Wrangler is very ill - Help! I'm panicking!

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BrittsBunny

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Location
, Florida, USA
Wrangler within the last 20-30 minutes has been acting ill and very lethargic. He keeps opening and closing his eyes and doesn't even want to eat his treats or any of his food. I am a basket case right now because I simply do not know what to do. I have called the emergency vets and it will cost me $200+ for just the emergency visit and $700+ for the tests/diagnosis. I cannot afford any of that. I am bawling my eyes out because I feel so incredibly helpless. One of the vets told me to feed him through a syringe with ground up pellets to keep his gut moving.

I don't know how often I'm suppose to do this. But the thing is, he does have poop in his cage - it's dark and hard though. He ate his food from last night/today. And this morning he was romping around.

I am wondering if he got poisoned from the plant in my kitchen (the fertilizer) - usually I have the gate up to keep him out but I had it down for just a little bit and then I saw him on his tippy toes. But I was sure that I had caught him in time.

I just don't understand it. He gets fresh food, hay, and water everyday. He's a free roaming rabbit. He gets treats and I share my veggies/fruit with him. He has always been SO healthy.

What is going on?

If I lose Wrangler I will be absolutely devastated.

Someone please offer me some advice - is there anything else I can do to help him feel better? :pray:
 
Anyone?? PLEASE HELP! Should I add olive oil with his crushed pellets and water? What home remedies can I do to help him?!
 
hi - i'm sorry to hear about wrangler.

do you hear any noises coming from his stomach?

when my rabbit finnegan had g.i. stasis a few years ago, he started off like wrangler. he was hiding and not moving all day and when he started refusing food & treats, i knew something wasn't right. he also had gas noises coming from his stomach and was grinding his teeth a lot from pain. i used an over the counter tablet to help clear his gas but it didn't fix things immediately, so we had to go to the vet (the x-ray showed he also had water in his lungs).

i've also heard good things using about pineapple and squash & pumpkin baby food to get a rabbit's digestion going.

also i would put fresh litter in his potty to see if he's still pooping & peeing.

hope he recovers quickly!
 
Is he pressing his tummy to the floor or stretching and sitting weirdly? Does his stomach feel too firm or too doughy? Sudden discomfort is sometimes from gas.
 
He is pressing his stomach on the ground and stretching out. He seems very uncomfortable. He is also making the grinding sounds with his teeth. He is just sitting in the corner of his cage when he has free roam of my apartment. This is NOT like him whatsoever. I have talked to several vets tonight and I have made an appointment with one tomorrow at 12. Hopefully he'll be okay throughout the night. My boyfriend and I just went out to the pharmacy and bought unflavored Pedialyte to feed to him with a syringe. Also I have the crushed pellets with water that Wrangler actually seems glad to have. The vet said no olive oil.
 
Patti I just tried to call her. No answer :-/ I did leave a message though so hopefully she calls me back soon.
 
I hope she calls you soon. Do you have simethicone (baby gas drops)? If not, you can get it at any drug store or grocery store. If would give Wrangler a couple of droppers full.
 
It's definitely gas.

Patti I did talk to Kathy - she told me that I probably shouldn't give the Pedialyte but I'm kind of stuck in the middle because the vet said I should. She also told me that I should do some belly massages...which I have...not sure if that made him feel any better or not.

My boyfriend and I went to the grocery store and bought parsley (usually Wrangler's favorite), small carrots, and the gas drops - which I have not given to Wrangler yet because I am just unsure. Everyone is telling me different things.

I just don't want to make him worse...

I have been giving him syringes of water and a mixture of water and pellets...he's eating/drinking it pretty willingly. He's gotten up a few times and hopped in and out of his cage; so seeing him move around makes me happy.

He won't touch the parsley and carrots though :(

He HAS made two bowl movements - rather big ones at that, and they both were covered in a clear mucus-like substance.

So maybe the gas is trying to pass?

I just hope and pray he'll be okay. I hope the vet can figure out what's wrong with him. I hope and pray it doesn't cost an arm and a leg either - because I just can't afford it :nerves1

I have been praying as well as everyone else.
 
To the best of my knowledge, the gas meds can't hurt him and it's very difficult to overdose on them. I'd agree that it sounds like gas and personally I'd try them. It doesn't sound like stasis if he's pooping but mucus isn't normal either. If you can offer him something warm, for example a sock filled with rice and then microwaved, sometimes snuggling up against something like that makes them feel more comfortable.
 
WRANGLER IS EATING HIS PARSLEY!! :yahoo:

Andddddd chewing at the carpet in aggravation of being in his pen!:biggrin: He's even picking up the pen with his teeth and trying to drag it! So he must be feeling better!

I am not going to get my hopes up though - I am scared that it could still turn for the worse...but he's definitely got his ornery attitude back!

I am going to keep feeding him fluids though, just to be safe. I'll give him a couple of those gas drops too before I go to bed.

Maybe he just had something in his system that needed to pass through?

Don't worry, I am still keeping my vet appointment to make sure all is fine.
 
I dont know much about these things because I am new with owning rabbits. All i can say is everyone here is very knowledgeable and give really good advice. I hope he feels better soon!
 
Well I had to let Wrangler out of the pen because he was driving me nuts! He even ran through the blinds when I let him out - so he has to be feeling better!

I didn't want to let him out of his pen because now I am going to have to chase him down to get fluids in him.

It's late here and I need to go to bed. I am going to set my alarm so that in a couple of hours I can check on him.

Hopefully if he's feeling better that he'll drink his water by himself and eat his pellets and hay.
 
It really sounds as though gas was the problem. It usually resolves itself very quickly once you get some simethicone in them. That is always my first line of defense when a bunny has tummy problems.

If Wrangler is back to normal this morning, I would consider the problem resolved and not spend money at the vet. I've been through this more times than I can count and know how scary it can be.
 
I have to agree with slavetoabunny, if Wrangler is feeling better today, I would just call the vet to give an update. I always stay in contact. Dr. Joe is pretty good and he is very good at calling back and would advise me if anything changes to bring him in.

Hoping Wrangler is back to his ole self. Shame bunnies can't fart or belch. Gas does hurt as we all know.



K :)
 
Wrangler is back to his old self now and his stool is back to normal!

He has been eating and drinking as weLl!

WHEW! What a relief!! Thank you everyone for your support! Y'all have been very helpful and a comfort!
 

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