Something is wrong with Dolla

[Boz]

I just went to feed the bunnies. They always are excited and they are all over the place ready for their food.

When I went to feed Domino and Dolla. Domino ran to her food dish... Dolla didn't. That's unusual. REALLY unusual. She loves her food.

So I put some pellets by her. She sniffed it but didn't really bother. So I gave her a dried apple pealing and she ate that.

I picked her up... she's got a dirty butt.

:tears2:

She ate this morning. She was fine this morning...
Nothing is really different. I redid her Domino and Dolla's cage last night but I don't know if that'd effect her like this. I haven't changed their diet. I've had the same pellets for a few weeks now. You know... I did give her some Kaytee Timothay hay that I had extra from this summer but I don't think it was bad... Domino ate it. Domino is fine.

I don't know what I can do. The vet is closed Sundays and it's already 9:40 PM... I'm so worried and scared. :cry2

 

[SOOOSKA]

Poor Dolla, can you pick her up and give her tummy rubbies? If it's gas maybe that will help to get rid of it.

Do you have any gas medicne? As soon as I notice any of our bunnies not feeling well I give them some and I find it really helps. I also try to get them to move around or at least walk around holding them rubbing their tummy.

I'm sure one of the Infirmary Mods will come on and give you more advice.

I sure hope that Little Beauty starts to feel better real soon.

Prayers for her quick recovery

Susan

 

[Boz]

Thanks for the reply!

I put her a small bin I've used for a little box before (it has high sides and a low front) but I covered the front with a NIC panel. I put some hay in it and a towel. When I first put her in it she hopped out and ran a little bit. I'm thinking that's good.

She did seem to perk up when I brought her up here too. Though... I think she would have jumped out of the box (it's not real deep). She keeps standing on her hind legs looking around. That's a good sign right?

I was thinking about gas... I'm not sure if we have any gas medication though. I'll take a look around.

Before I took her out she was just sitting there all "puffed" and hunched, eyes half closed. Maybe it is gas? Would gas cause icky poo?

Now she's just sitting there. Almost like she's just unsure of what to do. I've never seen her so still. She's usually the energizer bunny.


Her butt needs to be cleaned. When I wash her off I'll give her some rubs and see if she'll run around.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh no! I hope Baby Dolla will be okay, she's one of my favorite forum buns! I'm saying a prayer for her if that's okay with you. Please keep us updated on her progress.

 

[Boz]

SnowyShiloh - Aww thanks! :hearts

I washed her butt off, she was very good when I did it too.

I was holding her then set her down to run. I turned around to grab something, turned back and she was gone. She was already in the other room!

I think she's feeling better. She's running around right now!

 

[Maureen Las]

Sounds like she is better but if not......
You need to go to the drug store and get some liquid baby gas medicine . It usually is called Mylicon for infants or you can get a generic brand with the ingredient simethicone. It should only have simethicone as the primary ingredient .... not anything else.

Give her about 1cc of this...continue to try to get her to exercise, run around to shift the gas, give her gentle tummy rubs ,
if she continues to show no improvement you can give her up to 3 doses of simethicone a few hours apart. it will not hurt her.

if you have any benebac ( a probiotic) you can give her some of that also. It is sold at petco in the small animal section if you cannot get it until tomorrow.

Right now i would just give her hay to eat and not much else except water. Make sure the hay is good.

it sounds like an episode of gas.


feel her to see if she is cold ..if she feels cold you can put some rice in a sock and heat for a minute or so in the microwave. Make sure that it is warm and not hot and that the warmth is evenly distributed and not hot in one place. She may feel more comfortable with the sock next to her. I stress notto make it hot..test it on your face before you place it in with her.

let us know if she is better.

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11931&forum_id=10


http://vrra.org/gasremedy.htm

 

[Boz]

Thank you so much!

Dolla isn't looking good again.

Unfortunately I can't drive and my dad is in bed (he's got to work this sunday and it getting up early). But my brother has a friend over and he can drive so he said he'd run me to the store to get some. I owe him big!

 

[Maureen Las]

Does her tummy feel hard..does she still have poopy butt?
What does she look like now?

If you haven't gone to the store yet get some pedialyte (electrolyte fluid for infants) at the store also..if they have unflavored get the unflavored
if not get a flavor.

 

[Pipp]

Is she still having 'poopy butt'?

