# *Urgent* how often to force feed? (resolved)



## itsazoo (Mar 15, 2011)

Peepers stopped eating this evening, and we have been force feeding her at least till tommorow when her vet calls to check back up on her(she WAS still eating a little on her own when we talked to her vet, now she is not at all) I was just wondering how often we should be getting food into her to keep her gut moving? she is not eating or drinking ANYTHING on her own right now, that includes hay.will she be ok now till morning, or will she need anything through the night or...?? she was last force fed at 11pm, but I am not sure how much actually got IN her as opposed to all over her lol , either way it wasnt much, maybe 1/2 a tsp of mush, if that. she is an 8 month old 2.4lbs Dwarf Hotot..she has been on medication for snuffles(which has been ceased per vet) for the past 3-4 weeks. I just want to ensure she will be OK for the night until a vet is available tommorow...


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## Sweetie (Mar 15, 2011)

Can you get her to eat some greens? Also can you get sub q fluids in her? She may be in stasis or her teeth may be the problem. When Prince stopped eating and drinking I found out that his teeth were bothering him, and had to have them trimmed. Oh can you get Critical Care? She might eat that. If you can syringe her fluids try to get at least 5 cc's in her and she should be okay for the night.


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## itsazoo (Mar 15, 2011)

she wont eat or drink ANYTHING unless I force it, I made a mush to force feed her, which includes hay and pureeds greens, and I am giving her water through a syringe..we made her apple/carrot juice and she wont even drink that on her own. I have NO access to ANYTHING but that until tomorow at the earliest. I have gotten plenty of water into her via syringe and a little bit of the hay mush.


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## Sweetie (Mar 15, 2011)

She should be okay until tomorrow then. I hope that she feels better soon.


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## Maureen Las (Mar 15, 2011)

I would try giving her gas meds ( oral simethicone 1 cc every hour X 3 doses ).. then some gentle tummy rubs to get things moving). benebac ( probiotic to establish good bacteria in her GI tract ) and fluids. If she is dehydrated she will not be able to break down and assimilate her food anyway. 

Do you have any pedialyte? ..

if you do this is great for oral hydration. 

Some rabbits will stop eating because gas build- up causes them great discomfort.


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## Jynxie (Mar 15, 2011)

My vet recommended that I force feed 6 times a day for a 6 week baby.

I'm not sure if older buns eat more, or less then a baby.
But this might give you a general idea.


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## Maureen Las (Mar 15, 2011)

A 6 week old should still be withhermom; it is really common for GI upsets with youngsters that age who still have unstable GI tracts from being weaned too early. 

Even if you force feed it would be a good idea to give a probiotic like benebac. Kits are born with sterile GI tracts and gain beneficial bacteria from nursing..without a full 8 weeks of nursing ( and even then) a GI upset can be very serious and difficult to reverse.


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## itsazoo (Mar 15, 2011)

her vet(who was off today) came in for her today, we thought it was gas, and we gave her Ovol and and tummy massages etc.. but after the vet trip, it appears to actually be a blockage. she is refusing everything today in any case, everything we get in her mouth, she just spits back out, and she fights it every step of the way, she fights in the burrito, once you manage to actually get the syringe anywhere near her mouth, she roles the water or mushed food around her her mouth and spits it back out. the vet gave her enough sub q fluids till tommorow, and some pro-biotics, and some greasy remedy thing to get things moving because her tract is totally dry and not mucasy like it's supposed to be. she goes back tommorow..

is there anyway to get the critical care stuff without a vet? no vet here has heard of any such thing nevermind has it, and everywhere I looked online wont let you get near the stuff unless your a vet.


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## Jynxie (Mar 15, 2011)

I really have no idea my vet gave it to me today, it was 10 dollars for three days worth.It apparently comes in larger packages too. I never heard of it before, so I'm guessing it must only be for vets because you can't order it yourself.

It comes in a little bagged package and it's green if that helps any. Maybe it's called something else there?

Also maybe you ask if a vet to order it from the website you're seeing it on? though it might take awhile to come in ):

--

Also yeah this is my first bunny, I trusted my breeder when she said six weeks was perfectly fine for them to leave since they were weaned and weren't with the mother anyways. I also can't bring him back to the mom now, since she's a couple hours away and I don't drive. My parents were doing me a big favour driving me in the first place.
I'm hoping that critical care has something that helps with what you're talking about.


