Sammybunny
Well-Known Member
It is with great sadness that I post that my little Sammy buns lost his battle with assumed megacolon. He had never been a normal bunny since I got him at six weeks old. He had always had oddly shaped poo and frequent tummy upsets. i became a pro at noticing the signs and giving baby gas x. We were just careful about what he could eat and he would be fine.
Last October, he stopped up really badly and I took him in to the vet and he was going into gastric stasis. We treated him through it and he got better. We did a workup, and checked teeth and looked for reasons why he could be stopping up like that. I did some research and found out about megacolon. It is a very controversial diagnosis as some vets don't even believe that it exists in rabbits. Well little Sammy was textbook with all the signs. He was a white Holland Lop with the color spots around the eyes and back, which seem the color that gets this. He had the large marshmellow poops that were smelly and never normal, even on good days. There was no cure and just management of the disease as it progressed. I knew that eventually that I wouldn't be able to get him out of a crisis. Last January, he backed up really bad again. Again, we did supportive care and fluids and eventually he got better. Since then he would get periods of gassy tummy and not want to eat. I nursed him through each time. These times were getting closer and closer together. I knew that I wouldn't be able to knock him out of it again.
Well, last monday he went off his feed. I gave him some gas x and then as he didn't improve, i started the emergency protocol that we adopted. This was the usual SQ fluids, oral fluids, lactulose pain meds ect. This time was different and he wasn't responding like normal. i tried everything, vets were of no use as the disease has progressed so far. Friday night I cleaned him up, and he didn't look real good. I cuddled him a little bit and told him that it was ok to give up and that I would take him in to the vets in the morning. I put him in his cage, and not even a half hour passed and he was gone.
I am lost and sad as I tried my hardest to make him better, i miss him so much, his rushing to the front of the cage for treats, him flopping on his side to rest, and watching him and his cagemate Charlotte together. I feel even worse for her. She is now all alone. Getting another rabbit at this point in my life isn't an option, but i worry for her being an only bunny. She isn't super people oriented either. This is such a tragic end.
Last October, he stopped up really badly and I took him in to the vet and he was going into gastric stasis. We treated him through it and he got better. We did a workup, and checked teeth and looked for reasons why he could be stopping up like that. I did some research and found out about megacolon. It is a very controversial diagnosis as some vets don't even believe that it exists in rabbits. Well little Sammy was textbook with all the signs. He was a white Holland Lop with the color spots around the eyes and back, which seem the color that gets this. He had the large marshmellow poops that were smelly and never normal, even on good days. There was no cure and just management of the disease as it progressed. I knew that eventually that I wouldn't be able to get him out of a crisis. Last January, he backed up really bad again. Again, we did supportive care and fluids and eventually he got better. Since then he would get periods of gassy tummy and not want to eat. I nursed him through each time. These times were getting closer and closer together. I knew that I wouldn't be able to knock him out of it again.
Well, last monday he went off his feed. I gave him some gas x and then as he didn't improve, i started the emergency protocol that we adopted. This was the usual SQ fluids, oral fluids, lactulose pain meds ect. This time was different and he wasn't responding like normal. i tried everything, vets were of no use as the disease has progressed so far. Friday night I cleaned him up, and he didn't look real good. I cuddled him a little bit and told him that it was ok to give up and that I would take him in to the vets in the morning. I put him in his cage, and not even a half hour passed and he was gone.
I am lost and sad as I tried my hardest to make him better, i miss him so much, his rushing to the front of the cage for treats, him flopping on his side to rest, and watching him and his cagemate Charlotte together. I feel even worse for her. She is now all alone. Getting another rabbit at this point in my life isn't an option, but i worry for her being an only bunny. She isn't super people oriented either. This is such a tragic end.