molly
Well-Known Member
I'm sure there are a million threads out there but I have no energy to search and read through them for what I need right now.
I adopted a male bunny to be a companion to my lone female, Chantale, two weeks ago. I picked him up from the shelter on Wednesday night after his neuter and right away noticed nasal congestion. It wasn't serious and there were no secretions but it was noteworthy enough that I emailed the person in charge of the exotics department to make her aware.
Thursday he wasn't enthusiastic about food so I force fed him and booked him an appointment on Friday just in case. Of course he was not congested when we were at the vet. Vet found nothing abnormal in the exam other than watery eyes. He told me if the congestion didn't improve or worsened by the following week, to start Baytril but he didn't want to start it right away because of the mild stasis.
Saturday he was fine, poops and appetite were great. Sunday morning he was hiding and when I coaxed him out he was weaker on his left side... Started Baytril and Metacam right away, force fed and went to a fundraiser I was volunteering at. Sunday when I got home he was worse and in full blown stasis...
I started everything right away and worked hard to keep him as stable as possible until I could get him to the vet Tuesday. He was in horrible shape, awful head tilt, developed a fever (he had a low temp the day before), was rolling, no stools whatsoever. He was hospitalized by the SPCA (he was technically my foster at that point so I didn't have complete control of his medical decisions) and remained in hospital until Friday. He was treated for E. cuniculi, an inner ear infection (although there's no evidence of one) and Pasteurella. I thought the latter two were the same but the vet listed them separately.
He didn't respond to enemas or any of the other treatments for stasis at the vet and had fewer than 50 stools the entire time he was there, all incredibly small. (Smaller than mouse droppings.) I had concerns about him not recovering and the SPCA does not have unlimited resources so I adopted him and took over his care. I asked about adding lactulose but the vet would not consider it and we had a huge disagreement about his care so I pulled him out of hospital - no sense in me taking over the hospitalization costs if I have no input in his care.
Unfortunately, she would not even send me home with the same meds he was on in hospital so it's been a long few days trying to care for him. I managed to get some injectable Baytril so I'm able to avoid giving it orally and his stasis is improving but his head tilt is not improving and he will not be able to eat properly unless I'm able to change that.
Currently he is on:
He was on Panacur but I stopped that because my vet doubts it's E. cuni and he was concerned about the effect on his liver.
My regular vet is away until Thursday but he's in email contact with me. He suggested zithro instead of Baytril but I'm concerned because he's still in GIS. He's producing about 100-120 fecal stools per day right now but they are so small. He has a hard time eating on his own and gets flustered after a bite or two. He will eat CC off my finger and munch away at leafy veggies if I hold them for him but it's not enough. His temperature is often between 37 and 38 but is slowly improving.
I don't know what to do. He's in stasis and could deteriorate any day but he won't fully recover unless we improve the head tilt. He won't be able to keep receiving injectable Baytril for much longer, he's been receiving it for a week now and that's longer than recommended already.
I know nothing about his history, except that he's supposed to be 3 years old.
He does seem happier as each day goes by and his appetite seems to improve but I can't seem to get his poops to be a nice size. I'm guessing he has a large ball of fur and food in his stomach and it's taking time to break up. Lots of gas unfortunately and the Simethicone only does so much.
He was in a lot of pain this weekend but that seems to have subsided.
Any treatment suggestions would be appreciated. Info or advice about how to care for a bunny with a moderate tilt if his is not reversible would be as well.
I'm so tired and emotionally spent. I adopted him to be a friend for Chantale because I think she's too lonely but I really hesitated because I did not want the possibility of having to care for another sick bunny at some point. I did not expect him to get seriously ill in the first week with me.
I adopted a male bunny to be a companion to my lone female, Chantale, two weeks ago. I picked him up from the shelter on Wednesday night after his neuter and right away noticed nasal congestion. It wasn't serious and there were no secretions but it was noteworthy enough that I emailed the person in charge of the exotics department to make her aware.
Thursday he wasn't enthusiastic about food so I force fed him and booked him an appointment on Friday just in case. Of course he was not congested when we were at the vet. Vet found nothing abnormal in the exam other than watery eyes. He told me if the congestion didn't improve or worsened by the following week, to start Baytril but he didn't want to start it right away because of the mild stasis.
Saturday he was fine, poops and appetite were great. Sunday morning he was hiding and when I coaxed him out he was weaker on his left side... Started Baytril and Metacam right away, force fed and went to a fundraiser I was volunteering at. Sunday when I got home he was worse and in full blown stasis...
I started everything right away and worked hard to keep him as stable as possible until I could get him to the vet Tuesday. He was in horrible shape, awful head tilt, developed a fever (he had a low temp the day before), was rolling, no stools whatsoever. He was hospitalized by the SPCA (he was technically my foster at that point so I didn't have complete control of his medical decisions) and remained in hospital until Friday. He was treated for E. cuniculi, an inner ear infection (although there's no evidence of one) and Pasteurella. I thought the latter two were the same but the vet listed them separately.
He didn't respond to enemas or any of the other treatments for stasis at the vet and had fewer than 50 stools the entire time he was there, all incredibly small. (Smaller than mouse droppings.) I had concerns about him not recovering and the SPCA does not have unlimited resources so I adopted him and took over his care. I asked about adding lactulose but the vet would not consider it and we had a huge disagreement about his care so I pulled him out of hospital - no sense in me taking over the hospitalization costs if I have no input in his care.
Unfortunately, she would not even send me home with the same meds he was on in hospital so it's been a long few days trying to care for him. I managed to get some injectable Baytril so I'm able to avoid giving it orally and his stasis is improving but his head tilt is not improving and he will not be able to eat properly unless I'm able to change that.
Currently he is on:
- Injectable Baytril
- Pen G
- Cisapride
- Infant Gravol
- Simethicone
- Metacam
- Ranitidine
- Lactulose
- Metronidazole
- sub q fluids
- force feed (Critical Care)
- papaya tablets
- BeneBac
He was on Panacur but I stopped that because my vet doubts it's E. cuni and he was concerned about the effect on his liver.
My regular vet is away until Thursday but he's in email contact with me. He suggested zithro instead of Baytril but I'm concerned because he's still in GIS. He's producing about 100-120 fecal stools per day right now but they are so small. He has a hard time eating on his own and gets flustered after a bite or two. He will eat CC off my finger and munch away at leafy veggies if I hold them for him but it's not enough. His temperature is often between 37 and 38 but is slowly improving.
I don't know what to do. He's in stasis and could deteriorate any day but he won't fully recover unless we improve the head tilt. He won't be able to keep receiving injectable Baytril for much longer, he's been receiving it for a week now and that's longer than recommended already.
I know nothing about his history, except that he's supposed to be 3 years old.
He does seem happier as each day goes by and his appetite seems to improve but I can't seem to get his poops to be a nice size. I'm guessing he has a large ball of fur and food in his stomach and it's taking time to break up. Lots of gas unfortunately and the Simethicone only does so much.
He was in a lot of pain this weekend but that seems to have subsided.
Any treatment suggestions would be appreciated. Info or advice about how to care for a bunny with a moderate tilt if his is not reversible would be as well.
I'm so tired and emotionally spent. I adopted him to be a friend for Chantale because I think she's too lonely but I really hesitated because I did not want the possibility of having to care for another sick bunny at some point. I did not expect him to get seriously ill in the first week with me.
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