It could be cecal dysbiosis. Not sure you can do much other than as AngieLuv said, cut her back to just hay and a lot of pedialyte or water and give her the gas meds and the pro-biotic (benebac is best, acidophilus will do in a pinch). The vet would be able to stick the poop under a microscope and determine if there's a bacteria or parasite problem or what, and best course of action from there. She'd probably also be given a 'Sub Q', an under the skin injection of fluids.

Here's a excerpt from a Dana Krempels article:

Unformed Cecotropes: Mushy or Runny Stool

The cecum is a delicately balanced ecosystem. If the intestine is moving too slowly, or if the rabbit is getting a diet too rich in digestible carbohydrates and too low in crude fiber, the complex population of bacteria in the cecum can become "unbalanced." This condition, known as CECAL DYSBIOSIS. Simply put, cecal dysbiosis means that the beneficial bacteria (e.g., Bacteroides spp. and a variety of others) are outcompeted and outnumbered by less desirable inhabitants such as yeast (a fungus, usually Saccharomycopsis sp.) or even very harmful bacteria such as Clostridium spp., related to the ones that cause tetanus and botulism.

A rabbit suffering from cecal dysbiosis will produce cecotropes that are mushy, pasty or even liquid. They are usually quite foul-smelling, and often stick to the bunny's back end in great, nasty clumps. These unformed cecotropes are not a primary disease, however. They are a symptom of a disorder somewhere in the bunny's system. In order to cure the runny stool problem, the underlying cause must be addressed.

 

[Boz]

I already went. :? I got the Mylicon and some rice.
Her butt wasn't as poopy as it was more pee. I did see a couple icky poos in the cage though. She hasn't pooed since I took her out too. Or peed.

I don't think have a syringe that's in CC. All I could find was one in mL. I'll look again though. I am almost certain I have one.

Man, I won't be able to sleep tonight.

Thanks everyone for your help. Really, thank you soooo much. I'm soo glad I have all of you guys. :hug:

 

[Pipp]

Boz wrote:

I already went. :? I got the Mylicon and some rice.

Rice? :shock: You REALLY don't want to give her any carbohydrates at all -- no starches, no sugars. Her system could be out of whack because of that kind of an imbalance.

EDIT: LOL! The rice sock, didn't see that! Hopefully that will help make her more comfortable, good plan. You always have to be concerned with keeping sick bunnies warm. (And hydrated).

Boz wrote:

I don't think have a syringe that's in CC. All I could find was one in mL.

Same thing. The gas meds are pretty safe, just give her a dropper full, maybe a little more, if you got the baby stuff.

Hope she's okay soon!


sas ray:

 

[Boz]

hehe yes it's for the rice sock!

ohhh so one cc is equal to one mL?

I haven't seen her drink lately. But I'm not always watching so her so she could sneak some when I'm typing.

Thanks sas!

If I "wake" her she'll sort of look around and poke around but after a bit she just sits there. I can tell she's unconformable. When she's on my lab she'll shift a little here and there. :?

I'm giving her the Mylicon in a bit.

Once again thank you everyone! :hearts

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Poor baby girl!! I really hope she'll be okay, I just made my boyfriend look at all of her pictures from your blog.

 

[irishlops]

i dint not read 2 the bottom of post so sorry if this is answereed/

if the poo is clinging on to the fur, clear or poo colour, wipe it up. this hppened to my rabbit.

it could be stattis, or i forget the name.....

if ur rabbit has not ate go and feed her fluids.

google rabbit not eatting, syrine mixture.

you will get something up. t helpped my rabbit.

hope he eats soon and drinks.

RIP my rabbit.... hopefully not urs.

ps. my bunny was REALLY sick, he lied there, urs is up and about. so fingers crossed.

 

[Boz]

I found this site...
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/medicating.html

Is that good? About the syringing?
Should I syringe her some water?

I'm taking her into my room tonight to sleep. (I really have to get to bed but I probably won't get much sleep tonight.)

How often can I give her the Mylicon? I know you, angie said "you can give her up to 3 doses of simethicone a few hours apart" but I just want to be sure! I think I'll give her another CC before I go to bed.

I was holding her before and then I let her down. She did hop around for a minute but then ran back into the box. :? At least she's moving around some, right?

 

[JadeIcing]

Boz wrote:

I found this site...
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/medicating.html

Is that good? About the syringing?

