Feeling pretty helpless...

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bunnylovexoxo

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My bunny, Dexter has blockage.. So worried about him :(
I took him to the doctor the day I noticed it, which was yesterday. The vet said he thought he would be okay. They gave us some medicine that we have to give him through an IV for the next few days that is supposed to help him use the bathroom, but still nothing has happened. I can tell he feels much better, I just really hop he uses the bathroom soon.
Is there anything I can do for him in the next few days to help him? And should I allow him to eat if he wants to? I was going to crush his greens up really good for him. He's my baby, and I just really hope he will be okay..
 
Definitely allow him to eat if he's interested. That will help keep his system going. It's great to push hay and dark greens for fiber, but if all he'll eat is pellets or treats, give him those. Whatever he will take willingly!

I have only had one case of wool block over the years. He didn't eat on his own for 21 days, even a trip to the vet did nothing. Finally I gave cat hairball medication and probiotics...he was fine the next morning! So that is the combo I would recommend. I had tried EVERYTHING else before that.
 
Didn't the vet send you home with oxbow critical care food mix, to syringe feed him with? If a rabbit isn't eating on it's own for more than 12-24 hours, it's important that you are syringe feeding, or the stasis can get even worse. Rabbits need to keep eating to keep the contents of the digestive system moving through. They also need moisture to help break the blockage up. So you also need to be syringing water if he isn't drinking, and dark leafy greens like green leaf lettuce, cilantro, and parsley, also will help, and those are things that a rabbit will sometimes still eat on it's own even though it won't eat pellets or hay. I disagree with feeding pellets and treats though. There is already a bacterial imbalance causing the stasis, and feeding treats and pellets(that have sugar and grain in it) can just make the problem even worse. A tiny bit of pellets is probably ok, but the main things you want him eating are grass hay and leafy greens, and critical care if he won't eat on his own. If you can't get critical care and he still isn't eating on his own, you could try plain 100% canned pumpkin(not the pie filling with added spices) and syringe it to him if he won't eat it. As a last resort you can soak the pellets(you may have to blend them up in the blender to get it smooth enough to syringe feed) and try syringe feeding, but I really don't like to be feeding pellets when a rabbit has stasis, so do it only if you can't feed him something better. But he has to eat. I fed about 6-9cc of critical care(pudding like consistancy) every 4 hours for a 3 lb rabbit. Also don't feed if your rabbit is cold, which can happen with stasis. Warm your rabbit up with a warm pack or warm towels before feeding.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Did the vet give you anything besides the gut motility med? You really should have been given metacam to help control the pain. It is just as important as the motility med, if not more. If a rabbit is in pain it won't eat on its own. The metacam will help get your rabbit eating on its own again. You can also give simethicone(infant gas relief) to get the gas pain under control too. The dose is 1cc(20mg/ml) evey hour for 3 hours, then every 3-8 hours as needed. Both metacam and simethicone are essential to get the pain controlled. Tummy massages also help, as well as letting your rabbit hop and run around helps to get the gut moving again. Cat hairball med isn't usually recommended, but if you are considering it, I would use it as a last resort. It may take a couple days for him to start pooping again. It took my rabbit 2 days before he did, then it stopped again and was another 2 days before he pooped again, but you don't want it to go too long, as toxins can start to build up. So if it doesn't happen soon, then talk to your vet. I don't know if your vet is very experienced with rabbits, and if you don't feel that the vet is, here are some good rabbit vet listings.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html
 

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