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If you can't get to a vet right NOW...see if they will at least call in a prescription for you...Novo-Trimel is a sulpha drug and can be called into pretty much any pharmacy...they can make it a suspension you can syringe by mouth...this would allow you to start medicating Sylvie now...sooner is better!
 
Back from the vet guys.
So Sylvie has upper respitory and...shoot forgot the name..that stomach GI thing. I have meds for her and antibiotics i am giving her, the vet said they arnt sure if she will make it or not, which was very hard to hear, they said she has is VERY bad and that i spread way to quickly..but how? she was fine like 2 days ago.
i am trying my best right now. thats all i can do.
wish us both luck and pray for her to come threw.
 
It is good that you went to the vet!! That will give her the best chance of survival. The GI bacterial imbalance can cause so much damage so quickly because young bunnies have a very unstable population of bacteria in their gut. If you think about it, they're born with (almost) no bacteria in their gut. They feed off mom for ~6 weeks, and during that time, they only have to digest milk, which is really simple to digest, and they're protected by their mom's immune system. Being with the mom helps them because she passes her GI bacteria on to her. The most important bacteria are in the cecum, that makes cecotropes, which are those poops that they eat. The mom eats her poops, licks herself and her babies clean, and that's how she passes these good GI bacteria on to her kits. Then the bunnies can move on to solid food around 6 weeks of age and slowly test the GI bacterial population they have, until they're adults and have finished growing and have a stable gut. Between weaning and 6mo-1yr of age, these bacterial populations aren't very well established--they've only been there for a little while, and getting the correct balance of bacteria can be difficult. Any stress or diet change can quickly cause overgrowth of some of these bacteria, which can kill the others, so that you only have one species in there. That one species is too much--they grow out of control and release toxins into the body of the rabbit. They can't digest the rest of their food properly. The diarrhea and toxins can very quickly lead to death.

As for how quickly the URI has progressed, again I think it has to do with the immune system. After weaning a baby rabbit no longer has its mom's immune system to protect it, so it has to develop one of its own. Going through something stressful, like moving to a new home, can cause one of the opportunistic bacteria that are always present at small amounts in the rabbit to grow out of control, because stress suppresses the immune system. Because the immune system isn't mature, this type of infection can go out of control.

Juts like human babies, the immune system of a young rabbit is very weak. In particular, their GI bacterial populations aren't well established. That's why diarrhea/mucous in a young rabbit is an emergency in my book, and we've seen too many times that it can be deadly. :cry1: Just like you have to take special precautions around young human babies, you have to be really careful with rabbit babies. Laws require you in many states to not sell baby rabbits before 8 weeks of age. Even after 8 weeks, they need to be treated extra gently to keep them healthy, such as minimizing stress as much as possible.

I'll be praying for you guys. I'm glad you have the medicines you need to have a chance to beat this.
 
:pray:I really hope Sylvie pulls through this. Hang in there baby girl. Praying for you and your bunnies.

I don't know what to say. Keep a close eye on the others (1 or 2 others?) - I would rush to the vet at the first sign of something wrong to give them a fighting chance. :pray:
 
This entire thread scares me.It shows me that vets have a lot to learn about a rabbit GI. First, Sulfa drugs (and they come in a variety of names such as Sulfatrim, TMZ, SMA, Bactrim among many others)are never appropriate for a GI issue (or much else in a rabbit)....in fact, it makes things worse....look up Tyzzer's Disease. Baytril would be ineffective against Clostridium. Albon would be ineffective. Cipro would be ineffective (human version of Baytril with slight coverage difference). Gut motility drugs such as Cisapride carry a lot of risk. GI motility drugs are never allowed for use in our rabbits....and not a one of my vets will even think about using them.

The thing here, as with any other GI disturbance, is that you have an imbalance. The goal is to get bacterial balance again. And we know that rabbits don't like a lot of changing things going in their gut. "Steady the ship".....do no more than necessary to stabilize the situation. All of these drugs and other stuff just add stress....and that will make things worse too.

Here is my specific protocols for dealing with cecal dysbiosis or whatever name you call it in your area.

>Hydration. Dilute and move the toxins. Oral and sub-q if you have the ability to do so.

>Don't sweat the food.....dehydration will cause major problems long before lack of food.

>Metronidazole is the only antibiotic that should be put in a gut compromised like this. Metronidazole is effective against anaerobic bacteria....and the most likely cause of this problem is an overgrowth of Clostirdium (which is an obligate anerobe) secondary to some life issue that has caused stress or injury. Metronidazole is also a very effective anti-inflammatory.

>Bind the toxins. We have used Questran....but as I mentioned in an earlier post on this thread, there are some issues in acquiring and adminstering this drug.

>We use a horse product called BioSponge to bind and filter the toxins released in a major GI event.

And this is something that has to be done cautiously, but you can offer citrus (juice or small pieces of oranges) to help acidify the gut...ascorbic acid. It's water soluable and is excreted easily thru the kidneys. This will also help stabilize the pH in the gut and make for a more favorable climate for repopulation of beneficial bacteria. But this has to be done with caution. A high quality probiotic (no yogurt) would be a safer way to alter and stabiize the pH.

And I see you are back from the vet....I am almost scared to ask, but what drugs is your rabbit on?

Randy
 
I thought Albon was Metronidazole. I have a hard time keeping the names and applications of antibiotics straight. The brand name for metronidazole is Flagyl.
 
She says Sylvie is taking Metoclopramide. They told her to get Sylvie some Neomycin Sulfate if it gets worse. I don't know what that is but I'm guessing it's some sulfa drug Randy mentioned would not be good for a rabbit with GI issues.
Sylvie also got some IV drip for 90 minutes at the vet. But we don't know what it is... she's looking for the bottle.

Why would they administer an anti neasea drug?? What is it supposed to do?
 
i am calling them ASAP and letting them know they gave me bad meds and i am going to demand different meds for her! I am SO pissed
 
What else are you doing for Sylvie? Now that you probably have an oral syringe, if you are not already, use it to force-feed water or pedialyte, but don't hold the bun upside down when doing so because you could get fluid in the lungs. Also look for Benebac to administer, I just bought some at Petco.
 
Unfortunately not much you can do. The fluids administered IV or SubQ were the best treatment along with antibiotics and a pro-biotic like Bene-bac. Syringe feed Pedialyte at home if you can. Keep her warm and hope for the best.


sas :pray:
 
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