I recently had a 8 month old bunny pass away form bloat, and I was wondering what all can cause it. He had plenty of hay, he never exercise after eating he would just hop up on his box and lay down. He ate nothing out of the blue so I’m just so confused on how he got bloat. My grandad made him a large wooden box made out of plywood, and he used glue to hold it together. My bunny hickory chewed on the box a little but never ate any of the wood, and where he chewed it had no glue in that spot. Can consuming a little plywood cause bloat in rabbits? I just want to know if I did something that could have led to his death so I won’t do it again. I didn’t change his food abruptly and I didn’t give him any iceberg lettuce so I have no idea how he got bloat! And I want to make sure he didn’t get it form the box my grandad made him so my new bun won’t chew on it and get bloat. Are their anyways to prevent bloat in rabbits?
Questions about bloat
- Thread starter Squiddy
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SydneyHasBunnies
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It seems like the box was the case. I would stop using that box just to be safe with your new bun.
Bloat can come on all of a sudden and for no apparent reason. Even stress can cause a rabbit to change his eating habits which can cause gas. You mentioned he never exercised after eating -- what did you mean by this? After eating what? Does he get pellets? What kind and how much? Does he get greens or any fruit or anything else?
If you could describe his normal daily diet, there may be some clue in there. It is very doubtful that the plywood box had anything to do with it. Hutches are made for rabbits often enough out of plywood. That should not cause bloat even if he gnawed on it.
If you could describe his normal daily diet, there may be some clue in there. It is very doubtful that the plywood box had anything to do with it. Hutches are made for rabbits often enough out of plywood. That should not cause bloat even if he gnawed on it.
I found him behind a target, so I didn’t have him from the very beginning. He was about 7 months old when I found him and took him home. I gave him 1 cup of pellets and it took him a few days to go through it all, and he always had access to fresh hay. The week before he passed I gave him some fresh green veggies that I read online were safe for buns. The day I brought him home he was very calm running around and sniffing my room, and within a week he would flop and even sleep on my bed with me and would lay around all over my room, so I don’t think he was stressed. Just one morning I woke up and he was very lathargic and didn’t want to do anything that he normally would enjoy. His daily diet was Timothy hay and pellets..for the month I had him I offered veggies now and then but he often rejected them.
I definitly do not think the box could have been the culprit.
What veggies did you feed? Did you phase them in over one or two weeks , starting with thumbnail bits twice a day and slowly increasing? It's better to feed something continously, not now and then. They need to grow the right bacteria to digest that stuff, that takes time, and a somewhat constant input to keep them there.
My take on feeding rabbits is that the more diverse their food is (I feed 90% forage when available) the less are the chances that they encounter something they can't handle.
Anyway, bloat can come completly out of the blue, there's no way to absolutly prevent it. When it happens, it's important to act fast. Although it occured only once in my herd I always have Simethicone drops (baby gas drops, they come in different concentrations, I give about 20mg of Simethicone 2 or 3 times a day) in the fridge. I did give extensive belly massages (to a doe that normally would make mincemeat of me when I touch her belly), and of course, trip to the vet at the first opportunity. Had to force feed her for 2 days, and the first thing she started to eat were oatmeal and rose leaves.
But even if doing everything possible it can end fatal. Rabbits are delicate creatures. It can be just bad luck.
What veggies did you feed? Did you phase them in over one or two weeks , starting with thumbnail bits twice a day and slowly increasing? It's better to feed something continously, not now and then. They need to grow the right bacteria to digest that stuff, that takes time, and a somewhat constant input to keep them there.
My take on feeding rabbits is that the more diverse their food is (I feed 90% forage when available) the less are the chances that they encounter something they can't handle.
Anyway, bloat can come completly out of the blue, there's no way to absolutly prevent it. When it happens, it's important to act fast. Although it occured only once in my herd I always have Simethicone drops (baby gas drops, they come in different concentrations, I give about 20mg of Simethicone 2 or 3 times a day) in the fridge. I did give extensive belly massages (to a doe that normally would make mincemeat of me when I touch her belly), and of course, trip to the vet at the first opportunity. Had to force feed her for 2 days, and the first thing she started to eat were oatmeal and rose leaves.
