Another Rabbit not feeling well

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
4,671
Reaction score
3
Location
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
I don't know what the bunny boys are up to but i don't like it! So this morning i get up to feed every bunny and Snookium's doesn't want to come eat, So I pick him up give him some Oval and tummy rubs doesn't seem to help. So i give him some Pedialyte and he wont swallow it. But he's happy to eat a treat.. I put him a separate cage next to him friends with a bowl of pedialyte and some Hay and some Cilantro.

I'm not sure how old Snookiums is. We've had him for at least 5 yrs?

Earlier this week, my oldest boy DC was showing the same symptoms but was feeling much better after the Oval and tummy rubs.

Do I need to be worried about the last boy of the group?
 
If a bunny goes more than 8-12 hours without eating and/or pooping (or is only eating a very tiny amount), it's a medical emergency - GI stasis can be fatal if not treated promptly, because a rabbit's digestive system needs to be moving constantly.

I'll give you my usual advice for at-home remedies for GI stasis, but keep in mind these are ONLY viable if it hasn't been 8-12+ hours and ONLY if you don't suspect he might have a total blockage:

You can buy a syringe at any grocery store. If you have critical care food (comes from vets), you can syringe feed that. If you don't, you can make a pellet slurry - take some pellets and add water or pedialyte; microwave. Let sit for 5-10 mins so the pellets can "fluff", then mix together (breaking up the pellets as much as possible); add more liquid if needed to get it to a good pudding-like consistency for syringe feeding (using a food processor (before adding liquid to the pellets), a blender or a mortar and pestle (again, before adding liquid) will make it easier to break up the pellets). Critical care will work with a syringe as-is but with the DIY slurry, you may find it necessary to cut the tip of the syringe off to make the opening larger.

You can also offer a little bit of canned pumpkin (PLAIN stuff, not the pie filling kind) and/or some fruit or squash flavored baby food... not a whole lot, as these foods are sugary - maybe 2 tsp or so. If he won't eat the pumpkin on his own, you'll need to water it down with water or pedialyte in order to easily syringe feed it. These things could also be mixed into the pellet slurry or critical care to make it tastier.

You should syringe water or pedialite if you're worried he might not be drinking enough and/or if you're feeding pellet slurry/critical care.

When you syringe feed a rabbit food or liquids, you want to aim for the gap between his front incisors and back molars and always squirt the food/liquid in sideways - never straight back - to make sure he won't accidentally inhale it. Remember to give him time to chew/swallow. I find it easier (especially with liquids) to have the bunny wrapped in a towel, as things can get pretty messy.

Here's a great video showing how to syringe feed - [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iGZVYVm5Bg[/ame]

You can also offer pain meds to make your bunny more comfortable - metacam/meloxicam if you have it (bunny painkillers); baby aspirin or low-dose aspirin if you don't. This website has dosing info for pain meds - http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

Simethicone (any brand of over the counter baby gas medicine) can also be given. it may or may not help depending on the cause of the GI stasis, but it's *incredibly* safe for rabbits so it definitely can't hurt. You can give 1-2 cc every hour for 3h, then 1 cc every 3-8h as needed if it seems to be helping.

Probiotics are also very helpful for tummy troubles (stuff like benebac/probios (in the US, brands differ in other countries)) - you can sometimes find them at pet stores or feed stores; failing that you can buy them online. Do NOT give yogurt containing probiotics, as rabbits are lactose intolerant, plus the extra sugars can make stasis worse.

Mind you, the above at-home remedies are NOT a replacement for taking the bunny to a rabbit-savvy vet to figure out the underlying cause of the GI stasis! If your bunny regains (and maintains) his normal appetite within half a day or so and this is his first experience with stasis, you can skip the vet trip but if you continue having to force-feed him, a vet is a must.
 
I agree with Jennifer. That if it's been more than 12 hours since he last ate anything(besides a small treat), then you need to get him to the vet.

If it has only been a few hours since you think he last ate, you can try the simethicone, but if he isn't pooping at all syringe feeding isn't usually a good idea. If there is a complete blockage, syringe feeding can make the situation worse, and only your vet can rule that out. If he's not bloated and will eat anything on his own, then that is fine. If after a couple hours and a few doses of the simethicone, and he's still not eating, you will want to get him to the vet. If he is still pooping, you can try syringe feeding, but if he doesn't perk up in a few hours, you'll want to get him to the vet.

There are lots of things that can cause a rabbit to go off it 's food. The most common is an upset stomach. In a mild case, a few doses of simethicone will often resolve it. But not more serious cases. Then there is the possibility of a dental issue causing it. Usually with this you will see a rabbit wanting to eat and acting pretty normal, but because of pain, may only selectively eat certain foods, or will drop the food out of it's mouth. Basically any health problem that causes pain, can cause a rabbit to stop eating.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.pdf
 
When i posted this, it'd had only been a few hrs. I gave him a second dose of Oval around 3:30pm and gave him more fluids my syringe. It's now 8:05pm and he has eaten some pellets, a piece of Lettuce and a piece of Parsley and a few sips of water on his own. We are getting ready to put in his separate cage so I can see his output in the morning.

His cage inside the boys peen so he is close to friends but still isolated from they.

Will update in the morning!
 
Sounds good... I take it Oval is a brand of baby gas drops up there (ie simethicone)? You can't really OD a bunny on simethicone, so if that seems to be helping, you can keep giving him 1-2cc as often as every couple hours. I'd encourage him to eat some hay as well, if you can.

If he's not back to normal in the morning, he may need to see the vet just to be safe - they should give a pain medicine and a motility med (metacam and metoclopramide in the US, but drug names may be different in Canada).

Hope he feels well soon!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top