Blockage? Help. Been 8 days since last BM.

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MiserySmith

MiserySmith

Well-Known Member
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Dec 24, 2009
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Location
Ontario
Hannah's half dwarf, 3 years of age.
I haven't changed her diet, or her surroundings or anything like that. Noticed on Monday she hadn't usd her litterboxes at all since it was changed. I also didn't need to give her more food all week. She never touched it.
Her stomachs is hard. I've given her a hairball treatment that says it's for cats and rabbits. Hartz brand.
That has softened her stomache a little and she got some diharrea on her tail and a few constipated poops. Then she had a full BM but it was bright green. That was 3 days ago and the only time she's used the box all week except for urinating, which has been much less as well.
She drinks a bit less, hasn't touched her food still, she does pick at her veggies and hay though. Very minimully. Calling the vet today to ask her some questions. Is it safe to say there's a blockage? Anything I can do to help pass it?
 
Hi there, can you repost your question with some of the information outlined in this post: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=44529&forum_id=16


This sounds like a medical emergency that needs attention as soon as possible, please take her to the vet as soon as you can. Does your rabbit see a knowledgeable vet? These vets have been listed here as knowledgeable with rabbits, are any of them close to you?

Rabbit Savvy vets in NS:

Dr. Jennifer McKay
Central Nova Animal Hospital
29 Main St, Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 4G5
902 - 893-4331

Greenwood Animal Hospital
799 Central Ave,
Kingston, NS B0P 1N0
Phone: (902) 765-6355

Dr. Deanie Parks, DVM
Queensland Animal Hospital
Hubbards, NS
 Phone: (902) 857-9393

Middleton Vet Services
1163 Brooklyn St.
Middleton, N.S
Phone: (902) 825-3459

Dr. Dana Power
Annapolis Animal Hospital
8902 Commercial,
New Minas, NS B4N 3C8
Phone: (902) 681-8387

This could be a blockage, but it could also be many things. There is no way to know without a medical exam and radiography or bloodwork. Please discontinue the hairball remedy for cats, it has been ineffective and possibly harmful to rabbits.

It is very good that she is still drinking. We say here, 'hydrate before food' and that is because a rabbit that is dehydrated will not eat regardless. If she is drinking it shows she has will to live as well as that she is able to.

She may not be eating because of some dental complication, molar spurs or other problem in the mouth. But now she is in GI stasis and she needs to get her guts moving again.

Please read: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28622&forum_id=10

Please call your vet and tell them it is an emergency and the rabbit needs to be seen immediately. If it is a rabbit savvy vet they will accommodate you in between appointments. Please let us know how it goes and try to provide some additional information when you can.
 
She's on yesterdays news. She's not spayed. All the other animals in the house are fine.. No molting, no sniffling or sneezing, she's breathing fine. She hasn't been eating anything in a weird way when she does pick at it.
Just as active, if not a tiny bit more.
Behavior wise, she's also been acting a little weird, apart from the not eating. She's been chewing a lot. The wood toys in get cage she's just been gnawing on it, instead of throwing it around like usual. She also hews on the vinyl tiles and coroplast in the cage.. Which she hasn't touched in months.(when she was younger she destroyed all the coroplast at te bottom Which was replaced an she never touched it again.
My usual small animal vet is gone for the next week, the emergency one here is curretly busy so I'm waiting for him to call me back.
Shed have been at the vet before now, but it takes like a
month of constant nagging in order for my mom to take any animal to a vet. This is as early as I'll possibly be able to get her in.
 
The vet has called back. He told me to give her 2cc of Mineral oil in the
mornig and at night an to encourage hay and leafy veggies.
Hopefully it helps, it's gunna suck that shell hate me for a while because I'm the medication giver. :/
 
I don't believe that mineral oil is a good treatment for a rabbit with a blockage. The oil can coat the blockage, making it more difficult for it to rehydrate and break up. Is your vet experienced with rabbits? Is he considered an "exotic vet"?

This article explains why mineral oil is not necessarily an appropriate treatment in all cases: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html (scroll down to E. Petroleum Based Laxitives - Use with caution)
 
Yes, he is an exotics vet. Not my personal choice, but he's all I've got right now and everyones booked, e vet or otherwise.
He said to come in after a week of trying it. If it doesn't wok, she's going in. If it does, she's going in for a check anyway.
Think I'm going to trust my vet on this one.
 
