Rabbit recovery after mucoid enteritis

Question
Hi,  I am getting to the point of despondancy!!  

I purchased an 8 week old rabbit one week ago to be a companion for my other rabbit.  Three days after getting her, she was at the vet.  The diagnosis was not good.....mucoid enteritis, and the vet did not think that Misty would live.  I was devasted.

I have been feeding Misty by syringe using the recovery plus compound given by the vet. Also I have been giving her antibiotic (baytril..0.4ml daily) and Metacam, (I only gave her the prescribed dosage for 2 days as her behaviour indicated that she was not in pain AND the vet had stated that it could cause other probs, which was a worry) and I have applied gentle massage to her abdomen.....and despite the gloomy outlook....Misty is still alive.  
She is been given lots and lots of love on top of the syringe feeding etc  and despite making the recovery plus thicker in order to encourage Misty to chew, she is showing no interest in food at all.  I have noticed that she is drinking, but in my observations I am concerned that she was taken from her mother too early as she does not appear to know how to lap water or chew her food....I appreciate that she is ill which will affect the food aspect.
She is so painfully thin and I dread coming down to her each morning...(I am getting up through the night to ensure that she has something in her stomach), I do not know how she is coping. I have mashed pellets up with water and fed them to her...but cannot encourage her to eat by herself....I am getting despondant.

It has been four days so far and I am so grateful that she is still here with us...and judging by what the vet said I feel very lucky......but please can you help me find a way to get Misty to eat by herself?

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you.

Vanessa

Answer
http://www.threelittleladiesrabbitry.com/mucoidenteritis.php

http://www.gopetsamerica.com/small-animals/rabbit/internal-diseases.aspx

Hi Vanessa

I have read on two articles now to stop feeding pellets and go to steamed rolled oats, timothy hay and grass. The pellets are too hard on the bunnies' system and sometimes the transition is too hard on them and they develop mucoid enteritis when their digestive systems are introduced to pellets too quickly. Bunny may accept these grass more readily.

Both articles say to alleviate the gasto-intestinal pain to use orthopedic drops. Simethicone infant drops are recommended and then the rabbit will find some relief and may show more interest in food. They are considered safe.

You are doing everything right. Did the vet offer critical care? It's made for herbivores and my rabbits generally liked it when I needed to use it. Otherwise, Nutri-cal for dogs and cats is recommended as well.

I too would be concerned about using too much metacam, especially considering the rabbits' age and that she's on anti-biotics to boot. I would opt for the drops which may alleviate the bloat and stomach pain enough for her to have an interest in food.

It is unlikely that the rabbit was too young to be removed from it's mother unless it is a large breed. Most small breeds are ready by the 5th or 6th week and 8 weeks would be considerably safe. I think her unwillingness to lap is because of her condition rather than her age.

I am going to send this now. Try it and let me know how she does.

Alice