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## Maureen Las (Mar 15, 2011)

I have ordered it here without a script and it is actually cheaper; I don't know if they ship to Canada 

http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/Critical-Care-1-pound-AppleBanana--pr--015OXP01AB1

When you say a blockage do you mean a total blockage or possibly a partial blockage. ? a rabbit can have both gas and a blockage 

did they take an x-ray ?

An x-ray can tell where the blockage is and whether the gut is moving at all. 

Sometimes it takes a long time and patience to resolve these kinds of things 
gas meds can still be helpful if she can swallow 
Sub q fluids is the way to go in this case; the vet can show you how to do it yourself

some vets use motiltiy drugs but these are contraindicated if there is a true blockage . 

the jelly stuff is probably a petroleum based product often used for cat hairballs; we don't usually recommend these products because they just dry out the GI contents even more. 
if you are going to use a petroleum based product make sure that Peepers is getting lots of fluids. 

Also you can always consider getting a 2nd opinion if you are not totally satisfied with your current vet....


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## Jynxie (Mar 15, 2011)

My package doesn't look like that but it sounds like the product.

It also smells like black licorice if that helps any


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## Maureen Las (Mar 15, 2011)

there is an "anise" flavored critical care thatwould smell like licorice


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## Jynxie (Mar 15, 2011)

http://www.calvetsupply.com/product/Critical_Care_Anise_Pouch/Veterinary_Nutritional_Supplements

Thank you, I looked up the name and flavour and this is what I have.


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## itsazoo (Mar 15, 2011)

thanks, angiluv, they dont ship to Canada though  doest appear that Calvet placedoes either...

you can feel the blockage, so she is pretty sure thats what it is, she said it doesnt feel like gas at all. there is a possablity that it is a drug reaction though from the chlor-palm she was on for snuffles. 

there is no other options for a second opinion, she's not perfect, but she is the absolute best available to me.


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## Sweetie (Mar 16, 2011)

6 weeks is fine to be away from momma. I got Sweeteie when she was 6 weeks old, but I had very little problems with her and I still have very little problems with her. I think that it depends on the rabbit if they can leave their momma at 6 weeks or not, but the ideal age is 8 weeks.


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## Sweetie (Mar 16, 2011)

Hey pineapple juice will help get that blockage down. It has to be freshly squeezed pineapple juice though.


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## Nela (Mar 16, 2011)

Benebac can be found here:

http://montrealcritters.com/store/small-animal-bene-bac

(They also have this one listed under rabbit... I dunno if it is okay?):

http://montrealcritters.com/store/bird-bene-bac

Montreal Critters ships to any address in Canada and has a flat shipping rate. They've gotten great reviews but I didn't have the chance to do business with them when I was still living there. I'd suggest buying other things at the same time if you can afford to so you don't spend so much on shipping for nothing. 

Thinking of you guys! ray:


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## itsazoo (Mar 16, 2011)

thanks  she is doing much better today, hardly perfect, but she will eat a carrot if I hold in front of her face, havent mangaged to get her to touch anything else or to eat if I am NOT holding the carrot, but its a big improvment over avoiding food like the plague!


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## Jynxie (Mar 16, 2011)

Good to hear she's improving! Awesome news.


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## Maureen Las (Mar 16, 2011)

Keep us updated...


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## itsazoo (Mar 16, 2011)

she's doing really good today, there is a bunch of fresh normal poops in her litterbox this evening next to her hay, my mom said she slept a lot while I was at work, but thats normal, I am home and she is hopping about and leaving her cage on her own etc.. we are giving her small amouts of whole food, and mush still(which she is eating on her own) just to make sure that any little bit that she eats has all her nutrients, the last thing she needs is to lack vital nutrients while trying to recover!


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## Maureen Las (Mar 16, 2011)

:great:Keep up the good work with her


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## itsazoo (Mar 17, 2011)

believe it or not she appears to have made a complete recovery aleady, she's acting totally normal now and rippen around the house like crazy!


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