Something may be wrong with Bruce (RIP)

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Love your rabbit
Shop deals on ebay
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
killertheturtle

killertheturtle

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
121
Reaction score
0
Location
Oceanside, California, USA
Bruce is my 2.5 year old neutered male, flemish giant.
He lives in a 4 x 8 pen. Usually, when I walk into the room he is in, he jumps up and rushes to the edge of the pen, because he knows I am going to give him a treat. Last night, he did not do that. I even shook the treat box (which drives him crazy) and he didn't care. I opened his pen and he just stayed in the corner (normally he would rush out). I gave him some dried papya and he ate it. I noticed he still had pellets left, and he always finishes his pellest by 3 pm (and it was 11 pm).
This morning, the same thing with the treats happened and he had not eaten any hay or pellets. I could not tell about his poops, because the litterbox already had poop.

So I put him in my room in a small pen on some puppy pads. I gave him lots of hay, pellets, water, and veggies. I got home from work an hour ago and he has not touched the hay, only eaten some of the pellets, ate all the veggies, and has had some water. He also has pooped. Some poops were normal and some were smaller, and some were dark and shiny looking. He has not urinated (I think). He is on puppy pads so it would be obvious, though there is still some carpet, but the carpet it white, so I'm sure I would notice.

He took treats from me and seemed a little more excited than yesterday. I opened the pen and he will not come out.

Any ideas?


Also, I have critical care and baby carrot food and several other things on hand. I can take him with me to work tomorrow if necessary (I'm a vet tech), too.
 
Well something I was very worried about happening has happened....
Bruce's head is starting to tilt.
I'm going to give him Critical Care tonight and take him to the vet tomorrow.

One of my other rabbits (Rocket) had E.cuniculi two years ago and she got out of it fine... so I'm hoping for the same with Bruce. At least I already know what to expect, right?
 
It may be a simple ear infection.

EC is a parasite, it isn't really something that rabbits 'get over' but there are treatments and they can live with it. It's hard to diagnose, I think the test only proves exposure, it's a postmortem confirmation.

But whatever it is, you're catching it early enough if you get him into the vet pronto. The first step will be getting some strong antibiotics seeing as the most likely is an inner ear thing (which btw is also hard to see visually).

I think the usual regime is both injectables and oral, I'm not sure ear drops do the trick, but I'm sure a lot more info will be forthcoming in this thread shortly.

I wouldn't stress him out with the Critical Care unless he wants to take it willingly, if he's eating a little, he's good for now. Try and get him to drink some water, though. Maybe try a little heavily diluted juice in a separate bowl along with his regular water.

And keep him warm and calm.

Please let us know how he's doing!


sas .:pray:
 
i don,t keep my animals outside in the elements,rabbits especially because they are so unpredictable,and more things can be ruled out with inside environment,.i do-not say this to condemn,only to simplify the matter,..it is good you caught this behavior,,rabbits being prey animal would rather die than divulge a problem,thus many do,..it is always best to have an exotic dvm specialist on hand-prior to an emergency--this problem can become that quickly,..keep a litter box of ie,orchard grass,water salt lick,some pellets,,listen to his breathing,and feel his -stomach/gi tract(should feel like dough),not hard,..sounds like you are on top of the problem,.first line of defense,..sincerely james waller
 
james waller wrote:
i don,t keep my animals outside in the elements,rabbits especially because they are so unpredictable,and more things can be ruled out with inside environment,.i do-not say this to condemn,only to simplify the matter,..it is good you caught this behavior,,rabbits being prey animal would rather die than divulge a problem,thus many do,..it is always best to have an exotic dvm specialist on hand-prior to an emergency--this problem can become that quickly,..keep a litter box of ie,orchard grass,water salt lick,some pellets,,listen to his breathing,and feel his -stomach/gi tract(should feel like dough),not hard,..sounds like you are on top of the problem,.first line of defense,..sincerely james waller
Click to expand...


