Wobbly Molly not eating, ideas?

[Awk]

When my 3 year old mix bun didn't race My for the food bowl yesterday I instantly figured something was wrong. I picked her up, examined her and found nothing wrong during my quick exam. So, when there was both pellets and hay left this morning I knew there was something wrong. My("My" being my one year old bun) is jumping around just as curious as always, but Molly still isn't. If i pick Molly up, she gives the usual hell of a struggle to get down, she runs across the floor(oddly she has some weird wobbly moves), and then huddles up in a corner, which she only does when she is scared. She ate a little straw of hay earlier today, and I saw her hit the waterbowl once I filled it yesterday, but it not being almost empty this morning makes me think she hasn't been drinking much.

So, what is wrong with my bun? The nurse in me tells me the logic explanation is a muscular sprain in her left hindside, thus the slight wobblyness when she is making rapid turns and lounges. The pain not giving her appetite or thirst

The bun owner in me however tells me its much worse than that. She isnt eating, drinking and is pooping less than usual(which ofc could be due to the fact that she isnt eating or drinking). She is slighly weakened in her left hindside(I had a previous bun with muscular paralysis in the hindparts, which is why my panic is setting in).

I'm a bit unsure what to do now really. I could take her to the vet, but his conclusions usually opt with my train of thinking(bunmotherly instinct and nursing as a profession and all). I have some metacam laying around, but that usually just makes her flat out on the floor all day, not doing anything but sleeping. And I have some Afipran for motility, which I could give her just in case she has a mild gi stasis, but risk giving her diarrhea instead.

Think with me please?

 

[BlueMoods]

First, I would take her to the vet, the vet may be able to give you some more insight and, something that doesn't zonk her out like metcam. Second see if she will eat at least fresh foods (herbs, fruit, whatever she likes best.) it's important to get moisture into her and, keep her digestive system moving. The vet will better know if it's stasis or not so, get to the vet.

Yes I know, so tempting to DIY it and hope. I'm certified as a vet.tech so, I have the same temptation but, as a medical professional, you know as well as I do that we have to know our limits and areas of expertise, and ask for outside advice if there is even a hint of doubt as to what is the cause of the issues or, what is the best course of treatment. If the rabbit were a person, you'd consult a doctor, so, do so for the rabbit and consult a vet.

 

[Imbrium]

She's *definitely* experiencing GI stasis - not eating, drinking, pooping and/or peeing for 8-12+ hours is a medical emergency (as in drop everything and rush to the vet/emergency vet). Unless the stasis is properly treated AND the underlying cause is addressed, stasis can easily become fatal - bunnies aren't like humans and most other animals; they can't go off their food for a day without it being a life-threatening issue because their digestive systems are designed to ALWAYS be moving.

Treatment for the stasis itself is metacam, metoclopramide (a motility drug - that's the US name; Afipran is presumably the equivalent in your country; if diarrhea is a potential side-effect, I recommend trying to find a small animal probiotic as those are great for preventing meds from upsetting the digestive tract. Failing that, a human probiotic where none of the ingredients are dangerous for bunns) and - if a blockage isn't suspected/determined to be the cause, force-feeding Critical Care food or a homemade pellet slurry. If dehydration is also present, sub-q fluids and syringing water will also be needed. Metacam really is the best pain killer available for bunnies - are you sure she's zonked out as a side-effect and not because she's recovering from whatever warranted the metacam to begin with?

GI stasis is a symptom, though, not a true diagnosis. Some common causes are:
~ Gas (which bunnies have trouble passing); treated with simethicone (infant gas drops), which are *incredibly* safe for bunns
~ Tooth problems (abscess, overgrown tooth, painful tooth, etc.) that make eating uncomfortable or painful
~ A mass of hair (ie a blockage) that's having trouble passing through the digestive system (most common during molts)
~ A blockage due to ingesting a foreign object that gets stuck
~ Anything else that causes pain anywhere in the body can make them feel too bad to eat

Even though you have the meds you need for the stasis at home, a vet visit is *really* important to determine the underlying cause of the stasis - the reason for this is that if you force-feed a bunny that has a total blockage, you'll make the situation significantly worse, so it's imperative that you find out for sure what the issue is. When my Gazzles got stasis last week, the vet palpated her abdomen looking for both gas and an obstruction (like a hairball, as she was molting at the time), thoroughly inspected her teeth, quizzed me to make sure she couldn't have ingested a foreign object, etc. She palpated first and determined that Gaz had moderate gas but continued to rule out all other possible causes before giving a final diagnosis (in case there was more than one problem involved).

