ADVICE NEEDED! this ever happen to you? (video included)

hi there, newbie rabbit owner here. i've been raising rabbits over the summer so i do have some experience (it's been a wild ride), but this bunny isn't domesticated like my others. she's a wild one that was nearly hit by a pick by some workers outside and they handed it off to us. the bunny had been 100% fine until i fed it a large apple slice yesterday. it was acting normally in the morning but in the evening it was suddenly behaving very bizarrely. it blew up like a balloon and can hardly stand correctly. you can see her odd behavior in this video i just recorded:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7OmTuHV8Ys&feature=youtu.be"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7OmTuHV8Ys&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

has anyone had a similar problem? have your rabbits ever recovered from this? i'm nervous but i know that whatever happens was probably nature's plan anyway. god, i really do love this bunny.

YOUR RABBIT IS EXPERIENCING BLOAT WHICH IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY!

This rabbit needs to be seen by a vet immediately. The bloating will put pressure on the heart and lungs which can result in heart failure, as well as the risk of bloat rupturing the stomach. The sugars from the apple likely caused an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria, resulting in the bloat. Toxins released by the bacteria are causing the side effects you are seeing, as is the pressure on the internal organs, and likely will be deadly if the rabbit isn't given Questran to bind the toxins and the antibiotic metronidazole to get the bacteria under control, as well as strong pain medication to help with the pain. The stomach will likely need to be decompressed as well to relieve the pressure from the bloat.

Even with this medical intervention there is a good chance the rabbit may not survive, as bloat is very often fatal. In the very least if this rabbit is still suffering, better to pts than to allow it to continue to suffer in pain, as bloat is extremely painful.

Please, get this rabbit to a vet now. This rabbit is in severe pain and is suffering as a result.
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/


http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Clostridial_enteritis_rabbits.htm

JBun said:

YOUR RABBIT IS EXPERIENCING BLOAT WHICH IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY!

This rabbit needs to be seen by a vet immediately. The bloating will put pressure on the heart and lungs which can result in heart failure, as well as the risk of bloat rupturing the stomach. The sugars from the apple likely caused an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria, resulting in the bloat. Toxins released by the bacteria are causing the side effects you are seeing, as is the pressure on the internal organs, and likely will be deadly if the rabbit isn't given Questran to bind the toxins and the antibiotic metronidazole to get the bacteria under control, as well as strong pain medication to help with the pain. The stomach will likely need to be decompressed as well to relieve the pressure from the bloat.

Even with this medical intervention there is a good chance the rabbit may not survive, as bloat is very often fatal. In the very least if this rabbit is still suffering, better to pts than to allow it to continue to suffer in pain, as bloat is extremely painful.

Please, get this rabbit to a vet now. This rabbit is in severe pain and is suffering as a result.
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/


http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Clostridial_enteritis_rabbits.htm

Click to expand...

thank you!! i will do that immediately. the page you directed me to describes diarrhea as a major symptom, though she's eating and pooping normally. thank you so much for the advice, it was a HUGE help!

Diarrhea is just one common symptom of enterotoxaemia. Sudden onset of a gas filled stomach, distended abdomen, is another possible symptom. It may not be due to the clostridium bacteria, but based on your rabbit previously having a large amount of a sugary food, and this sudden onset of bloat, this would be a possibility and would be my concern.

Here's some info specifically on bloat.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/PhysicalTraumatic/AcuteGIT_ObstructionRabbits.htm
http://www.bunnylu.org/bloat.php

Hope you are able to get the needed help for your bun and that your bun has a chance of recovering. Best of luck.

Just noticed that you said this occurred yesterday. By this time if your bun is still alive, the bloating should have subsided, but if not I would get the bun to the vet.

i took the bun to the vet the night of posting that thanks to your advice and got her on some simethicone and metacam. they told me to feed her hay and pellets rather than pellets and greens, i upgraded her cage and put a mild heat lamp over the cage to keep her warm as well as some towels and shirts. she's doing great and is getting more coordinated by the hour! i was sure that this would be the end of little Bob Barker...but things are looking pretty bright. :wiggle

That's great! I'm so glad little bun survived and is doing better.

I agree that a grass hay like timothy, and pellets is much better than giving veggies and especially sugary treats, at this age. Hay helps keep their digestive tract from backing up, and at this young age bunnies are especially prone to contracting digestive illnesses because of being recently weaned and their gut microflora not being fully established. Sugary foods especially can really upset this balance causing bad bacteria to grow. So it's best to avoid any sugary starchy foods. Usually around 12 weeks old it is safe to very gradually introduce veggies into the diet as long as there are no digestive issues going on. This link has some dietary tips for feeding young rabbits.
http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/diet-baby.asp

Just a side note. The heat lamp is a good idea to help keep little bun warm, but just make sure that she doesn't get too warm and that there is a cool place that she can go to if she does get too hot. Also if she isn't eating and drinking well, she will need to be syringe fed, in case the vet didn't tell you this already. You should be able to get a feeding mix from your vet, or oxbow critical care is available online.

So happy this all turned out

She may have reacted to the apple and it might be trapped gas. See a vet pronto

OMG THAT IS A BAD BLOAT
Poor thing you shouldn't give baby rabbits ANY fruit intil they are older but I'm happy everything is ok.