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Bunny Passing Mucus

22 10:19:42

Question
QUESTION: About 5 weeks ago I noticed that there was some mucus coating a very large dropping my rabbit had left behind.  The next day she wasn't eating at all and I took her to the vet.  After seven days of sub-q fluids, metoclopromide first twice, then increased to three times, per day, baytril twice per day and metacam the last couple of days she finally pooped again.  She would show some interest in food intermittently.  The mucus kept her bottom wet the entire time.  Sometimes it seemed to have a skunk like odor.  As I said, that was July 21st.  In total I probably spent about $500 treating her.  (They insisted on x-rays to rule out a blockage.)  She was eating hay this morning, but when I got home this afternoon she wasn't acting herself.  I offered her a dried banana as a treat and she did eat that.  Later I gave her a couple of pieces of romaine lettuce and she ate that as well, but I noticed her sitting in her litter box a lot.  It is now bedtime and I brought up their nightly greens of romaine lettuce, parsley and cilantro.  She is not eating it and she is also refusing the hay.  To top it all of I noticed a glob of mucus in her litter box.  The vet was concerned about the mucus before, but it was never really addressed.  I assume that is what the baytril was for and it did go away.  I cannot do this every five weeks.  She had had issues for the last year where I will notice she is not eating, but I give her simethicone and massage her tummy and she's been better within 12 hours.  The mucus is new.  I am wondering if she has something wrong with her that just cannot be fixed.  I don't think it is fair to her to be sick all of the time.  Which brings me to my next question.  She has been bonded to what I believe is her sister.  Is is possible for a single bunny to be happy if she loses her partner?

ANSWER: Dear Shannon,

I hope you're not considering euthanasia simply because you haven't yet gotten to the bottom of this problem.  A bunny suddenly bereaved of a partner will grieve terribly, and I've even known some to grieve to death.  So give your bunny a chance to get well with appropriate treatment.

The mucus is a sign of enteritis, which can be caused by any number of things.  Be sure the vets you are seeing are experienced with rabbits. You can find a listing of rabbit vets here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Enteritis is not generally a disease unto itself:  it is a sign of GI tract upset/slowdown that is being triggered by some pain/stress/illness.  So I would recommend that you read this for first start instructions:

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

and this:

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

Two of the most common causes of chronic GI upset are incorrect diet:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

and--as weird as it sounds--dental pain, such as from molar spurs.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

and be SURE the vets you see know how to do a proper dental exam for molar spurs, and how to file any problematic points.  

Other health problems such as urinary tract problems:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

internal infections, etc. can also cause ileus/GI slowdown, so bloodwork to check organ function and blood cell count would also be in order here.

I hope this gives you some ideas to try to get her on the road to recovery.  This is very likely a problem that can be solved.

I hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Oh no, I wasn't considering euthanasia at this point. It just seems to keep happening and I'm as worried for the other rabbit as I am for her!  I honestly cannot afford $500 every five weeks.  Thanks for the quick reply.

Answer
Dear Shannon,

It's not at all likely that this is being caused by anything contagious.  But do check the diet, because if they are both being fed too much starch or other problematic foods, the other bunny could also develop problems.

I hope the articles I sent will help you get and keep them both on the path to good health soon!

Dana