Chase - UPDATED 5/22/10

[Maureen Las]

Amy.............

Where are you?

 

[tonyshuman]

My guys all had hot ears one day (I think it was because I left the windows open on a nice day and they were trying to warm themselves up). A single day of hot ears isn't really a concern, I think, but Maureen did post the correct way to take a bunny's temp if you're concerned and/or for future reference.

 

[Amy27]

Sorry to leave you guys hanging. I went to bed and then to work and just got home. Chase's ears have returned to their normal temp. They were pretty warm last night.

angieluv thanks for posting that. I don't even have a rectal thermometer. I will have to get one and learn how to take her tempature for the future. I have never taken an animals temp before and I don't know how. Maybe I will get the thermometer and take it with me to the vets on friday and have her show me.

Chase is getting her sub q's tonight and I am so excited. It will make me feel so much better. Her water bottles are not going down the last week like they were the week before. She maybe drinking out of her bowls but it is harder to tell with the bowls especially because she has 3.

Thanks gusy for replying. Atleast knowing how to take a temp will help me feel better in the future if this happens again.

 

[Maureen Las]

Amy,

Please have the vet show you how to do it as that it really the proper way , I think there are other methods of doing it other than what dana Krempels suggest.

I was reading some really interesting info on etherbun this week. a lot of members debating whether they should take their own rabbit's temp
I realized how important it is to know if the bun has a fever

for ex. if a bun has a fever you are not suppose to force (syringe feed) and also if a rabbit is hypothermic they will not be able to utilize many nutrient (even electrolytes in sub q fluids )until their body is at a more normal temp

I am going to discuss with Pipp whether we should have more info on RO re. temp
Anyway I'm glad that Chase is OK as I was sort of upset about it last night .

 

[Amy27]

It would really be great to have more information about it hear on the boards. I never would have thought that if a rabbit had a fever that your not suppose to syringe feed them. I agree with you that it is important to know if your rabbit has a fever. It would be so nice if there was an easier way to take a rabbits temp. With humans they have the ear thermometers and the ones they can slide across your forehead. Why can't they have something simple like that for animals?

I am sorry you were upset about it last night. I really thought people would post here and tell me I needed to relax and enjoy that Chase is better. I know I am being over paranoid and thought last night was the same. I appreciate you guys always being here for me.

 

[Maureen Las]

it's good that you didn't read it bcause I would have upset you.

If Claire had been here last night she would have said that her buns hadwarm ears and were fine

but when my really sick girl(RIP) Babette had hot ears she was really sick
soI freaked from personal experience from my own bun.
Iguess that my buns have warm ears sometimes in spring/summer when it was starting to get too warm in here

I just read that you can only get a really accurate temp from a rectal temp but you can get a general temp from an ear thermometer ( I think ..have to check that again)

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, I think you can generally get an idea of the temp from feeling the ears. Hot ears might be an indication of needing to get a more accurate temp with a rectal thermometer. That way you can figure out if it's something to worry about.

 

[BethM]

I second the thought that maybe we could have more info here about temperatures.

I wouldn't know what to do if one of my bunnies had a fever. When Nick was in stasis, I got some guidance over the phone from a bunny-savvy friend. She talked me through taking his temp (which he hated!). Two days in a row, he was quite cold. I had to heat him up with a heating pad.

Tobi frequently has cold ears, but she seems otherwise fine. It's usually when she has been resting; the ears are noticeably chilly.


Amy, I'm glad Chase is back to normal today.

 

[Amy27]

Chase's lab work came back today and everything was great. It doesn't appear that the Lasix is causing any problems. All her electrolytes were good. Thanks everyone who gave me some good suggestions on keeping her potassium levels up. Chase is loving her banana now every night.

The vet said I can stop the sub q's as long as I know she is staying hydrated. The problem is I never really know. Everytime she has gone to the vet she has been hydrated and she is getting them once a week now. I just don't know if I can say good bye to them and not worry.

She will go back in a month to have blood work again. It really looks like maybe this is going to be easier to manager then I thought. Thanks again everyone for all your help.