But even if doing everything possible it can end fatal. Rabbits are delicate creatures. It can be just bad luck.
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Any change in diet can be a trigger for gas. New greens or veggies are a common cause of this. This is the reason that greens need to be introduced very slowly to a rabbit. There is a process where one offers just one type of green, but only a small piece. Then one checks poos that day for any changes. If there are no changes, then, the next day, bunny can have a little more of the exact same green. This continues for several days.
After a week or so of one type of green, if it is well tolerated, then that green is added to bunny's list. Then a 2nd type of green can be slowly introduced following the same procedure. Some rabbits can't tolerate certain greens.
At the first signs of gas or discomfort, it's a good idea to offer bunny some simethicone (baby gas drops). This is often enough to alleviate the pain caused by gas. The sooner this is started, the quicker the recovery.
GI stasis is a common cause of death in pet rabbits. I'm sorry you had to go through that. At least bunny had some time with you to get love and attention.
edit: (It seems Prietler & I were typing at the same time.
)
After a week or so of one type of green, if it is well tolerated, then that green is added to bunny's list. Then a 2nd type of green can be slowly introduced following the same procedure. Some rabbits can't tolerate certain greens.
At the first signs of gas or discomfort, it's a good idea to offer bunny some simethicone (baby gas drops). This is often enough to alleviate the pain caused by gas. The sooner this is started, the quicker the recovery.
GI stasis is a common cause of death in pet rabbits. I'm sorry you had to go through that. At least bunny had some time with you to get love and attention.
edit: (It seems Prietler & I were typing at the same time.
)Last Saturday while I was at work my grandad gave him A LOT of Romanian lettus without me knowing now that I’ve talked to him about what has happened. I’ll send. A pic of one he took while he was eating. But he passed away Wednesday morning so at first I didn’t think it was the greens because surely it wouldn’t take several days for me to see symptoms of bloat? But the picture is of all the lettus my grandad gave him while I was gone :C was that the cause of his bloat you think?Any change in diet can be a trigger for gas. New greens or veggies are a common cause of this. This is the reason that greens need to be introduced very slowly to a rabbit. There is a process where one offers just one type of green, but only a small piece. Then one checks poos that day for any changes. If there are no changes, then, the next day, bunny can have a little more of the exact same green. This continues for several days.
After a week or so of one type of green, if it is well tolerated, then that green is added to bunny's list. Then a 2nd type of green can be slowly introduced following the same procedure. Some rabbits can't tolerate certain greens.
At the first signs of gas or discomfort, it's a good idea to offer bunny some simethicone (baby gas drops). This is often enough to alleviate the pain caused by gas. The sooner this is started, the quicker the recovery.
GI stasis is a common cause of death in pet rabbits. I'm sorry you had to go through that. At least bunny had some time with you to get love and attention.
edit: (It seems Prietler & I were typing at the same time.
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Last Saturday while I was at work my grandad gave him A LOT of Romanian lettus without me knowing now that I’ve talked to him about what has happened. I’ll send. A pic of one he took while he was eating. But he passed away Wednesday morning so at first I didn’t think it was the greens because surely it wouldn’t take several days for me to see symptoms of bloat? But the picture is of all the lettus my grandad gave him while I was gone :C was that the cause of his bloat you think?
Any change in diet can be a trigger for gas. New greens or veggies are a common cause of this. This is the reason that greens need to be introduced very slowly to a rabbit. There is a process where one offers just one type of green, but only a small piece. Then one checks poos that day for any changes. If there are no changes, then, the next day, bunny can have a little more of the exact same green. This continues for several days.
After a week or so of one type of green, if it is well tolerated, then that green is added to bunny's list. Then a 2nd type of green can be slowly introduced following the same procedure. Some rabbits can't tolerate certain greens.
At the first signs of gas or discomfort, it's a good idea to offer bunny some simethicone (baby gas drops). This is often enough to alleviate the pain caused by gas. The sooner this is started, the quicker the recovery.
GI stasis is a common cause of death in pet rabbits. I'm sorry you had to go through that. At least bunny had some time with you to get love and attention.
edit: (It seems Prietler & I were typing at the same time.
Attachments
Well, there's no point in that now, I think. It happened, it's over, blaming someone will not change anything.
