Stomach sounds

Good evening bunny lovers!
I have 6 months old mini lop with sounds coming out somewhere around his stomach, I guess. He is eating well, pooping, playing, acting very normal. But the sound is there, mostly when he moves. This gurgling sound is loud what disturbs me. I hope he is ok. I tried to masage his tummy (what he enjoyed of course), but no change. Is it normal?

What do you feed your rabbit exactly? It could be gas caused by something he is eating. Is his poop the normal round poop or is any of it mushy?

JBun said:

What do you feed your rabbit exactly? It could be gas caused by something he is eating. Is his poop the normal round poop or is any of it mushy?

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90% round solid, sometimes mushy. Today I saw only once in the morning mushy poop. And the Sounds are still in his stomach. Im a bit afraid, becouse there are no vets for rabbits where Iam living

What exact foods do you feed your rabbit? Something in your rabbits diet is likely causing the mushy poop and this could also be causing the loud stomach sounds.

Is this rabbit new to you and how long have you had him? If he is new, did you change his diet from what he is used to eating from where you got him, or is he eating the exact same foods and brand of food?

JBun said:

What exact foods do you feed your rabbit? Something in your rabbits diet is likely causing the mushy poop and this could also be causing the loud stomach sounds.

Is this rabbit new to you and how long have you had him? If he is new, did you change his diet from what he is used to eating from where you got him, or is he eating the exact same foods and brand of food?

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Daily he gets fresh greens as parsley or lettuce, small bowl of pellets and alpine meadow hay (as I run out of Timothy hay and local stores does not sell Timothy hay). Twice a week I give him a treat as a slice of apple, small carrot or bannana.

MuffinBun said:

Daily he gets fresh greens as parsley or lettuce, small bowl of pellets and alpine meadow hay (as I run out of Timothy hay and local stores does not sell Timothy hay). Twice a week I give him a treat as a slice of apple, small carrot or bannana.

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And he is my first rabbit, yes. Got him when he was 2m old, now he is 6.

what type of lettuce?

Roman lettuce and he loves cabbage also. In the morning I found soft poop, 3-4 pieces.

I would remove the apple, banana, and carrot from his diet for at least 3-7 days and see if it clears up the stomach gurgling and soft poop. If that doesn't clear it up I would next remove one veggie/green at a time for a few days and see if that resolves it. One of the veggies/greens or fruit is the likely culprit, though there is a possibility the pellets might be the cause. But I would start with the fruit, veggies, and greens first.

All treats removed now for 2 days. Less veggies and smaller amount of pellets. There was no soft poop today yet, and sounds only once or twice. But he seems to me hungry. What if he looses weight? Should he eat only pellets and hay?

Your bun will perfectly survive on pellet and hay. He will not lose weight so long the pellets balance are good. Most rabbit seem hungry but hay it’s food for rabbit. Just not as tasty like veggies, fruits and pellets, so they often want those instead than hay [emoji5]

He can still have veggies but you will have to rule out what veggies/ fruits that make his stomach upset.

I know cabbage can make rabbits build up gas in the stomach.

How much pellets do you feed your bun [emoji4]

If you free feed the meadow/grass hay(meaning it never should run out), if he eats lots of it throughout the day(a pile about the size of his body), and if the hay is good quality, green, and has enough leafy stems and isn't too coarse(or mostly hard stems), then there shouldn't be a problem feeding a smaller amount of pellets and feed feeding hay. I've had rabbits on mostly hay diets and they did fine and were healthy. But it would be a good idea to weigh your rabbit a couple times a week to make sure he stays at a healthy body weight.

Hermelin said:

Your bun will perfectly survive on pellet and hay. He will not lose weight so long the pellets balance are good. Most rabbit seem hungry but hay it’s food for rabbit. Just not as tasty like veggies, fruits and pellets, so they often want those instead than hay [emoji5]

He can still have veggies but you will have to rule out what veggies/ fruits that make his stomach upset.

I know cabbage can make rabbits build up gas in the stomach.

How much pellets do you feed your bun [emoji4]

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In 24h max 100g of pellets. Its hard for me to check his weight, but he should be from 1,5 upto 2kg. I stayed very close to him today listening to the sound, but it does not seem like coming from his stomach, but rather from throat (if that is possible)..

Cabbage, broccoli, kale, bok choy and all other cruciferous veggies (there is a whole list online) cause gas from the fact they are very high in fibre and something called raffinose. They can cause major bloating in people AND rabbits. My bunny loves kale and broccolini and never seems to suffer from them, but still I am careful not to give him too much at once. Perhaps cut them out for now, and then re-introduce later in much smaller amounts with 24hrs in between the next amount or just as a treat every now and then? I know that cabbage gives me the worst stomach pain and terrible gas! Even though I too love it. Stomach sounds are normal, apparently they are a good sign of digestion and movement throughtout the intestinal tract, which is what we want for our bunnies, but very loud or popping sounds are not soo good. The sounds should be burbling, like a gentle river. I got this info from The Bunny Guy, who seems to be a great resource for house bunny info, check it here http://thebunnyguy.com/index.html

I found the direct quote that I came across awhile back

The Bunny Guyon February 7, 2015 at 9:20 am said:


You should hear gentle gurgling inside your bunny’s tummy all the time. Their guts are in constant motion and if you put your ear to their stomachs, you will hear what I mean. If you don’t hear anything, that is not good. It usually means things have stopped moving and that they could be in stasis. If you hear loud popping noises, instead of the gentle gurgling noises that you should hear, then it could mean that they have gas. Some Baby Gas Drop (simenthicone) should be given to help relieve this painful gas from their gut.
That is a very basic run down of how to listen to their tummies. Hope this helps.
Thanks