Don't worry, that's paper Easter grass they are ingesting. Maybe the yellow dye is yummy?
I shared a photo update with Cathy their foster mom (the woman who helped raised them from baby bunnies) and Cindy at the shelter who helped me adopt them, and both were thrilled to see their cute mugs again. Cindy even forwarded my email to several of the fellow bunny volunteers, one of which runs a monthly local bunny newsletter -- appropriately named Thump! She asked if she could use some pics and my email update for this month's issue. Yay!
In less happy(hoppy) news, I came home on Wednesday night, tired and exhausted from my personal trainer session at the gym, to find that Clyde wasn't in the mood to eat. This is quite out of the ordinary, since usually it only takes a shake of the bag of pellets to get them to dash out of the pen and hop around my feet until I feed them. But on Wednesday night, Clyde just stayed in the fort while Bonnie ate, and then even refused when I offered him a strawberry (super treat!). Worried, I contacted Cathy their foster mom and Cindy from the shelter again. Cathy immediately called to say there was something definitely wrong if Clyde wasn't responding to treats. "Is he pooping?" she asked. I said no, I hadn't seen him use the litterbox but couldn't be sure since he shares the same litterbox with Bonnie. Cathy said I should get to know which poops are whose, since there are subtle differences between rabbits', well, you know. Unfortunately I could only assume the worst, that Clyde wasn't eating or pooping, which meant he was probably suffering from abdominal gas or GI-stasis, that's when their digestive tract stops running and they get very uncomfortable and can even die of it in a day.
I remembered what Cindy taught me when I was adopting them, how to take a bunny's temperature and warm them up if it drops below normal (101-103F). I was able to wrap Clyde up in a towel and took him to the kitchen counter, which was definitely a sign that he wasn't feeling like himself, or he definitely would have high-tailed it out of my arms at the first opportunity. Luckily, I had bought a quick-read digital thermometer last month, just in case I would ever need it for something like this. Taking a bunny's temperature is pretty tricky, since you have to go in the back door, if you know what I mean. Holding a scared but lethargic Clyde, I nervously held and turned him on his back on my lap -- much trickier than it sounds. I managed to find his butthole under his tail and quickly got a reading and it was within normal range, 100.9. Just to be safe though, I wrapped him in a couple layers of warm towels and called my vet office's emergency hotline.
They didn't have a bunny specialist on call that night, but said I could bring him in in the morning. In the meantime, they advised me to give belly rubs, syringe feeding some baby food and simethicone (baby gas reliever), chasing him around to try to get his system moving again, and watching for signs if he got better or worse. Worse comes to worst, I could take him to an emergency pet hospital to give him sub-cutaneous fluids (fluids under the skin), that would tie him over until my vet could see him in the morning. I found some simethicone at the drugstore, and proceeded to try to inject some into Clyde's mouth. It was surprisingly difficult trying to find where Clyde's mouth is. There are his cheeks and nose, and somewhere under his nose are his two front incisors, then a gap between those and his back molars. The trick is to stick the syringe in the gap and slowly dispense. I poked around his cheeks a bit before finding the gap that I thought was his mouth. I'm not sure though, because as soon as I pushed down on the plunger, the pink simethicone came out in a burst and got all over the side of his cheek and mostly on the towel. Clyde flinched and immediately started cleaning his face vigorously. After that episode I gave up on trying to use the syringe (I figured I needed a smaller one since the one I had wouldn't start dispensing without an initial "burst" of fluid). He stewed under the blankets for a while longer, then I put him in the hallway to try to chase him a little. At first he was reluctant to move, but soon he was feeling more active and showed signs of progress. I brought him back into my room and let him romp around for a while, and FINALLY, 4 hrs after I had come home, he finally started eating a little. This was a good sign, and after another 20 mins or so I saw him use the litterbox for the first time as well. I think he pooped out an extra long one, which was probably mixed with his fur that he has been shedding all over the place. Somewhat relieved, I went to bed and planned to take him into the vet in the morning.
(Wow, are you still reading?) The next day I was woken up 3 times by phone calls all for Clyde; the first was from the vet at 6:30, who was calling to follow-up from the emergency call the night before, and said she would be able to see him at 10am. Then Cathy called an hour later, followed by Cindy immediately after; both were relieved to hear that Clyde had started eating again. I peered over my bed to see how Clyde was doing. Sitting quietly next to Bonnie. I was happy to see him dash towards the pellets this morning, and with much coaxing with treats got him into the carrier to go to the vet. Dr. Maguire who I spoke to at 6am was happy to see us both and gave Clyde a thorough exam - ears, teeth, belly, temperature, and feet. Everything seemed in order and Clyde was well-behaved the whole time. She gave me a couple of medications that would help him regulate his system for the next few days, and also prescribed sub-cu fluids. The fluids were administered by 2 nurses; one restrained Clyde on the ground while the other pinched his skin behind the neck, inserted the needle and squeezed the bag of fluid. A big bubble of fluid resulted on Clyde's back, and she suggested that I massage the area to get the fluids moving. I left feeling relieved (and also $200 poorer), with a pretty shaken-up but healthy Clyde.
The subway trains unfortunately were not running back home and I was already late for work, so after much going back and forth in my head, I took Clyde along with me into the office for the day. He was an instant hit with everyone who saw him, and I was able to let him out in an empty office to stretch his legs. He ate some fresh veggies and one of the medications that I fed from a spoon. I could tell he wanted to go home, but I had one more stop to make before we went back, to see Cindy at an event talking about legislation of rabbits. When the talk was over I went to say hello, and again everyone who saw Clydy peek out of the carrier was instantly won over. One lady even asked to interview me for some publication she works for, so that's 2 articles on Bonnie & Clyde this month!
Finally after all that, Clyde returned to his pen with Bonnie, and went straight for the litterbox (hooray!). He seemed to be getting his old appetite back, but I still had to administer one of the medicines by syringe per the vet's instructions. There was a lot of coaxing (to no avail) and hopping around the pen, but finally I grabbed the litterbox with Clyde in it to the kitchen where I could lean over him and hold his head while I gave him his meds. He didn't like me poking around his mouth again and I couldn't be sure that he was swallowing it, but at least I got it all in his mouth this time. I have a feeling next time he might struggle more when I try to transport him in the litterbox. Better get some tasty fruit treats ready.
Whew, that was a lot of updating. Hope everyone has a good weekend!
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