 

[myheart]

I am so ready to cry happy tears for the both of you!!!! I do hope that all is said and done with the calcium and sludge. Please keep us updated as appointments go by. I also want to hear if Chase is able to re-bond with Little Bunny.

Time to get back to a more normal life...?!!!! :biggrin2:

myheart

 

[Maureen Las]

Amy27 wrote:

Chase's lab work came back today and everything was great. It doesn't appear that the Lasix is causing any problems. All her electrolytes were good. Thanks everyone who gave me some good suggestions on keeping her potassium levels up. Chase is loving her banana now every night.

The vet said I can stop the sub q's as long as I know she is staying hydrated. The problem is I never really know. Everytime she has gone to the vet she has been hydrated and she is getting them once a week now. I just don't know if I can say good bye to them and not worry.

She will go back in a month to have blood work again. It really looks like maybe this is going to be easier to manager then I thought. Thanks again everyone for all your help.

I'm really glad that Chase is dong so well
If the sub q's are only once a week and you are unsure of hydration why don't you just continue them for awhile until you feel more comfortable

 

[tonyshuman]

Yay! I agree that the sub-q may be worth the peace of mind knowing she's getting enough fluids at least for now.

 

[Amy27]

Chase went back for a follow up today. We didn't get great news but I am trying to tell myself it could be worse.

She is well hydrated and her bladder is still sludge and stone free. The bad news is the Lasix started to affect her and her potassium is low. If it doesn't come back up in 3-4 weeks the vet may have to take her off the Lasix or try to cut it back. She said she could try a different med but she really likes Lasix. I am going to introduce more high potassium foods. The only problem with that is Chase gained 8 oz in a month. She is now 6.9lbs. She is overweight. Giving her more food is only going to make her gain more wieght. I feel torn on that because there isn't much I can do about it. She doesn't get any pellets so I can't cut that down. I can't cut her greens down because that is where she gets all her water. She is already out as much as possible. When I get the 2 bunnies bonded again she can have more time out as they won't have to split time out.

The second issue is when Chase had her last surgery she wasn't stitched correctly or it didn't hold. But she had a hole in the tissue. We were hoping scar tissue would close the hole before anything started to come through it. That didn't happen. The x-ray today showed a large piece of fat coming out of the hole. We are still hoping that scar tissue will form to the fat and close that hole. If anything else starts to come through or too much fat she will have to have surgery again. This makes me livid. Chase and I have gone through all this the last few months to keep her from having to have surgery again. And for what if she ends up having to have it again? That just makes me so mad. I am trying not to blame the vet. But I am having a hard time with that. That day Chase had surgery the vet was very busy. She was kind of crabby towards me like it was a big inconvience to fit Chase in. It just makes me wonder if she was hurrying and that is how this happened. The vet that did surgery is a different vet then the one Chase is seeing now. The vet that did the surgery offered to do the surgery for free to repair the open piece of tissue.

We will get through this too. It just really stinks. Poor Chase was really upset today going to the vet. She was shaking so bad her head looked like a bobble head. I feel bad for her and I hate that I can't do more to protect her.

 

[tonyshuman]

Sounds like time for some bananas... They seem to have a bit of water content so exchanging them for a veggie may not be detrimental.

I think as long as she is moving around well and the vet isn't concerned about fatty liver disease, keeping her a bit on the heavy side is fine. I don't want this to sound bad, but if she gets seriously ill and goes off food, she will have something to rely on.

Poor girlie with her incision! Try not to think about how the improper stitching happened. Things happen. Vets get busy and when you see a hundred well-loved pets every day, it's hard to keep your cool and treat every one as special as the owner would like. I can imagine how the vet would be frustrated, and she may have made a mistake, but now it's done and there's no other thing you can do. All you could do is ask the vet for an apology at this point, I think. When I think of all the mistakes I make at work, it's good that I don't do critical surgeries on other peoples beloved pets!

Good luck.

