell if something was wrong with them, but there's no doubt to me that Chalk isn't right....

I'm just hoping and praying that it's nothing serious, and our baby will be back to her normal cheeky self soon.....

:(
 
Praying for you and Chalk...:pray:

:hug:
 
You are correct...metaclopramide--->:soapbox

Metacam--->I am OK with that. Especially if it is a UTI, it will help with that...same if it is an injured leg.

No neurological problem--->Leg dragging. I will give benefit of the doubt since your doctor didn't actually see this issue.

I have no problems with using probiotics....just I don't really like putting anything in the water.

If this were my rabbit, I would have a urinalysis performed unless something definite showed itself quickly. I would keep her in an area that you could pay close attention to the urine just in case something is going on there.

And it could very well be something in the GI. The only thing I really have any concerns about (my non-professional concerns) is that gut motility stuff. It appears that you are going to have to eliminate things to find the problem. Monitor her poop and urine output closesly as that will tell a lot of things.

Randy
 
Oh no, poor Chalkie! How scary and stressful. As if you didn't have enough going on right now, too. I understand how exasperating it is taking your sick bunny to a vet who doesn't seem to get it :X Are you going to take her to the regular vet in the morning? I hope Randy or some other knowledgeable person comes back soon and can advise you on the treatment prescribed to Chalk.

I really, really hope Chalk will be okay! How is she acting now? Poor little girl :( And poor you! :hug:
 
Thank you....

Randy, your opinion may be non-professional, but at this moment I trust it a whole lot more than the vet we just saw! I can't wait to see our regular vet in the morning, who understands rabbits a lot more, and listens to concerns a lot more too...

I thought the same thing about the leg dragging being a neurological issue, but then like I said, I just wasn't sure. She definately has been doing it though, a friend of mine was over earlier and she noticed too as well as me and Steve... Am I right in thinking though, that the earlier E.C is caught, the easier it is to treat? Also, I've just remembered that she was wormed with Panacur back in November, as was Mouse, her bondmate, and Barney and Snowy were wormed in Feb/March, does that prevent E.C? I just feel so lost with all this! :?

So, I'll push for a urinalysis.... what other treatment should/could be done? I had thought x-ray, in case she has damaged anything, does that also show up and GI issues too?

Her cage is right here in the living room, which is where I'm staying all night, and until I know that she's ok. Since we came back, she's just been sat in the cage, not moving much at all. She's eaten one bit of hay, and along with the bit she ate earlier, that makes 2 stems of hay as all she has eaten for 24 hours.... :?

Thank you for all your well wishes everyone! :hug:

P.S The charge was huge too, £125... although we have her insured and our excess is £50 so we should be able to get most of that back... We're pretty tight financially right now but luckily we have the means to get funds for whatever treatment she needs...




 
Just to update...

She's eaten a few small slices of banana, which was a last-ditch attempt by us to get her to eat something, and she's nibbled on about 3 or 4 stems of hay....

She's hopped up and down the levels in her cage a little bit, but she always just sits down folded up in a corner.... I can't see that she's weed or pooed either....

I've been sat up all night watching her. I haven't seen her drag her leg again but then she's not moved much for me to see it properly....

It's 6.30am here now, the vets open in about 2 hours I think....

:?
 
Still praying...:pray:
 
Oh my god.... I am soo shattered.... I managed to stay up until 7.30 but then the room started spinning and I fell over when I went to the bathroom, so Steve took over while I got a couple of hours rest.

Stevesaid that she ate a tiny bit of kale from their breakfast when he pushed it in front of her but she refused anything else and still hadn't pooed or weed, although she had been moving around a bit more and looking brighter...

We've just come back from the regular vets, and he injected her with fluids, although I completely forgot to ask how much. He did say that it was 24 hour's worth though... He said he didn't wantto repeat any more of the gut motility drug, seeing as it's not really helped yet, but thought that her looking brighter was possibly a sign that she's getting better. She's not been dragging her back leg any more that I can see, and she didn't at the vets either. She's also not weed on herself since, but then she didn't wee at all the whole night...:?

So, he told us to monitor her over the next 12-24 hours, as the fact that she has eaten some thing is good, and that if she starts to worsen then it could indicate that it's pain related, as the Metacam would have worn off by then...

It's just so frustrating not knowing what it could be! I'm going to see if I can get a lift to go find some carrot tops and some fresh basil in a bit, as she never normally refuses those... She refused the Basil last night, but I'm thining maybe if I get some fresher stuff she might be more likely to take it...

Oh, and she weed pretty much as soon as she got back from the vet just now too, just looks normal to me and can't see any sign of blood or anything in it?

Thank you everyone, and sorry if this is all just a garbled mess lol, I'm unbelievably tired and greatly lacking in caffeine!
 
I don't know what's happened, but all of a sudden she seems a lot better?

I went out and got carrots and tops, and gave her some of the tops, and she ate them, then she ate a little bit more hay.

Then about an hour after that she came out of her cage (first time since Monday night) and hopped around the living room. THEN I saw her poo! :biggrin2:

And just now I was lying on the floor in our spare room upstairs watching Mouse play under the bed, and then I felt something licking the bottom of my foot... Chalk had come upstairs to play!! She hopped around with Mouse for a bit, and she's still up there now, just lying down, cleaning herself etc....

It's just so strange that she would recover so quickly? Could it have been the fluids? I was concerned that she didn't drink at all yesterday, so she must have been dehydrated.... :?

I still wont be happy til I see her eat properly again though!

Any ideas on what it was anyone?
 
I'm so happy for your family and Chalk! Would have no idea why, but am so happy when things turn out for the best that I had to send a congratulatory note along with a big PHEW!
 
Thanks Julie!

As I type this, she's munching away on her dinner with Mouse, like nothing ever happened!!! :shock:

I'm sooo glad she's better, but just still slightly puzzled that she was soooo ill last night and this morning, but seemingly back to normal now?

I'm still going to keep an eye on her, but I think it may be safe to get some sleep tonight?

Anyway, thank you all for your help and well wishes everyone, this was my first time at having a sick bunny, and I'm sure glad that you guys were here to help! :)
 
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