My poorly bunny

[mel d]

Hello, I am new to the forum and I wander if anyone has any ideas on this.

Snowy has been in good health up to now he went to the vets the other day because his eating and pooing had decreased, the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him his teeth looked fine and his stomach was fine no blockages, so to get his gut working he put snowy on fiberplex and zantac, he was on them for 2 days when he stopped eating altogether and started losing weight so he was admitted to the vet hospital while there not only was he still on fiberplex and zantac they gave him meloxidyl,maxolon and panacur and feeding him oxbow 3 times a day. Alot of medication for a rabbit.He has been on those now for 3 days showing small improvement he is trying to eat small amounts of hay, carrots, and now passing a few poos.

The vet did a blood test and it came back ok except one of the liver enzymes was on the low side the vet said this is due to him not feeling well and there is nothing to worry about.

I also am wandering if this has been brought on because I had bought a baby male rabbit into the house and snowy has just got stressed over him.

Has anyone had this problem with their rabbit or have any ideas.

Thanks

 

[Pipp]

How old is he?

Did he have a head x-ray or just a visual? Did they x-ray his stomach?

A new bunny could certainly have stressed him out and reduced his appetite, but the question is why is he getting worse. The stress could have been an initial trigger leading to the upset and one thing can lead to another in terms of bacterial imbalances in the gut or even tooth issues.

The Oxbow will keep him nourished and that alone will make him feel better.

The fibreplex is a supplement for rabbits, shouldn't be a problem. I believe Zantac is geared to prevent ulcers, it reduces stomach acids. I don't know much about this in rabbits other than some Vets prescribe it when they're giving bunnies other medications like Metacam, not sure why it would have been prescribed on its own. I think that might be more common in the UK.

The meloxidyl I believe is similar to Metacam, or at least its an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Maxolon is the same as Reglan, which is supposed to artificially make the gut move -- and the general thought here is that its horrible stuff, don't use it. The Panacur is a de-wormer.

It sounds like the vet has no idea what's wrong and he's throwing everything there is at the poor guy.

If he's sensitive to stress, not sure being in a Vet hospital is the best place for treatment, but a diagnosis is needed here.


sas :clover:

 

[mel d]

Pipp wrote:

How old is he?

Did he have a head x-ray or just a visual? Did they x-ray his stomach? 
the question is why is he getting worse. 

He hasn't had any xrays yet, they don't really know what they are treating him for he has been at the hospital for 3 days and today I decided the best place for him was at home with us in his normal surroundings.

He is 1 yr old on the 4th april. Before I brought him home the vet said while he has been in hospital he has lost more weight, he was 3.7kg now 2.6kg, I think its kg not sure.

 

[pla725]

I agree that an x-ray is needed asap. That is only way to get a better idea of what is going. If you vet isn't interested in doing that find another vet.

 

[tonyshuman]

Based on what I've read, it seems that the first thing your vet should do is give fluids, and I would not want to be using a gut motility drug unless a clear x-ray had been taken that shows it was needed.

Also, Zantac isn't going to help--it decreases the acidity of the gut, which is the opposite of what you want in a bunny with GI stress. Increased acidity makes the good bacteria grow.

The Fibreplex contains good bacteria that will increase the acidity of the gut.

I think the pain meds are fine as long as he has water and food in him.

I would ask for an x-ray and if they're giving him supplemental fluids. Those can really help a bunny with gi distress by hydrating the dry mass in the intestines that's "clogging" them up, and letting it slide on out (sorry to be graphic.

 

[mel d]

Since yesterday Snowy has done around 96 droppings hopefully this is a good sign.

The other thing that is bothering me is that the meloxidyl is in kg but the vet wants me to give him 0.8ml, I have queried this as I have given this to one of my other bunnys before and I know it wasn't that much.

Has anyone administered this amount to their bunny before:?

Thanks

 

[Pipp]

It took me awhile to figure out that Meloxidyl is the same as Metacam 1.5 suspension, but the usual dose is between .1 and .2 ml per kg (with rabbits going to the high side, they're still experimenting), and the 'kick off' dose is twice the regular dose.

So technically the high end of the scale for the first dose can be .8. But is he in a lot of pain? And if so, why?

Has there been a diagnosis? I'm not sure I trust your Vet based on the treatment so far.

sas :expressionless