sick bunny, vet may have misdiagnosed!

Question
Hello,
I have a 4 and 1/2 year old mini lop and over the last week he has gone downhill. I took him to the vet a couple of days ago and after a check up, they found nothing wrong externally but diagnosed a stomach infection of some sort and prescribed him Baytril (15mg) and Panacur (10% suspension). I have not had any x-rays done due to the $200 cost per x-ray, nor any sort of blood test.
My worry is that the real problem may be GI stasis. He has pretty much stopped eating all together minus some leafy greens, and has not drank water in days. I have been feeding him water from a syringe, but he has not eaten any hay or pellets at all. He does still like to chew on some pear tree branches as well as greet me and hop around the kitchen and outside. His dropping have stopped all together except for some very small ones that are not nearly the normal amount or size.
I am worried that things are going to get dramatically worse at this rate and he will end up suffering.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated

Thanks,

-Nathan

Answer
Dear Nathan,

Sorry for the delay.  I had a family emergency, and have been off line for a week.

I hope by now you have found the link for treating ileus:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

This is not going to be a primary cause of the problem; it is a physiological response to stress/pain/illness.  But it must be reversed and the rabbit must be in good GI condition to undergo further treatment.  Please also see:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

Unfortunately, I've not heard that there are many vets up in the Great White North who are well-versed in rabbit medicine. But if your current vet said there was a "stomach infection" and just threw Baytril at the problem, it might be time for a second opinion.

Please try finding another vet via the international listings here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana