Somebody please HELP!!!

[dreekie1]

Ok, so I am obviously freaking out! My 7 month old Flemish giant is losing weight at a rapid rate! I'm really sorry if this has been posted already but I'm afraid she won't make it and I fully intend on bringing her to the vet but I'm afraid she won't make it!

Anyway, about 9 days ago she wighed 13 lbs and was ful of mischief, but then she started losing weight so I tried to feed her more and she's constantly eating so I didn't think too much about because she still had her appetite. A few days later I noticed she still wasn't gaining weight but I figured that Mary was eating her food so I started giving them more food and trying to separate them a little more at feedings and thought I'd give it a couple days. When I picked her up today (which is really weird in itself because she hates being picked up and will kick and bite me) she didn't put up a fight and it feels like she's half of her body weight. And I can feel her little ribs and I feel like crying I'm so upset. :bigtears:

None of my other rabbits are sick. I'm making an appointment first thing in the morning but chances are I won't be able to get her in until Monday, but like I said this is all happening really fast so if someone could give me some advice I'd really REALLy appreciate it. I mean, I don't have kids but this is one of my babies and I really don't want to lose her.:tears2:

 

[Maureen Las]

Is she also drinking large amounts of water. ? Weight loss could mean anything from internal parasites to kidney failure so you are doing the right thing to get her to a vet. he may want to do blood panel and.or fecal exams to determine what is going on.

 

[JBun]

You really need to get her seen before monday. When you call in the morning, make sure you tell them that it is an emergeny, and explain how poorly she is doing and how much weight she's lost. If it is parasites, then usually all that needs to be done is giving a dewormer med. Is she still eating, drinking, and pooping ok? How's her alertness level? Is she lethargic at all or is she still pretty alert?

 

[Imbrium]

I would definitely explain that you feel it's an emergency. with my vet, if there are no appointments available that day but an emergency-type situation arises (like when my baby sugar gliders had diarrhea) and you call in the morning, they'll tell you to drop the pet(s) off by 10 am or something and the vet will tend to them between appointments when he has a chance - you can *always* get same-day attention as long as you can drop your pet off in the morning and leave them there for the day. hopefully your vet has a similar set-up for emergencies.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Ok, so I am obviously freaking out! My 7 month old Flemish giant is losing weight at a rapid rate! I'm really sorry if this has been posted already but I'm afraid she won't make it and I fully intend on bringing her to the vet but I'm afraid she won't make it!

Anyway, about 9 days ago she wighed 13 lbs and was ful of mischief, but then she started losing weight so I tried to feed her more and she's constantly eating so I didn't think too much about because she still had her appetite. A few days later I noticed she still wasn't gaining weight but I figured that Mary was eating her food so I started giving them more food and trying to separate them a little more at feedings and thought I'd give it a couple days. When I picked her up today (which is really weird in itself because she hates being picked up and will kick and bite me) she didn't put up a fight and it feels like she's half of her body weight. And I can feel her little ribs and I feel like crying I'm so upset. :bigtears:

None of my other rabbits are sick. I'm making an appointment first thing in the morning but chances are I won't be able to get her in until Monday, but like I said this is all happening really fast so if someone could give me some advice I'd really REALLy appreciate it. I mean, I don't have kids but this is one of my babies and I really don't want to lose her.:tears2:

--weigh her several times a day ,start critical care feeding with probotics,--keep lots of grasses nearby/water/pellets--document everything,,--an exam,blood tests and-or-culture required http://www.medirabbit.com body temperature is very important about 102.5 degrees---we all feel as they are our babies--don,t give up sincerely james waller--:bunny19

 

[dreekie1]

She's lethargic and she appears to be using the bathroom okay. I haven't noticed if she's drinking more water than usual though... Anyway, I'm calling the vet this morning and telling them it's an emergency. Another thing, if it was a parasite wouldn't my other rabbits bee effected to?

 

[Imbrium]

would depend on the type of parasite, how it's spread, how she came into contact with it in the first place, etc... it may also be possible that immune system strength plays a role. it's also possible your other rabbits have contracted it but aren't showing symptoms yet.

you'll want to mention to the vet that you have other rabbits in case preventative treatment should be given to them - when one of my gliders got a bacterial infection, the other one got put on baytril as well, just in case (which turned out to be a very good thing since she started showing symptoms not long after I got them home).

best of luck with the vet! I really hope you can get her in today and that it's something fixable!

 

[whitelop]

Have you looked in her mouth? She could have an abscess or something wrong with her teeth, she may not be able to eat properly.

