Bandy not fancying his food

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Chrisdoc

Chris
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Just a tad worried as Bandy didn´t want any food tonight and wouldn´t even come out for a craisin. He´s usually the first to the bowl but he went in his house early tonight and hid away. I picked him up to check him and noticed his feet were stained with fresh urine so I cleaned him up and checked the house and he´d left a pool on the floor near the window, not normal for him. He did struggle a bit when I was cleaning him and seemed Ok but I´ve put him back in the cage and he´s back hiding in the little house. His stomach does feel spongy but same as it always feels. I´ve given him simethicone just in case it´s gas and I´m tempted to stay up for a few hours or maybe sleep in the living room just in case he´s not well. Definitely not normal for him to be off his food.

I´ll keep you posted.
 
Is he pooping? Also, is he not eating anything at all? If not, you might need to make some pellet slurry and syringe it to him, assuming he's still pooping at least some (no poop at all could indicate a blockage and force-feeding can make that worse).

Here's my usual copy/paste info on GI stasis symptoms:

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. [Don't forget to mention the amount(s) of pain medication and time(s) given to the vet if you end up going.] 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) - 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 hope Bandy starts to feel better soon! :pray:
 
Jennifer thanks for all that. I have given him the simethicone and have critical and metacam at home. When I handled him, he did seem lively but is now in his little house hiding. I don´t know if he´s pooping as he´s been out most of the day so I can´t tell although he has been back inside during the day in the little box so he could have and I don´t know what he´s eaten as they free roam so don´t really notice. I´ll probably try and stay up and awake as long as I can to keep my eye on him and to give him the simethicone regularly. I can now see he´s turned and has his head looking out, hope he´s OK and just not feeling like eating right now.
 
One of mine tends to do this now & then. Usually a round of simethicone will get him eating again. Hopefully Bandy will start eating on his own after the gas drops kick in. With mine, I hand-offer some hay to encourage eating. Sometimes it takes a couple hours before he starts nibbling again. But hay is usually the first thing he'll start eating.
 
Oh no, not Bandy :( I'm guessing the vets closed? If any of my buns are off their food, first thing I do is give simethicone and pain relief(along with a little water, and if you can get him to eat a little food too, it's better for them to have some food in their stomach with it). So far that has always got them back to eating again. But if there is another medical problem causing the lack of appetite besides an upset stomach, then the pain relief will only help temporarily, but that should be enough to get him eating something and tide you over to the vet appointment. ETA: the pee puddle could be due to a urinary problem, or could have just been a response to being in pain.

You want to separate him and clean the area out, so that you can check for sure if he is still pooping. Usually an hour or two after the pain relief is given, they will start eating again. If you don't see him pooping at all, I would be very reluctant to syringe feed, as it can make a complete blockage worse, but if you are seeing any poop, then a blockage is less likely, so you may be ok to syringe feed. But the best thing would be the pain relief working and him eating on his own.
 
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Blue eyes, good news, I´ve just noticed a small pile of poops at the back of the shelf where he went to sit when I first put him back in his cage so he is pooping. Still hiding in his little house but I´ll probably sit up until at least 2 or 3am so I can give him another round of simethicone and just keep my eye on him, I don´t think I´d sleep anyway worrying.

Thanks for being there, it´s probably nothing but good to share.
 
Chris, did you miss my post? Just want to make sure you've given pain relief as well. It's probably just as, or more important than the simethicone.
 
Jenny, no didn´t see it. Is that Metacam, I´ve got some and I think it´s 0.2 ml.
 
Ok, I´ll try and get him out and give him a dose. I´ve just let Snowy out so Bandy´s in the enclosure on his own and I´ve changed the little tray so I can see any poops. He´s come out now but he´s unsettled and still isn´t tempted to eat. I´ll give him 0.2 ml now and how often to I give it. If there´s no change, I´ll take him to the vet tomorrow morning.
 
A dose of metacam lasts 24h (so it's important to let the vet know you gave it if it hasn't been more than 24h since you gave it). The simethicone can be given hourly at first - 1-2 cc every hour for 3h, then 1 cc every 3-8h as needed.

Also, yay, poop!
 
He´s due for another dose of simethicone at 3am. THe syringe for the metacam is in kg so I´ve given him 2 and will tell the vet if he needs to go in the morning. He popped out for a look around but didn´t eat anything and is now back in his house sitting up, saw a couple of poops so that´s good. I´ve now let the other two out again as I let Snowy out so Bandy is on his own and I can see his poop and Houdini was bouncing off the walls so he´s now out as well.

I can see it´s going to be a long night in this house.
 
Have removed his hidey house so I can see him. He still has his cage as a bolt hole if he needs one but now I can see him. He's stretched out, is that a good sign

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It kind of depends. Sometimes being stretched out means they are belly pressing.

I detest those kg syringes, because that is the amount for a cat/dog, not a rabbit. According to the cat metacam info, it would be 0.1mg per 2 kg mark, and rabbit dosage is completely different.
 
Oh No not Bandy. I really hope he starts to feel better soon. I will be very anxious to hear how he is doing. I know how worrying and stressful it is when they are not feeling well and not wanting to eat.
 
Thanks Denise, it´s 2.45am here but I´ll be up as long as I need to be, don´t think I could sleep anyway. It is terrible when you can´t do anything to make them feel better straight away. Do I wish I had a magic wand now.
 
Keep tempting him with leafy greens. They are often the first food a rabbit will eat after not feeling well. I prefer non cruciferous ones in case the cruciferous ones are the cause of the gas. Him eating something is going to be your best sign he is starting to feel better.
 
Since he's been pooping, you could try syringing critical care, or at least some water to keep him hydrated. I'll usually wait a couple hours after giving them the medicine, to see if it that gets them feeling better, before thinking about syringing food though.
 
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I´m gonna get him out at 3am to give him another dose of simethicone so I´ll syringe some water and maybe prepare some critical care as well. The other two have just been nosing him through the bars. :hello
 

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