Eating lots of hay and drinking water, but has tiny poops?

[Mr.OliverJames]

I know there are lots of threads about GI Stasis already, but this case seems slightly different. Today I gave Oliver a few small pieces of dried papaya and pineapple along with a salad of romaine and swiss chard, and of course, plenty of timothy hay. However, when I came home from work, I noticed very loud gurlging noises coming from Oliver's belly. I gave him a belly massage, and his belly did not feel hard or tight and he has pretty much been acting normally (bunny flops and 500's), and the gurgling noises have subsided. Oliver has continued to eat lots of hay and drink water, but his fecal pellets have been very tiny. Does this sound like the beginning of stasis? What should I do at this point? It seems too soon to go to the vet since he is eating, drinking, and behaving normally...

I've read a few other posts in which adding some apple cider vinegar to his water was suggested. Will this help?

 

[missyscove]

I'm not sure where you're located (please add at least your ountry to your account) but the gurgling noises (borborygmi) are caused by an air/fluid interface. I'd recommend starting him on some simethicone (infant gas meds) at 1 cc per hour for the first three hours and another dose about 3 hours later. Simethicone won't necessarily help, but it can't hurt.
As long as he's still willingly eating I wouldn't consider it an emergency, but if he stops eating, I'd definitley see a vet.

 

[JBun]

You'll want to stop the fruit, and any sugary or starchy foods. Also stop pellets and feed unlimited grass hay for the next few days until the poop is normal again. You'll want to figure out the cause and if it has to do with the diet, then you should probably eliminate or reduce drastically, the sugary treats so it doesn't happen again. Here's some info on GI stasis.

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

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

I know there are lots of threads about GI Stasis already, but this case seems slightly different. Today I gave Oliver a few small pieces of dried papaya and pineapple along with a salad of romaine and swiss chard, and of course, plenty of timothy hay. However, when I came home from work, I noticed very loud gurlging noises coming from Oliver's belly. I gave him a belly massage, and his belly did not feel hard or tight and he has pretty much been acting normally (bunny flops and 500's), and the gurgling noises have subsided. Oliver has continued to eat lots of hay and drink water, but his fecal pellets have been very tiny. Does this sound like the beginning of stasis? What should I do at this point? It seems too soon to go to the vet since he is eating, drinking, and behaving normally...

I've read a few other posts in which adding some apple cider vinegar to his water was suggested. Will this help?

--just plain water for now,-timothy,and some pellets...-does he eat the cecotropes.??--smaller daytime poops is indicitive of something going on in the gitract/flora could be off if not eatng cecotropes,--infant simethicone for loud noises in the gitract/pressure is painful and eating will be effected/less,,--sounds like you are doing an excellent job..here is a link you might already have http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html sincerely james waller :goodjob

 

[usarocks95135]

For his poop try warn prune juice. It really works, for humans and bunnies. If the stomatch sounds continue, you might want to try a tiny bit of pepto. Don't feed anything sugary and comb him a lot now to prevent him from swallowing more fur. Also try not to feed him pellets. Just hay, water, and a maybe 1/2 cup of veggies once a day. Celery is a great veggie to feed him because it's full of fiber but you'll need tocut it into thin 1 inch slices. Hope this helps and :happybunny:he gets well soon!!!

 

[missyscove]

For his poop try warn prune juice. It really works, for humans and bunnies. If the stomatch sounds continue, you might want to try a tiny bit of pepto. Don't feed anything sugary and comb him a lot now to prevent him from swallowing more fur. Also try not to feed him pellets. Just hay, water, and a maybe 1/2 cup of veggies once a day. Celery is a great veggie to feed him because it's full of fiber but you'll need tocut it into thin 1 inch slices. Hope this helps and :happybunny:he gets well soon!!!

I'm inclined to think that prune juice would have too much sugar for an already gassy bunny and while there are studies on bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in pepto bismol) to protect against stomach ulcers, I don't think that would be appropriate in this situation.

 

[Mr.OliverJames]

Thank you all for your responses. Since my first post, I only fed Oliver hay and encouraged him to drink water by placing his bowl in front of him. After a few hours of hay eating and water drinking, his poops went back to being normal sized and the gurgling noises stopped altogether. Phew! As I'm sure you all know, it's easy to panic when something seems not right with our little buns, and I appreciate all of your helpful suggestions!