Recent Feedback
I have rabbit that got two paws stuck on a glue trap (non-toxic) yesterday. I seperated the trap from his paws and used vegetable oil to get glue off of his fur and Dawn dish soap to remove the oil. Everything seemed to work well and all seemed normal except he didn't eat as much yesterday and seems sluggish this morning. I just gave him Felovite II with Taurine mixed with 4 ml of water to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated and getting nutrients. Is there something else I should be doing?
Optional Information: Type of Animal: Rabbit Gender: Male Age: 5 Name of Animal: Jack
Hello,
Have you gotten any food at all into Jack?
What type of diet is Jack on?
Is he passing pellets?
Is he passing Urine?
Joan
He has eaten some but only 1/5 his normal intake. He is passing pellets, although they were slightly smaller this morning. I'm not sure about urine.
Diet:
Timothy hay
1/8 cup pellets
1-2 cup vegetables
I am concrened if there is not food going in that we could be looking at a GI Stasis which can be caused by stress. In order to help him we need to start him on some Plain Pedialyte for fluids. This can be given by syringe or eye dropper. This supplies the electrolytes needed to keep him hydrated. I would also like you to take some Plain pellets that you wouldnormally feed and gind up into a powder and mix with some Pedialyte and syringe feed. This will keep food going in and pellets passing. I suggest having Jack seen by a rabbit savy Vet. Make sure he is getting all the Timothy hay and Orchard Grass he wants. If you can get some Oxbow Critical Care that would work instead of the ground pellets.
This is some information on GI Stasis and gives some emergency first aid: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
This is a link for Rabbit Vets if you do not have one: http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html
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HI Joan,
I'm aware of the stasis which is why are already have the Felovite. Are you suggesting pedialyte over the Felovite?
My personal Preference is Pedialyte because it replaces electrolytes and works for dehydration. We use Felovite for Kittens and cats and not usually Rabbits because it is a vitamin Supplement not an electrolyte replacer. My concern is to get some food going in. By grinding the pellets with the Pedialyte it makes a slurry and offers something for the gut to work on. I also suggest some Bene-Bac which is a Pro biotic to aid with the gut flora. If you can get the Oxbow Critical Care that would be the best to use, but the ground Pellets can be a substitute for now.
Okay, thank you. My last vet sold me the Felovite and recommended fresh pineapple juice (for the enzymes) for Jack so I wanted to clarify if you were saying instead of or in addition to. Also, do you have a suggested dosage for the pedialyte? 2ml every 2 hours?
Aloha,
Jill
The Felovite can be used in addition to the the Pedialyte and the Pineapple juice is fine, but the Bene-Bac is for the gut flora, and very important. I would make the slurry with the ground pellets and Pedialyte and try at least once an hour to get at least 1-2 cc's into Jack. This way we have food going in. The plain Pedialyte can be also given once an hour at 2 mls, so we have fluids and food going in to keep the gut working. There is instructions in the link I gave you about Simethicone which I use the Pediatric Drops as well as abdominal massage. Stress I feel is what caused this problem. If Jack starts eating his normal amount, then we can back off treatments.
Experience: Vet Tech for 30+yrs. Small Animals and Fish
Hi Jill,I'm just following up on our conversation about Jack. How is everything going?Joan
So kind of you to check-in! He is starting to look better and eat more on his own. I wasn’t able to find Bene-Bac or Critical care at any pet stores but I did the Pedialyte with crushed pellets, pineapple juice, Felovite and Simethicone for one day. I didn’t see any improvementso I took him to an animal hospital to get checked out. They were able to do more radical measures (hydration therapy, muscle relaxant for gut and a pain shot. The vet told me not to do the home remedies that I was doing but sent me home with the Critical Care and oral pain meds; so he is on a much better road to recovery. I have to force feed him the Critical Care which is not nearly as easily as the vet makes it sound! I still give him a little Pedialyte once in awhile. With this unfortunate incident, I was able to find a much better vet for Jack and we’ll go for a follow-up Friday.
I am so glad Jack is doing better. You can ask the Vet for some Forte Flora which is a Pro biotic. That will help. The Bene-Bac is usually found in the bird area of the Pet supplies. Glad that you found a new Vet. I think you did a great job in a bad situation. Joan