Gassy bunny

Hello! Tonight our Betsy bunny had a belly ache again. We gave her Simethicone drops & within an hour or so she pooped, nibbled a bit of hay & has begun moving around a little more. My question is, are some bunnies more prone to gas then others? This is the 3rd time in 3 months there has been a problem. Last month she spent 4 days at the vet because she went into GI stasis. She has unlimited Oxbow hay, a very small amount of pellets twice a day ( total amount about 1/4 cup) and some greens twice daily. She also gets several hours of play time daily.

From what I have read and researched due to my rabbits problems, yes some bunnies have more easily upset digestive systems. My bunny has lots of issues with his cecotropes and had tons of gas when I first got him. Finding the right diet is your best bet at your current stage. I'm not sure how old your bunny is but i know that sometimes pellets can cause upset tummies. I actually took my bunny off pellets at my vets request when he was really struggling. You have to know which leafy greens won't upset your bunny as well and that can get tricky. Lots of trial and error and the most impkrtant thing is to keep them eating tons of hay!

Also, I would assume your vet has ruled out the possibility of an obstruction?

Thanks for your reply Floyd2019. We are not sure of her age. She was a rescue we got in January. The vet thinks she's about 1 1/2 years old. My husband said he gave her more basil (from my garden) than what she would normally get. She has eaten that before without problems, but because it was more he thinks that may have caused it. We did not take her to the vet last night. We gave her the gas drops first and monitored her very closely. Had she not responded to the drops so quickly, we were ready to make the trip. We thankfully don't have any problems with the cetotropes. She always eats them. I need to take her to her vet for a nail trim and I will definitely ask the vet about the pellets!

As an update, she is doing fine this morning. Lots of poops and pee in her litterpan. She ate most of her hay overnight and ate her piece of romaine this morning. She also drank a lot of water overnight and seems to be back to her normal self again! We are still going to watch her very closely today to be sure she's ok!

Bunnyluvr said:

Thanks for your reply Floyd2019. We are not sure of her age. She was a rescue we got in January. The vet thinks she's about 1 1/2 years old. My husband said he gave her more basil (from my garden) than what she would normally get. She has eaten that before without problems, but because it was more he thinks that may have caused it. We did not take her to the vet last night. We gave her the gas drops first and monitored her very closely. Had she not responded to the drops so quickly, we were ready to make the trip. We thankfully don't have any problems with the cetotropes. She always eats them. I need to take her to her vet for a nail trim and I will definitely ask the vet about the pellets!

As an update, she is doing fine this morning. Lots of poops and pee in her litterpan. She ate most of her hay overnight and ate her piece of romaine this morning. She also drank a lot of water overnight and seems to be back to her normal self again! We are still going to watch her very closely today to be sure she's ok!

Click to expand...

I'm glad she's doing better! Even just minimizing the amount might help but of course I can't be sure. She is old enough that she at least doesn't need pellets. Bunnies with tummy issues are picky so it does take a lot of trial and error. I spent and still spend many nights reading things online and researching my rabbits issues because sometimes that's your best bet, they aren't like dogs where vets are mooore knowledgeable, lots of times vets really appreciate that you have monitored, taken notes and researched since bunnies are so complex
Next time she appears to be struggling, or even on a daily basis you can try giving her gentle tummy massages as well. Train her to allow her weight to lay in your hands on her lower belly while on the floor and gently palpate her tummy with your fingers. It helps move the gas bubbles out!

Glad she is doing better today, keep us updated

I've had rabbits that would eat about anything and seemed to have an iron stomach. I've had others that were much more sensitive. My current bun can get an upset tummy if I give a teaspoon extra of treats. Simethicone is my first go-to and seems to always do the trick.

You'll have to play detective to determine what it is. Basil is typically very well tolerated. My sensitive bun can eat cups of it each day, no problem. (Though your rabbit may be different.) I think it is equally likely that the pellets could cause an issue. We've had a number of rabbits here on RO that have difficulty with tolerating pellets. They need to be limited to 1 tbsp per day or (in some cases) none at all.

It could be one particular green too. Has each green you've given her been introduced by itself? If one green is tolerated, it is not likely that giving her more of the same is going to cause a problem. In other words, if she is usually fine with basil and is used to eating, say ... a cup's worth of basil, then giving her 2 cups worth isn't going to be a problem. But if she never had, for instance, parsley, and she is suddenly given several sprigs, she could react with an upset tummy if she isn't used to parsley.

It will take some detective work to figure it out.