 

[Amy27]

Thanks Claire. Chase has been on Banana's for about a month now. She gets about a piece about an inch long 4-5 times a week. I am going to introduce broccoli, raisins, cantelope and try spinach again. I tried it before and Chase didn't really care for it. You are right that if Chase does ever stop eating she will have lots of body weight to help her. I trust my vet and she thinks it is more important to get her potassium up and not to be to worried about her weight right now.

I think the same thing about mistakes, if I was doing critical surgeries I would be introuble because I do make mistakes. I do believe that the vet that did the surgery is a good vet. I believe she cared about Chase, she would ask about her even after I changed vets but would sometimes stop in there to pick up fluids since they are closer to my work and cheaper. I think her way of saying she would repair it for free even though I decided to wait the offer would stay open was kind of her way of apologizing and trying to make things right. It will just really pain me to see Chase in pain again and trying to recover for something that could have been pervented. I guess I will try to hope we never get to that point. I will be crossing my fingers that the fat fills the hole and scar tissue forms.

It is nice to know I have you guys here for Chase and I. The vet is there for me too but in a medical way, you guys really help keep me sane through this and provide me with emotional support. I really appreciate it.

 

[Maureen Las]

I am thinking that you could get a potassium supplement from a health food store in another form like a tablet or powder;

but I don't know if this is safe for rabbits

http://www.medicinenet.com/potassium_supplements-oral/article.htm

could be potentially dangerous if the level was too high ; have no idea how it would be dosed

 

[Amy27]

The vet did mention down the road we could use a supplement and I wish while I was there I had thought to ask why it had to be down the road. When she mentioned it, it didn't sound like something she really wanted to do. I may call and ask for clarification on why I would need to wait to try that.

It would make things a lot easier to do it that way. Plus a lot cheaper. I know with the banana's I waste a lot because they go black before Chase will finish one. After I peel one I can keep it good for a day or two and then I have to toss it.

I do have a few questions with feeding broccoli. Do you guys cut off most of the stem? Is it okay for them to eat the stem? I thought I read somewhere broccoli can cause gas but I can't find it now. Is that true? Do you think I could soak the broccoli in water and it would absorb it or would it make it soggy and gross?

Thanks

 

[BethM]

I'm not sure about soaking the broccoli. I have also heard that it can cause gas, so I feed it in smaller amounts. I know people who give their bunnies broccoli more regularly without problem, so it might be one of those things that depends on the bunny.

My bunnies love broccoli, and I only give them the stem. I also like broccoli, so I will get a small head, and trim the tops for myself, then cut the stem into small pieces for the bunnies. I usually don't use the thicker stem down near the bottom, mostly because I get plenty of pieces near the top. I also give them any leaves that are on it.

I haven't tried soaking broccoli in water. If you are using the tops, maybe if you just put the pieces in water for a short time (an hour or so?) right before feeding, the florets would hold some water. I wouldn't keep them in water for a long period, though.

 

[Maureen Las]

Amy27 wrote:

The vet did mention down the road we could use a supplement and I wish while I was there I had thought to ask why it had to be down the road. When she mentioned it, it didn't sound like something she really wanted to do. I may call and ask for clarification on why I would need to wait to try that.

It would make things a lot easier to do it that way. Plus a lot cheaper. I know with the banana's I waste a lot because they go black before Chase will finish one. After I peel one I can keep it good for a day or two and then I have to toss it.

I do have a few questions with feeding broccoli. Do you guys cut off most of the stem? Is it okay for them to eat the stem? I thought I read somewhere broccoli can cause gas but I can't find it now. Is that true? Do you think I could soak the broccoli in water and it would absorb it or would it make it soggy and gross?

Thanks

I think that if you looked at the link for potassium supplements that their probably is a chance of giving too much; maybe your vet never used them but it's worth looking into . Gaining weight isn't going to help her any....

Inever give broccoli LOL because it gives me gas and if it gives me gas I am afraid to give it to my rabbits

 

[tonyshuman]

My guys get it frequently. I give them the stalks off what I cook for myself, and crowns too. My guys will eat anything, of course, but broccoli seems to be a favorite with all 4, and no gas here! I don't know if it soaks up water like lettuce...