It is clear that there is still a long way to go to ensure the nutritional provision for rabbits in the clinical setting is maintained. Many of the factors that need to be considered when delivering critical care are similar to those in other species; however, the specific issues relating to both acute and chronic stress and the gastrointestinal system are more species specific. Oral fluid therapy is satisfactory and sufficient for most ill rabbits, although intravenous fluid therapy is indicated for shocked rabbits. Mitigating these factors, either by stress reduction or the use of medications, is essential to facilitate the patient's health.

To make Critical Care for your rabbit, you will need a package of Oxbow’s Critical Care formula and a large syringe. Fine Grind provides the same nutritional profile as our anise and apple-banana products but is ground into an ultra-fine powder, which often makes administration of the product a bit easier. If you add little water, it is also possible to mould the substance into small balls so that you can feed your recovering animal.

Owner expectations for rabbits are the same as those for cats and dogs; it is up to us to live up to these. It is important with any syringe feeding that the correct syringes are used, especially for the Oxbow Critical Care, as adding warm water can make the fibre swell, so it is useful to remember to use the syringes provided with the product. Rabbits with hepatic lipidosis are totally anorexic and have probably not eaten for a few days although the owners may not have noticed. If the rabbit is refusing to swallow at all, then the feeding should be stopped and the patient re-assessed to avoid the risk of aspiration and choking. Ingredients: timothy, soybean hulls, soy protein concentrate, wheat germ, cane sugar molasses, salt, soybean oil, oat hulls and bran, wheat flour, yeast, vitamins, salts, minerals.

This type of nutrition is well tolerated in patients with gastrointestinal problems, particularly malabsorptive states like inflammatory bowel disease, dietary sensitivities, infectious enteropathies, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, neoplastic infiltration of the bowel, or pro ventricular dilation disease in birds ( Pollock, 2018). Add a bit of water into the barrel too, put the plunger on the back to block the water from coming out, point the syringe tip up and the air pocket will go up too – this gives you the chance to push the plunger in and only lose air! Ideally, they should receive at least 80% of their bodyweight in hay, as well as an adult-sized handful of fresh greens and vegetables ( PDSA, 2021a). I’m starting to wonder if it might be that grass really made him get discomfort to his gums… he acts fine, eats normal pellets and the mushed up pellets paste I made, ate fruit, eats hay but only avoids leafy greens.When I got home from work at midnight he was running around, jumping up on top of his dog crate and my bed. Anyway after 3 days of low dose metacam and soft food he was as good as new, we also got a bill of good health from the vet.

In other species, another renal response to acidosis is to increase ammonia production in response to either a fall in plasma pH or a fall in bicarbonate concentrations, but in the rabbit, ammonia is only produced in the kidney in response to a fall in bicarbonate concentrations and not a fall in blood pH. With the help and knowledge of our resident veterinary professionals, nutritionists and passionate, knowledgeable pet experts, we take pride in providing valuable content to help you create the best life possible for your pet. The large food retailers, including Burgess, Lafeber, Oxbow and Supreme, all have products available suitable for syringe feeding. We went to the vets earlier and he hasn't lost any weight but he gave him another jab of gut stimulant just in case.If your rabbit does not eat the solution on their own, take the back plunger out of the syringe and spoon in the Critical Care mixture. Until you get the hang of syringe feedings, practice before feeding your pet by loading a syringe with a small amount of mixed Critical Care and testing how much pressure is required to get the desired amount of food to come out. Improve International, Alexandra House, Whittingham Drive, Wroughton, Swindon, Wiltshire SN4 0QJ, England. Once the colloid has been given, the infusion rate of crystalloid can be dropped to maintenance rate of 2-4ml/kg/hour (i.