A neighbour just lost a doe (never fed much greens) because his 92yo mother thought she might like that heap of cauliflower leaves...
Putting a definite "Only I Feed The Rabbit" rule into force might be a good idea, or placing acceptable treats handy for those who cant resist.
Bad things happen, gosh, in my first year with rabbits I had to euthanise 13 out of 14 of them, learn and move on.
A neighbour just lost a doe (never fed much greens) because his 92yo mother thought she might like that heap of cauliflower leaves...
Putting a definite "Only I Feed The Rabbit" rule into force might be a good idea, or placing acceptable treats handy for those who cant resist.
Bad things happen, gosh, in my first year with rabbits I had to euthanise 13 out of 14 of them, learn and move on.
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I’ll be sure to inform my grandad to not give my new bun so many greens and leave the feeding to me. I’m just glad to know what led to his death.
Thank you all for helping me get some clouser on what lead to his death! I now know to slowly introduce greens and whatnot with my new bunny. I’m still devastated that his death could have been prevented if I did my research and informed my family, but hickory had a good solid month of bliss with me and I’m glad I found him before he got heatstroke.
Do you already have a new bunny or are you planning on getting one?
I went to the pet store the other day to get some dog food, and I saw this little boy. His owner returned him cause he didn’t want him anymore, and since he was big no one wanted him. He was at the pet store for about 2 months. He was already neutered, so a adoption fee of 60$ for a neutered bum sounded nice. I don’t want to give up on owning rabbits over one mistake, so I adopted him.
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Aawww! Isn't he a cutie! Getting one that is already neutered is a big plus.
Do you know bunny's age? The age determines what a proper diet look likes. You can get a summary here.
I doubt any of us haven't made mistakes with past rabbits. There's so much to learn about these little guys. Glad you found this forum. It's a great resource!
Do you know bunny's age? The age determines what a proper diet look likes. You can get a summary here.
I doubt any of us haven't made mistakes with past rabbits. There's so much to learn about these little guys. Glad you found this forum. It's a great resource!
Bloat can have a variety of causes. Having been given too many greens several days before won't have been the cause for your rabbit unless he became sick right afterwards and gradually developed bloating over those next several days. Did you get a diagnosis of bloat from a vet to know that your bun died from bloat, or how did you know this was the cause?
So things that can cause bloating are obstructions such as from ingested foreign objects(carpet fibers, ingested large pieces of cardboard, clumping cat litter, etc), felted pieces of fur that build up in the stomach and cause a blockage, spoiled vegetables, bad reaction to certain veggies such as cruciferous ones(doesn't happen with most rabbits), eating a bad piece of hay, eating pellets that have gone bad or have mycotoxins, excess sugars in the diet causing overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria(excessive stress can also cause this to occur). Usually without having a necropsy done, there's no way to know for sure what caused the bloat to occur.
Your new bun looks quite settled in. Definitely a plus getting already neutered.
So things that can cause bloating are obstructions such as from ingested foreign objects(carpet fibers, ingested large pieces of cardboard, clumping cat litter, etc), felted pieces of fur that build up in the stomach and cause a blockage, spoiled vegetables, bad reaction to certain veggies such as cruciferous ones(doesn't happen with most rabbits), eating a bad piece of hay, eating pellets that have gone bad or have mycotoxins, excess sugars in the diet causing overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria(excessive stress can also cause this to occur). Usually without having a necropsy done, there's no way to know for sure what caused the bloat to occur.
Your new bun looks quite settled in. Definitely a plus getting already neutered.
He’s about 8 months old I’ll read the summary layer for sure!
I’m pretty sure it was bloat, but I never had a necropsy done because my vet wanted a absurd amount for it to be done. They wanted 500$!! I loved my bun, but 500 was too much for a pet that has passed on. The next few days after he ate his greens he was 100% normal so that’s why the greens confused me. I just sadly can’t afford 500$ on a bunny that has passed away. I’d love to know his death, but at the price it’s not a option for me. Domino -my new bun is still pretty shy he hasnt left the box since he got here yesterday, but when I took him how and let him hop around my room he laid down but was still a little nervous. He’s eating and drinking and pooping very nicely so I think he will be up and hopping around more in a few days
