Mucoid Enteritis

[tonyshuman]

Good wishes are sent your way. It sounds like your vet understands rabbit insides, and that's enough for me to trust their decisions. It is a bit unorthodox to do sugary stuff and sulfa drugs, as I'm sure you know, but if it works, that's proof enough.

 

[Runestonez]

lol
I was leery when she recommended rice pablum and unsweetened applesauce...not something I would do. I told her we had a slurry of pellets and pumpkin that he was taking...she just looked at me and said that if he hasn't eaten properly in at least a day all the fibre in the world won't help if he is too weak to process it and might actually add to the impaction...so keep doing the slurry if we wanted...but get something with a bit of sugar in it to bolster him. About 30 miutes after eating he was a bit brighter and more active...and his gut really seems to be moving better.He has less swelling too...She is a bit unorthadox at times...but she has been our vet for over 15 years and hasn't been wrong yet!(and she knows it too!) lol

I always thought that the mucus was a result of bacterial overgrowth in the intestines...but with what we discussed this morning and what we both read...it looks like(in this case at least) the mucus is a response to the caecum being impacted and it is the bodies way of trying to move things along...if the blockage dries out due to dehydration then the chances are good that bunn will die. The distention is due to the blockage backing everything up behind it. Mostolder rabbits wouldgo into GI stasis but the wee ones develop the over production of mucus to compensate. This is the dumbed down version...and I know that at times there is the precesnce and overgowth of bacteria...but we did swabs today and that isn't the case here for us...so we stand a fairly good chance as long as he keeps trying to eat and he can pass the blockage!

 

[naturestee]

Little bugger! The energy and naughtiness is a good sign though. :highfive:

If he's more used to the pumpkin, you can use that instead of applesauce. It has a fair bit of sugar in it as it is actually a fruit. Had to look up rice pablum- FYI for all us non-Canadians it's baby rice cereal. Honestly I'd still prefer pellet slurry (or better yet Critical Care) because it's more similar to what he's used to eating. Either way, use at least something with some fiber in it so his gut has something more "normal" to work on.

FYI intestinal mucous in rabbits can be caused by any intestinal irritation, diarrhea, or slowdown. Fey often gets it when her megacolon symptoms are acting up.

If he's made it this far and is now spunky, I'd say his chances are better than they were last night or this morning. That's my unprofessional opinion, of course. Still, if he's sick tomorrow I'd get the second antibiotic for Clostridium. The sulfa drug won't work at all on that and it's probably a big factor in the diarrhea and discomfort. That's what my vet considered to be the big problem, as well as Randy who is certainly well-versed in baby rabbit intestinal issues.

 

[Runestonez]

Unfortunately, it was Finn who presented with diarrhea...Guffy started out in stasis. Which is what stymied us for a while at the beginning.

The only reason I agreed to try the rice cereal(sorry!) is because he has been eating hay on his own now...no poops yet...but he is taking in fiber on his own fairly regularly...if he were still refusing to eat I would have stuck with the slurry and might have added a bit of applesauce to the mix but I probably wouldn't have gone for the baby cereal.

His bloating is way down..for awhile there it looked like he was going to lose this battle...his ribs were nice and trim and then his bloat just bulged out...he has no gas sounds...although he did a bunny fart tonight...my hubby was so proud.:rofl: I guess he had tried to do a pee but when he clenched it popped out. LOL Yay but gross! He is looking much trimmer now...still with that blockage though. Looks like another long night ahead...

So we are fighting stasis now for the most part...so on we go.

BTW-I had the most horrifying nightmare the other night...I guess I was feeling guilty about not being able to save Finn...I don't know...but everytime I close my eyes I see it and I get sick to my stomach and nauseous...ugh...I don't think I'll ever forget it now...I guess it was a by product of being just worn out and tired...but sometimes I just wish when I slept my mind did too.

 

[naturestee]

Runestonez wrote:

BTW-I had the most horrifying nightmare the other night...I guess I was feeling guilty about not being able to save Finn...I don't know...but everytime I close my eyes I see it and I get sick to my stomach and nauseous...ugh...I don't think I'll ever forget it now...I guess it was a by product of being just worn out and tired...but sometimes I just wish when I slept my mind did too.

Boy does that sound familiar. I lost Gir the night before Dora got sick from the same thing. Then I stayed up late with her, watching movies to keep myself from falling asleep. I watched Donnie Darko with what I thought was a dying 2 week old bun snuggled on me... boy did that mess me up!:shock:

If the main problem seems to be stasis, fiber is better than carbs. He'll need some carbs for energy, but it's fiber that will help push stuff through the intestines.

 

[Runestonez]

Finally!
This morning at 3am Guffy finally started to pass poops!

He didn't do anymore afterwards. He refused to take any of his meds today...he kept holding it in his mouthand pulling the towel over his head! Bugger!

I got tired of fighting with him so I gave up and told him I was going to take a shower and if he hadn't pooped by the time I came back...he had to take all his meds with no fussing. So I put him on the floor and left...half hour later the floor looked like a poop bomb had gone off! OMG! I didn't think a tiny bunny could hold that much poop! I checked his tum and it is no longer hard...and he is eating again...

Thank the gods! I can go to bed tonight! :bunnydance:

 

[tonyshuman]

ha! So glad you've got lots of :litterhealthy: and can get some :bed: