Tuesday, February 19, 2013

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.

10 comments:

RG said...

We have not had to have any anesthesia or teeth work so o help. But others have and hopefully some advice.

We have done the sub-Q and a LOT of under the skin anti biotic shots. Once we got comfortable it was quite easy.

Come on Mario - Do Good!

d. moll, l.ac. said...

Usually the amount time needed for the dental is very short as opposed to an actual surgery, so he has that in his favor. Maybe ask the vet how long it takes. It could be they just give him enough to make him compliant and zip zip it's done. Bandit went under innumerable times for even longer surgeries and was fine.

Scout and Sage said...

Poor Mario. Maybe whenever he starts to get a bit down, pick up the container of "Critical Care" and show it to him and threaten him with it. It seemed to work on Scout..

Scout got put into "twilight sleep" after she bit through the syringe that was propping her mouth open after being lightly doped to make her docile. (We couldn't decide if it didn't work or we didn't want to see what she'd have been like without it.) She was perky fine fairly quickly.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

Never had to have dental work done on a bunny. I'm glad Mario is doing well overall, though. Bunnies are such delicate creatures.

Becki Walker said...

My bunny who lives with me and goes to my first grade classroom with me everyday had her teeth filed last summer. It was very quick and by the time I picked her up she was almost her normal self. It's really important, though because otherwise their teeth are like daggers on their gums and they won't eat. Good luck to you and Mario!

Paula @ Eat: Watch: Run said...

My bun hasn't had dental work but she did undergo anesthesia to get fixed and she was fine. A little groggy at first, so I got to love on her more without her running away and playing, but other than that good to go.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Glad Mario recovered so well this time. Anya had a lot of dental work and was always fine with the anasthetics, though she was woozy for a while afterwards

Michaela said...

Poor little man! I hope he feels better soon. Good for you for recognizing the problem early and bringing him in. If he could talk, he'd say thank you!

Unknown said...

I hope Mario get's well soon. My friend's rabbit had to pull out some teeth and had to been under anesthesia. It was very fast and so was the recovery of the anesthesia. They're not asleep for long when it comes to teeh. My Rabbit was esterelized and the recovery was much longer, it took her more than a day to feel herself again.

Jade said...

Oh dear, so sorry to hear that our friend Mario has not been feeling well. Mr. Mick sympathizes, as he has a long history with tooth issues and the occasional brief bouts of GI sluggishness/stasis.

When Mick shows signs of not eating, my course of action is fluids via syringe, tummy massage and making him run around as much as will not stress him out. It usually clears things up quickly, and if not, it keeps things steady until I can get him to the vet.

Mick's molars grow in at a very slight angle; just enough to keep them from wearing normally. He requires molar grinding done about every two months--it has to be done under anesthesia because it's too stressful on him otherwise and the vet is able to do a better job on his teeth with him out cold. It doesn't take long and he's always ready to eat when we get home.