 

[JBun]

I agree, you need to get her in to a good rabbit vet today. Hopefully it's just a simple injury, but neurological problems could also cause muscle control problems, so this may be something you need to have ruled out. If she's not just favoring a leg and actually is showing weakness on one side, I would be more inclined to think neurological or possibly something involving the spine.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=490&S=5

 

[lovelops]

I agree with Jennifer and Jbun in case there is some type of muscle sprain, injury on top of Gi problems I would not wait too long to get her to the vets. Bunnys have a funny way of going pretty fast and I for one would not want to take any chances. Please keep us posted and let us know how it goes with the vets when you get her there.

Vanessa

 

[Awk]

I suppose I should elaborate on the vet situation around here a bit before you all run wild thinking I don't care enough to take my buns to a good rabbit vet, or that like DIY bun therapy. In short, there are non. The small-animal vets around here can neuter or spay rabbits, but other than that they don't know the head from the tail. The last times I've taken buns around to them I got told whatever's wrong will pass by itself, or end them. So no, the vet aint a great suggestion really. So before putting them in a car driving two plus hours to get to a vet that has semi-knowledge about buns, I figured I would ask around seeing if anyone had some super suggestions, because usually somebody does.

On to Molly,
Well, never said she wasn't peeing or pooping, I just said she was pooping considerably less than usual, then again she hasn't been eating much either so I'm not that worried about a stasis really. She is pooping, still not loads like she usually is, but I'll take what I can get. And she is drinking from a syringe. Not much, but she will down about 2,5 ml of water every few hours. Her wobbliness seems to have diminished some so I'm hoping her problem is dehydration more than anything, come to think about it their favorite water bowl was empty when I filled it yesterday evening, and she did drink from it almost immediately(there are others, although they seem to favor the smallest cup).

I'm also very sure that its the metacam that zonks her out, its happened on a few occasions before even the smallest doses makes her flat out on the floor for hours, and that really wouldn't help her appetite.

So I just have to wait and check in on her every few hours and see how she is, hopefully she will have regained her appetite and thirst by the morning =/

 

[BlueMoods]

Is there anything she will eat if hand fed even? If she will eat parsley, basil, celery leaves or anything like that, wet it and feed it to her. If not I'd try dripping water from a syringe into her mouth, or Pedialyte if you have some. Anything to help her not get too dehydrated.

I do understand the vet problem. The only vet even remotely close to me is the same. Horse, cow, dog, cat fine, anything else and he pretty much has to ask which end is which. Here Rabbits are seen as meat animals, not pets for the most part so, he has no reason the learn about them. (of course he didn't even know the extra risks involved with putting a wolfdog under anesthesia as compared to a dog so, pretty useless to me since I have a wolfdog and rabbits - chickens too but those are livestock.) Only good thing about my vet here, if it needs a prescription and I ask for it, he will give it to me though some things I need to have fed exed form a larger clinic 150 miles away.

Also if she is molting, try to get hay in her for the fiber, she may have a bit too much fur in her gut but, fiber and lots of water will help it pass. Possibly find a rabbit savvy vet further away that you can call for a phone consult, then, if need be take that info to your local vet. If you can get Critical care, try that, or Calf Manna pellets. (Just 1 TSP of those though and only for a week or so) those are a nutrient dense pellet supplement that have corn and anise in them so, most rabbits love them and gobble them right down. I use them for mine when they don't want to eat enough but will eat some. Usually 1 TSP is not asking too much of the rabbit and, that tsp of feed has lots of nutrition in it.

 

[Awk]

Thanks BlueMoods, I appreciate the tip, and to all you others aswell=)

I took Molly to a specialist in exotic animals yesterday(I finally found one), and they had two vets consult on her. The first one couldnt find anything wrong, and opted for trial and error treatment for E. Cuniculli, but since she was so atypical in her symptoms she had the specialist brought in to have a look as well. She noticed her stomach being bloated and took an x-ray showing what looked like gastric retention(in this case; stomach not emptying). So they gave her sub-q fluids and metoclopramide, and per oral contrast fluids and sent her home to see if that could start her system back up. Today she was to come back in for another x-ray to see if the contrast fluids had moved from her stomach at all, which it had not, despite the fact that she started eating a bit of hay and was drinking ounces on ounces of water all night. I had a little bit of hope she was getting better.

I was given the options of putting her down, or having them open her up and emptying her stomach manually, which includes a fair share of risks due to the fact that its in the stomach which is very fragile in buns, unlike ours.

I love my buns like they are family, so it' not like there was ever a second option to surgery really, so now I'm just waiting and hoping things will go fine. The thing that bothers me the most now is that I had to bring My home alone, and I have to go to work in an hour to take care of the human equivalents of Molly, for whom I feel less sorry for atm(they have the option of wording their pain, she has not). I'm just worried My will feel lonely all evening, despite the rest of my family coming home in less than 3 hours.

Fingers crossed for a successful surgery and recovery now

 

[BlueMoods]

All the best toy you and Molly. I hope she recovers well and, quickly.