I really hope you get to the vets office this morning! Good luck, I'm sending you lots of good thoughts and wishes! :hearts

 

[ladysown]

to lose weight that fast tends not to indicate a parasite problem.

but get her to a vet. Carefully write down everything you have observed so you don't miss anything. Make it clear that every other rabbit seems to be fine, but this is very concerning since she's losing weight SO very quickly. I would give her her very own space. keep her confined, keep her away from your other rabbits.

 

[dreekie1]

So I had several shocking revelations.
1. Amelia is really an amelio.
2. Amelio might be diabetic.
3. He is extremely dehydrated because he is peeing more than he's consuming.
4. He does have a parasite and it starts with a 'c'
5. Vets charge huge fees for exotic pets
6. All my rabbits are male even though I was told they were female.
Anyway, amelio has another appointment on Sunday to check his progress on his meds (which I now have to get in the morning because I was still so shocked at founding out he was a boy and thinking my other 2 "girls" were left unsupervised with him that I left it. I know I'm a terrible person and im not being sarcastic here- i feel terrible). But I wanted to thank you all so much! You were all really quick on the draw there.

 

[missyscove]

I'm glad you were able to get him to the vet right away.
The "gender fairy" is not uncommon in rabbits as they can be challenging to properly sex when they're young.
Diabetes is extremely rare in rabbits. What sort of parasite was it that he was diagnosed with? I know you said it started with a c, but was it an external parasite like a mite, or an internal protozoan or worm or something else entirely?
I'm also curious what meds your vet prescribed.
I've found that my rabbits drink more from a bowl than from a bottle so you might consider offering a bowl if you've been using a bottle. Did he get any fluids at the vet for his dehydration?

 

[dreekie1]

I honestly can't remember the name of the parasite, I think he said it was coccerine? The medications that were prescribed were albon suspension 50 mg/ml, hivite drops 30 ml, and pans ur 100mg/ml.

I have him drinking from a bowl. They didn't give him any fluids and he didn't really tell me what the parasite was just the name. He wasnt very helpful and he wouldn't work with me on medicine and prices and such. He also ran test without telling me about them and I only found out they were run when I was at the checkout desk. That was not a very nice surprise at all.

A member of the CDAC also told me that they could've given me a prescription for the meds that'd be way cheaper than what the were charging me. Sorry, I don't mean to rant especially about the prices because I'm glad he had the test done its just now I don't have the money to run the other tests that the vet said he would really need to determine what the 'real' problem is.:nosir: because the test he ran apparently weren't really needed, which is what makes me mad because I want my money to go to tests that he actually needs but now I don't have the money to run those tests until I get paid in 2 weeks and as we Previously discussed he's REALLY sick. :nerves1

 

[dreekie1]

*panacur ( for the med)

 

[ladysown]

coccidiosis??? that tends not to be fast acting but can be if the load on their system increases rapidly.
it's carried by lots of rabbits and the likelihool of it causing problems in their system increases if they have access to their fecal waste (the occysts need 24 hours to mature).
it's highly treatable, BUT... if one has, they quite likely all do. So treating them all would probably be an excellent idea.

Keep them away from their own fecal waste! (daily cleaning is a must when doing with coccidiosis).

Making errors in sexing is not uncommon.

 

[Imbrium]

I'm sorry your vet's a bit of a *badword* and hit you with unexpectedly steep bills >< I'm SO glad your rabbit's been diagnosed and is hopefully on his way to being cured, though!

 

[dreekie1]

Thank you so much. I try to keep their cage clean daily but sometimes I wait another day. I know sounds really bad, but after this it's being done everyday even if I have to do it a 3am. Okay now I have a few more questions.

Since yesterday when I started giving him the meds his pee seems to be cloudy and I have no idea if that's normal with this sickness, or if it's a side effect of the medicine?. I never really noticed before because he always urinates in the litterbox and it gets absorbed but the vet said I needed a sample so I took it out.

The other thing is, when I got home, one of the other rabbits- not sure which- urinated blood. I thought maybe one was cut or something but they are both fine and aren't acting any different. Maybe I wrongly sexed one it it's a female on its mensis? I'm not sure.

Any guesses, thoughts, or information are welcome and most appreciated.

 

[Imbrium]

not sure about the cloudy urine, might be best to ring the vet and ask.

normally if there's blood in a rabbit's urine, it's not even visible to the naked eye. when you say "urinated blood", do you mean that the *entire* puddle was red? rabbit pee can be a LOT of different colors, red being one of them, so it's probably just regular pee (I believe red is often caused by stress or certain foods).

interesting bit of bunny knowledge - females don't actually have periods - they're induced ovulators (meaning they release eggs as a response to having sex)