Sick Day

Mario had a little bit of a health scare last week.  In retrospect he was a little off for a few days and when I finally realized that something must be truly amiss I was in a tizzy to get him in to the vet.  He was not eating as much as he normally does (though not off food by any means), his droppings were not normal, and he was less active than usual.  He was not even close to the condition he was in a little over a year ago but I did not want him sliding down the slope.

Waiting to see the vet in his snazzy carrier.

The vet had good news.  He had great gut sounds -- overactive, if anything -- and his temperature was normal.  I had thought that his tummy seemed bloated the night before but she reported that he wasn't full of gas like last time.  He was perhaps slightly dehydrated and has a dental and ear issue we'll need to address down the road.  Interestingly, the course of treatment for when he was full of gas and totally shut down was exactly the same as when his gut was working.  He's on an antibiotic and anti-gas medication.  I was supposed to force feed him Critical Care until his droppings are normal but I only did that one night because Mario just hates it so much and started eating more within a day.

Getting his fluids.  I passed the time playing Hay Day.  If you don't know what Hay Day is, back slowly away from the computer and let the productivity of your life thank me later.  If you do know what Hay Day is, find me and be my friend!

I was instructed to do sub-cutaneous fluids which I think is what really perked him up.  I've been hospitalized for dehydration and there is nothing like being connected to a bag of saline to bring happiness back into your life.  I was going to repeat the fluids again since he went into kidney failure the last time, but he underwent such a great turnaround that I let him get his fluids the natural way.

Mario still isn't 100% but he's enough himself that if today was an isolated day I wouldn't think anything of his slightly off poops or leftover pellets in the bowl.  Fingers crossed he keeps moving in that direction.

Does anyone have any experience with rabbits requiring dental work?  He needs some filing work, not an extraction, but it will require him to go under general anesthesia which I am very concerned about.  If your bunny has gone through this, I'd love to hear your experiences.