Yes very good

Should I syringe her some water?

Only if she isn't drinking on her own. Or not drinking as much.

I'm taking her into my room tonight to sleep. (I really have to get to bed but I probably won't get much sleep tonight.)

I have been there. I feel for you.

How often can I give her the Mylicon? I know you, angie said "you can give her up to 3 doses of simethicone a few hours apart" but I just want to be sure! I think I'll give her another CC before I go to bed.

Before you go to bed sounds ok also depending how long you sleep when you wake.

I was holding her before and then I let her down. She did hop around for a minute but then ran back into the box. :? At least she's moving around some, right?

Yes it is. You are doing a great job. Breath deep. *hugs*

 

[Maureen Las]

How she doing now? :?

 

[ra7751]

Just a quick comment on the link to the HRS article. There is inaccurate information in that article and it goes back to not fully understanding a rabbit's gut. The one glaring error is encouraging the use of yogurt. This goes back to a time when it was thought a cat and rabbit were treated alike. And it's also used in humans. But what you have to remember is a rabbit is an obligate herbivore and not a carnivore or ominvore and that makes the dynamics in the gut quite different. The old school thinking on using yogurt is putting the bacteria back in the digestive system. That isn't exactly how it works. The idea is to acidify the gut to establish a favorable environment for the growth and reproduction of beneficial bactera. This is difficult to accomplish when there is dairy and/or sugary products being offered....or too much is being done....or both.

In cases of cecal dysbiosis, there is a major decline in the population of the beneficial bacteria. Since the beneficial bacteria also controls the population of harmful bacteria, in a major GI disruption, there can be an exploding population of harmful bacteria....primarily Clostridium but sometimes E Coli is in there also. So the idea is to stabilize the gut since the continuing growth of Clostridium and/or E Coli canbe fatal.

When I have this situation, I get back to basics and do the least I can to stabilize the gut....remember that arabbit's GI does not likequick changes and they require a low protein/high fiber diet. I offer a very basic bunny diet. Lots of hay. Oat hay is really beneficial but all grass hays will be beneficial. I don't have a problem removing the pellets since they contain more protein than a rabbit needs.Another food that is very helpful is canned pumpkin(NOT the pie filling....canned) as it is high in nutrition andfiber. I use a probiotic....I prefer a product called Bene-Bac. Itcontains very helpful strains of L Acidophilis, L Casei and Enterococus. While this isn't really the exact bacteria in the gut, the resulting stabilizing pH will create a favorable environment for the repopulation of beneficial bacteria. Hydration is essential....and supplemental hydrationeither orally or by sub-q/IV infusions can be very helpful. While many think this may worsen the upset GI...actuallyit's very easy to become dehydrated during these events. In extreme cases, and this is controversial in the veterinary community, I use an antibiotic known as Metronidazole(Flagyl) which is very good at controlling Clostridium. I do not use oats, rice, bananas or especially yogurt. I do not use anti-diarrheal medications since most of them contains antacids....and that reduces the acidity in the gut....the opposite of what is needed. Watch for bloat....Mylicon and some heat will usually help with that.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Randy

 

[Boz]

Dolla is doing better!

I woke up this morning and she was munching on hay. I gave her a couple pellets (just to see if she would eat) and she did not hesitate to stuff her mouth!

She's currently eating hay right now!

The cage she slept in for the night had a litter box in it. When I put her in it last night within a minute she jumped in and peed! I thought, little stinker, she probably didn't want to pee out of her litter box and that's why she had not peed in a while.

Then this morning I see poo! There's some mushy ones but there are solid ones too. I don't know if this is helpful but when she was younger she used to get excessive cecals. Especially at night. It took about two weeks till I had that under control with her feeding.

I was thinking last night... When I redid their "cage" I made it smaller. It's like 7x3 feet (instead of about 7x7 feet) with a lot of shelves and stuff to jump on. I think that might be part of the reason. :? Before she had more running area and since they didn't get out time yesterday she wasn't able to move around as much. The only thing I think that would give her gas is the veggies. I gave them Roman lettuce (which Dolla has had many times before) not last night but the night before. She was fine in the morning though (Yesterday morning)... but maybe before since she had a lot of running room, any gas was quickly passed and that's why I never saw any signs. Maybe? Or am I over thinking this?