Biosponge

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Love your rabbit
Shop deals on ebay
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
ra7751

ra7751

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
1,933
Reaction score
3
Location
Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA
Hi All,

Haven't been around much due to some issues with our regional wildlife center. We are in a bit of a lull with rescues....for the time being anyway. But I wanted to update everyone on something we are testing. It is an equine product called Biosponge. It is used in horses quite a bit when they experience GI distress. Since the GI of a horse and a rabbit are so similar, horses suffer from the same bacterial imbalances our rabbits do.....and it's usually due to our old friend Clostridium. For those of you not familiar with GI bacterial composition, Clostridium is a toxic bacteria that can grow rapidly in a stressed GI. This bacteria is usually controlled by the beneficial bacteria that digests the food. But when something compromises the good bacteria, bad stuff like Clostridium take advantage (why it's called an opportunistic bacteria). This bacteria results in upset GI, bloat, pain andmany timesdeath. Clostridium is related to botulism and tetanus and one of the primary causes of food poisoning in humans. This product, Biosponge, appears to be really effective at binding the toxins related to various strains of Clostridium. We experience this bacterial imbalance with weaning cottontails and it is the primary cause of baby cottontail deaths as they wean. A cottontail's wean is much quicker and more violent than a domestic wean. The conditions in a cottontail gut at wean are almost identical to that of a domestic with serious stasis/ileus. This product is available without prescription and comes in a paste or a powder. I will update again as we build a running chart of the possible benefit of this product.....but I am excited that we might finally have another product to help with these serious GI imbalances.

Randy
 
That's very cool. I can't wait to hear more updates :)
 
Yeah, it's good to hear that there's something that can be done once a rabbit is in an enterotoxemia situation, instead of just pray that you caught it before the bacteria released all those toxins.
 
ra7751 wrote:
Hi All,

Haven't been around much due to some issues with our regional wildlife center. We are in a bit of a lull with rescues....for the time being anyway. But I wanted to update everyone on something we are testing. It is an equine product called Biosponge. It is used in horses quite a bit when they experience GI distress. Since the GI of a horse and a rabbit are so similar, horses suffer from the same bacterial imbalances our rabbits do.....and it's usually due to our old friend Clostridium. For those of you not familiar with GI bacterial composition, Clostridium is a toxic bacteria that can grow rapidly in a stressed GI. This bacteria is usually controlled by the beneficial bacteria that digests the food. But when something compromises the good bacteria, bad stuff like Clostridium take advantage (why it's called an opportunistic bacteria). This bacteria results in upset GI, bloat, pain andmany timesdeath. Clostridium is related to botulism and tetanus and one of the primary causes of food poisoning in humans. This product, Biosponge, appears to be really effective at binding the toxins related to various strains of Clostridium. We experience this bacterial imbalance with weaning cottontails and it is the primary cause of baby cottontail deaths as they wean. A cottontail's wean is much quicker and more violent than a domestic wean. The conditions in a cottontail gut at wean are almost identical to that of a domestic with serious stasis/ileus. This product is available without prescription and comes in a paste or a powder. I will update again as we build a running chart of the possible benefit of this product.....but I am excited that we might finally have another product to help with these serious GI imbalances.

Randy
Click to expand...
cottontails have an uphill battle,,one,maybe twofeedings a day,eyes open at 10 days old-to find mom gone-and on their own,,this biosponge would indeed be well received--for-overwhelming-bad- gi-tract bacteria(stastis),-another opportunist is a parasite called coccidia-waiting for any stress the animal experiences,-the diahrea -alone-kills many kits./.how would this biosponge affect/neutralize-coccidia in the walls of the intestinal tract.??...sincerely james waller:pray:
 
Hey randy, I'm interested in the active ingredients in biosponge and how it is interacting with the chemicals.
 
This is really great news/information, and certainly something that is needed as you point out Randy.

Thanks for letting everyone know about this and that it may be an option to try.
 