Thanks James, I do believe Bruce is an indoor bunny, not sure if you thought otherwise. I don't think salt licks are recommended for rabbits. And I'll add that a really soft and doughy tummy can also indicate that the GI tract is empty, which is also a problem. Thanks for your input. Rabbits really do hide their illnesses, don't they?

Killer, how is Bruce? Is he having eye movements? You can often tell (well, a vet can) whether the problem is the inner ear or a parasite or other brain-based problem by the eye movements. One kind moves horizontally, another vertically, or something like that. And I think one is positional and one is not. But don't take my word on that.

Definitely the first treatment protocol even if nothing is obvious is a broad spectrum of antibiotics. It can take weeks of a injectable/oral combo (my vet uses some form of penicillin administered every two days along with ChorPalm given orally every 12 hours, and they're on it for a couple of months) to alleviate the problem.

Of course it would be nice to get a culture from the ear, but I think they can often be too deep to see.

EC usually has other symptoms as well as the tilt -- lethargy, kidney issues, mild paralysis, etc. I'm betting on the ear infection.

I didn't know you were a vet tech, you should be able to nip it in the bud. But if the vet isn't rabbit-savvy, s/he may try and dismiss the ear infection theory, but honestly, if he's not otherwise symptomatic and nothing is apparent, it's most often the inner ear.

Let us know how he's doing!


sas :pray:
 
Not Bruce......he's gotta get better.

I'll be praying and sending good thoughts....
 
So I woke up this morning to Bruce making involuntary grunting noises.
He won't take treats from me anymore.

Also, his head looks normal now... which I was expecting to wake up to his head being tipped all the way and his balance being off. He seems really distressed and anxious.

He willingly ate a little bit of critical care before bed, but that looks like it.

And Pipp, the vets I work with do not currently treat exotics. The doctor who is there today has worked on exotics, but it has been about 7 years. I will go to my regular exotic vet on Monday if we can't figure anything out. But don't worry, she (the vet I work with) will not take anything lightly, because she knows that I don't make big deals out of small problems. I mean, I was feeling ok, thinking it was head tilt, because I have all the medications Rocket was given on previous invoices that I am going to bring in... but now I don't know what is causing the grunting.

I'll check the forum from my cell phone at work... so please, any input on the grunting would be very helpful for us.

Thanks Tinysmom... I'll update when I get home.
 
I really hope they can find out what's wrong with him.

Good luck. Please keep us updated.

x
 
killertheturtle wrote:
I was just petting Bruce...
He is drooling and has slightly labored breathing. I'm really worried now. I am going to go into work early.
Click to expand...

Immediate treatment is crucial, I'd do x-rays, blood panels, etc. Check his liver, kidneys, etc. And if nothing is obvious, get him on antibiotics.

Can't really go wrong with that.

The vet you're working with can refer to www.medirabbit.com for diagnostic and treatment help.

Hope he's okay.


sas :pray:
 
Any word?

The grunting and stress could be a pain reaction. Anything can cause that -- an ear infection, toxins in the blood, etc.. He could have a big headache, poor guy.

He probably can't get pain meds until he's examined but hopefully he can have them immediately afterwards.

Warmth, fluids and antibiotics are usually the first ER course of treatment even if the cause is unknown. Add pain meds to that -- extremely important to reduce pain-related stress -- and I think you'll have it covered. I think I've said all this before. Sorry. I'm very anxious.

sas :(
 
So very sorry... :sad:

I was very afraid for him. The symptoms today were not good, I've seen similar symptoms twice with a systemic infection and liver cancer causing the release of toxins, neither survived.

I don't think much could have been done.

Horrible loss for the whole forum. :sosad

:rip: Bruce Wayne


sas :cry1:
 
DSC03036.jpg


He was an awesome bunny... :cry2

A sweet, loving special boy. He will be missed.


sas :tears2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top