Edie hasnt eaten today & just failed the treat test (RIP)

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EdieRabbitsMom

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She hasn't eaten all day. All food was gone from her bowl this morning and I saw her drink water, though. She is molting BAD! She acts a bit quieter than usual, but I wouldn't think she was sick judging her behavior. She passed up banana which she hasNEVER done. I called Univ of TN vet hospital & they can't see her until next Tues. so I calleda local vet that works with buns said he'd squeeze me in in the morning at 9:30. What do I do in the meantime? There was a good bit of fur in her water bowl this morning, could that be the problem? Or the molting? She is about 4 and I've had her 2 yrs. This is the first time she's been sick.
 
It's pretty common for the hair from a molt to cause a gut slowdown which leads to gas and discomfort.

The key is a lot of fluids, fiber, massage and some gas meds.

Try syringe feeding some Pedialyte, canned pumpkin and a big dose of baby or regular gas meds (main ingredient is Simethicone), give her a loooong tummy massage, maybe vibration therapy (with a massage tool or vibrating toothbrush, or put her on a running dryer), and encourage exercise.

With a diligent regime, she'll probably be just fine by tomorrow.


sas :clover:
 
PS: Can you put your location in your profile?

Also encourage her to eat wet veggies, maybe try waving a well-soaked piece of parsley in her face, they will most often grab it in anger and then munch it down. ;)


sas
 
I agree that hydration is the most important thing. Offer her some pedialyte. My guys like the unflavored stuff with grenadine added and will drink it up quickly. I'd put out some pumpkin puree if you can get your hands on it--it's usually sold near the pumpkin pie filling (in the US grocery stores). Also do the simethicone (1mL/hr for 3 hrs) and massages. If you have any metacam left over from her spay or whatever (less than 6 mo old) that would be good to give IF you can get some water and food in her belly. Also offer her a heat source, like a well-tended heating pad (no chewing on that!), water bottle, or dry rice sock (dry rice in an old sock, microwave 1-2 min). The heat can help if there's tummy pain. Change the water so there's no fur in it as well. Wet veggies too, plus I really like probiotics like Bene-Bac and Probios in this situation.
 
Baci had the same thing about a month ago and he was also molting alot. This site was very helpful on some home remedy before we were able to take him to the vet. Even the vet was impressed.

Like Pipp suggested, syringe some pedialyte, simethecone and canned pumpkin. We also had to syringe feed him that. What I did was kept waving some greens and hay in his face till he literally got pissed at me and ate it! Was a stressful 2 weeks but he's back to his normal self. In fact more loving, almost like he's grateful we took care of him. Never thought I'd say how happy I am to see poop!

Good luck and keep us updated.
 
Ugh...sorry...I just got home about an hour ago from working and had to tend to my 5 month old. Edie seems to be feeling okay, but still no poop and the banana is still there. She is drinking water. I gave her some hair ball remedy with a syringe before I left, per advice of the UT vet school. I'll syringe some simethicone drops and some more water and soak some leafy greens in water and annoy her. I don't have any pedialyte or canned pumpkin on hand. I brought her inside and she is sleeping in her pen in the bonus room. I think I'll sleep in here with her. Poor little thing. I'm praying for poop!
 
It's good that she's drinking. If she starts to seem lethargic or less alert, that's an emergency situation. We don't always like the hairball remedy because it can keep the furry poo that's blocking the intestines from getting water in it to help it move along, but some people do use it.
 
What hair ball remedy are you using? Those products are not made for rabbits and will make any impaction worse. Products like Laxotone or Petro Malt will dehydrate and compact any ingesta impaction and that is the exact opposite of what is needed. The primary attack against stasis/ileus should always be hydration. Hydration, hydration, hydration! My suggestion, unless you have a dog or cat that gets true hairballs...toss that stuff.

Rabbits rarely get hairballs. They do get impactions, usually caused by either a diet too low in fiber or by becoming dehydrated, that are a mass of ingesta (undigested food), fur and mucus. The idea is to break up the mucus which will usually resolve the impaction. Our first response to anything resembling stasis is hydration either by oral and/or sub q fluids and wet greens. Dandelions are always popular here.

Keep in mind that stasis is always a symptom of something else....and as I mentioned, usually either diet or dehydration. The best treatment for stasis is prevention. A high fiber (unlimited hay) and low protein (limited pellets and treats) will prevent many stasis events. I would suggest reviewing your husbandry protocols just to be sure.

Randy
 
Well, great! I can't believe the vet school told me to give her hair ball medicine. She is still quite alert...she hated me syringing the simethicone and water and kept jumping out of my arms. I do have her laying on a heating pad, which is under the mat of her pen. She seems to be enjoying that. I can't get her to eat any veggies, though, no matter how I annoy her. She is just way too gentle to get annoyed with me waving it in her face. She is SUCH a sweet bun. She sits in my lap and licks me while watching tv. She does get unlimited hay (or grass), low protein pellets and usually her water is hair free, but she is molting so badly right now. I've changed her water twice already since I got home tonight. Sometimes I wish I could shave her! My poor baby!
 
How big is she?

I usually put out a separate bowl of water spiked with just a little fruit juice and that gets them drinking more on their own.

No canned pumpkin? You really can't let the GI tract get empty, she needs to eat something and canned pumpkin is easy to syringe. If you can get some somewhere, I'd highly recommend that.

For sure if she's not eating by morning, she'll need it ASAP, or better yet, I'd try and get some Critical Care. 24 hours without food is pretty much the cut off, it becomes an emergency after that.

If all you can get her to drink is syringed water, I'd try and get I think at least 10 cc's in her, more if she'll take it.

The tummy rubs and exercise are also important.

I usually 'groom' my guys during molts by petting them with wet hands. I have a bowl of warm water and a roll of paper towels handy.


sas :clover:
 
I have baby food...could I syringe feed her that? (peas, greenbeans, sweet potatoes, squash, peaches, applesauce, pears)
 
EdieRabbitsMom wrote:
I have baby food...could I syringe feed her that? (peas, greenbeans, sweet potatoes, squash, peaches, applesauce, pears)
Click to expand...
OMG we had the same thought at exactly the same moment ; I didn't read your post first
 
Bunnies really like their water flavored with cranberry juice, grenadine (props to Naturestee on that one, I'd never have tried it without her suggestion), apple juice, or failing any of those, a drop of vanilla extract. I'd try to syringe her at least 20mL(mL=cc) of water, up to maybe 100mL if she doesn't mind taking it from you. Make sure if you flavor the water you also leave out a bowl of plain.

If she doesn't eat for 24 hours force feeding will be necessary. Critical care is best, but canned pumpkin and/or pellet slurry work well too.

When you have the vet see her, make sure they check all over, including teeth. A lot of times tooth issues lead to bunnies not wanting to eat and going into stasis. Some breeds are more prone to tooth issues as well.
 
I keep baby food on hand as well for syringe feeding. I haven't done it myself, though. Any of the fruits you listed sound good, but be careful with them as excess sugar can make GI stasis worse. The veggies sound good except for green beans--they have stuff in them that's not good for bunnies.
 
Squash is probably the best--most like pumpkin in consistency and sugar content.
 
Okay, I had carrots, so I just fed her 10 ml of that, plus 10 more ml of water. I was out of the squash...that is what I was going to give her. She has been drinking water. Should I give her more? She is a Californian and weighs about 10 lbs. Oh, I've also given hertwo tummy massages.
 
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