Coccidia is a protozoa and is not subject to the same rules as bacteria. "Standard" treatement for coccidia has always been something like Albon or one of the other Sulfanomides. Problems i, those drugs are rough on the gram positive (beneficial) bacteria so you are just robbing Peter to pay Paul...so to speak. Marquis (Ponazuril) is my preferred anti-coccidial but not many vets have it....and it is quite expensive. In the real world, the only true treatment for coccidia is the rabbit's own immune system. While we try to keep all the immune systems in good working order, we really concentrate on boosting the immune system of coccidia infected rabbits. And again, coccidia is a naturally occurring organism and it is not uncommon to see a small population of coccidia in most animals....including humans. I think people, including vets, tend to over react to the smallest sign of coccidia. Not something to ignore, but unless the population is overwhelming....the best treatment is to not do too much and assist the immune system.

Randy
 
off topic but whats the best way to boost the immune system?
 
A lot of the rabbit's immune system is in the GI tract, so a probiotic would boost the immune system. I think other than eliminating/reducing stresses on the immune system, and providing the right diet, there's not a lot you can do to boost the immune system (even in humans). A stress-free life without a ton of immune challenges (like not exposing them to a bunny that has fur mites, etc) will help.
 
tonyshuman wrote:
A lot of the rabbit's immune system is in the GI tract, so a probiotic would boost the immune system. I think other than eliminating/reducing stresses on the immune system, and providing the right diet, there's not a lot you can do to boost the immune system (even in humans). A stress-free life without a ton of immune challenges (like not exposing them to a bunny that has fur mites, etc) will help.
Click to expand...
Thanks :) Thankfully all my buns are healthy but it always pays to know if there is anything different you should do should the need arise.
 
Hey Randy, speaking of things for the GI tract, there is a powder called acid pack. Prince had issues with his GI tract before I got him and the lady I got him from had him on it. He got better with it. After I got him I had to keep him on it for 3 weeks to be ssure that his problem was going away.

Prince had something like diahrea(sp) but I don't think that it was that. He had mushy poop that stuck to his bum. So he was on this acid pack for awhile and he got better. He isn't on it anymore. But it helped his GI tract.
 
Maybe it might be worth posting all the ingredients of this acid pack Sweetie.
 
I don't know the ingredients of this acid pack. All I know is that it does smell like vanilla and you put a pinch, small pinch, of it in the rabbits water bottle/dish!
 
Sweetie wrote:
I don't know the ingredients of this acid pack. All I know is that it does smell like vanilla and you put a pinch, small pinch, of it in the rabbits water bottle/dish!
Click to expand...
is this product something that would simply change the water ph-to a more acidic ph(apple cider vinegar??)...interesting,,this builds up the immune system in pigeons,..maybe it would work for the buns too,,medical break thru,,we shall have to do some research,,,,sincerely james waller:ph34r2:p
 
I am not one to put anything in the water....usually the only thing you get is contaminated water. The only exception to my rule is to treat wild finch conjunctivitis. We use Tylosin in the water....but I change the water every few hours. Anything else....the only thing in the crock/bowl/bottle is clean and natural water....even for birds (except the finch problem). There are much better ways of adminstering supplements or vitamins.

The thing with any acid pack is to stabilize the pH. I prefer to do this with either a high quality probiotic such as Bene-Bac, Probios or that really neat new probiotic food from APD....Critter Be Better. You can also manipulate the pH with ascorbic acid....Vitamin C. I give small pieces of oranges to help with the pH. Ascorbic acid is water soluble so they excrete the excess in their urine (keep in mind that you can overdo anything). I prefer Bene-Bac....comes in a paste or powder....so I can more precisely dose it. Normal pH in an adult rabbit is 1-2....once it becomes more alkaline, that is when the good bacteria starts to die off and the bad stuff starts to grow.

The immune system in a rabbit, like all others, is a mirror of it's overall health. Healthy lifestyle with proper food and envirionment are the keys. I don't feed a lot of pellets but the few I do are supplemented. We are seeing Vitamin D deficiencies in many indoor animals. Vitamin D is critical to absorbing nutrients...especially calcium. The two places to get Vitamin D are supplements are daily exposure to unfiltered sunlight. This has been something I have mentioned quite a bit over the past few months....and oddly enough, Vitamin D deficiencies in humans have been in the news recently....too many video games and not enough outside time.

Randy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top