Good evening, Everybun!
It's been a quiet day, and we had our first nap of the day right along our hoomin. He just sprawled out on the floor next to Charlie and stared at us like a weirdo. Thump. I didn't mind that much 'cause I had an apple stuck to work over, but Charlie zonked out. From there on it was a chillax kinda day.
Here are a few "lessons learned" from last week.
- We missed the first, gentle sign that something was wrong when, for hours, we didn't see any pellets around the bin. Charlie's bin habits are OK, but not great. As long as she "goes" we're hoppy.
- When we did catch it, the recovery protocol held us over until we could get to the doctor. We were only able to do that thanks to all the help and support from our rabbit-savvy friends and doctors over the years.We were able to get Charlie just the right amount of help, keeping her stress level to a minimum.
Spressy left us when everything became just too much for him, and all the good hands he was in at that moment could do nothing about it.
- We were lucky to be able to see Dr. Zellner. The other options would have been to try to see Dr. Teed (an hour-long drive) or to go to BluePearl.
We're just glad the stars aligned as they did. We're grateful we were able to beat back this one. And we try to keep that Bunoweensmas spirit going all the time. That statue of "Mrs. Bun," wearing a witchy hat, adorned with Christmas lights, sets the mood right.
Good night and good luck!
- Gus
PS: Here's a recap of the entire adventure
Monday evening
It started with cleaning around our bins last M*nd*y. All the pads were changed, and we got a fresh hay bin. Typically, fresh poops would show up around the bin shortly after the cleanup, because Charlie goes wherever Charlie wants to go. But the perimeter stayed clean for way longer than "normal."
Now we think that was when Charlie first started experiencing the symptoms of stasis. She was still active that evening and demanded the evening treats as usual.
Tuesday
5:30 AM
Charlie refused treats and was hiding under the bed, and would not come out on her own.
The recovery protocol started:
1 ml Metoclopromide
1 ml of gas drops
1.3 ml Metacam (24-hr dose based on her body weight)
Belly massage (The kind when you can touch your fingertips through their belly - ask your vet to show you how it's done.)
Rage eating hay when placed in the bin and encouraged.
She was drinking and peeing a little.
After a couple of hours, we booked a visit with our V.E.T. That was a miracle in itself; the vet is usually difficult to get a visit with, but somebunny up there liked us that day.
Around noon, Charlie took a half a cookie, and then the other half. Then she got 14 ml of Sarx recovery food via a syringe.
3:30 PM
During the visit, the doc discovered the 2 broken nails and thought that they might have been the source of the distress. Otherwise, Charlie was in good shape - she wasn't dehydrated, wasn't bloated, and the doc could not feel any significant blockage. Whatever she felt was starting to build got broken up through that extensive massage.
Once we got home, we continued with the feeding, massages, and got Charlie running around as much as possible. And shortly before 10 PM, we got a few band-spanking new pellets!
She received 1 ml of Metoclopromide (1 ml every 12 hours). Charlie stayed isolated from Gus so we could keep a close eye on the pellets.
Wednesday
There were poops around the bin! We kept up the medication and feeding routine. Every dose of recovery food was followed by 1 ml of gas drops. Massage, rage-eat hay, run around, rinse and repeat.
Thursday
We maintained the recovery routine as in previous days.
The big break came in the afternoon. And they kept coming. We broke the quarantine. Charlie started demanding cookies.