Can you contact any of the other vets that dquesnel posted? One of them may be able to consult a non-rabbit savvy vet in order to get you treatment even if they are too far away for you to see.

Your rabbit is very sick, and needs the attention of a rabbit savvy vet as soon as possible. A week is probably going to be too late.

Do not use the mineral oil!!! And stop using the hartz hairball product as well. Both of those are probably going to do more harm than good at this point. Both will coat the GI tract and make it very hard for anything to absorb fluid. If there is something in the GI tract like a blockage, it needs to be hydrated so it can move. Think of pasta, when it is dry it is hard and would be very difficult to move through the twists and turns of a gi tract, but once it is cooked and hydrated it is very soft and will be very easy to move through the gi tract.

Rabbits are hind gut fermentors, there digestive system is very different from a cat or dogs. The mineral oil is very old school, from when vets thought that a rabbit's digestive system was the same as a cat or dog's. We now know that it will do more harm than good. A rabbit's digestive system is very similar to a horse's, anything that works for a horse, will work well for a rabbit.

She needs fluids and probably sub-q (under the skin fluids)to help her get rehydrated. At the moment, I would be buying some Pedialyte from a drug store and syringing her as much as she will take. She should also get some probiotic like Benebac or just plain acidopholus pills for humans (mix with a tiny bit of juice and syringe feed it).

Green poop is a big sign that her GI bacteria are way off. Bad bacteria are probably propagating in her intestines and she needs some help to get her good bacteria back. The probiotic will really help with that. There are also products on the market that help bind to bad bacteria to remove them from her system, Biosponge is one that I know of. It is a product made for horses and like I mentioned earlier, works very well for rabbits.

Also, you can give her baby gas medicine. The active ingredient must be simethicone, Oval is a brand in Canada that is good. I use the liquid baby formula and give about 3-4 droppers every hour for 3-4 hours and then give them a break for 6-8 hours and repeat. Simethicone helps to defroth gas and make it easier to pass. As gas is very painful, this can relieve some of the pressure and make her feel a bit better.

-Dawn
 
Got some pedialyte. It's so hard to get Hannah to take. He won't let me put anything in her mouth anymore and she is terrified of me now.
 
Can you wrap her up in a blanket like a bunny burrito?

It can also help if you can get her on a counter top or in a slippery area like a bathtub. She'll be out of her element and it should be easier to get her to take the meds. You could kneel down in the bathtub behind her and kind of hold her body between your knees so she can't go backwards, then syringe feed her from the front.
 
It sounds like she's really in a bad place. If she won't take anything via mouth, the blockage is really severe. I recommend getting her to an emergency vet ASAP, one that will not recommend mineral oil as a treatment. What she needs is hydration, either oral or sub-cutaneous (under the skin injection), a GI x-ray to see what's going on, and maybe gut motility drugs. Gut motility drugs shouldn't be given unless an x-ray is taken. No more oily laxatives, get water/pedialyte into her. If my bunny had not pooped for 2 days I would be going to the emergency vet. After 8 days of not pooping, it's amazing she's still alive, to be honest. Rabbits' GI tracts have to be constantly moving to provide them nutrients, and a shut down GI can lead to overgrowth of bad bacteria, that release toxins into the body that can shut it down.
 
She will nver take anything orally from anyone. She's just not one of those rabbits.
She did poop earlier, it was still green but apparently it was good enough for her because she ate a few food pellets. She's completely ignored them for the past seven days.
Apparently the oil and pedialyte are working. She never fully stopped eating, always picked at some hay and a bit of veggies.
She actually ate a carrot earlier. Just trying to get some moist vegtables into her, and the combination all seems to be working.
I called every vet on the list that was posted for me. Half were no longer valid and the other half didn't answer and won't be open until Monday. The one that was actually there had a busy line every time we called back(3 times).
What I have is going to have to do until Monday at least when vets are in.
Now, should I be giving her plain water in the dropper as well? Or is the pedialyte okay alone?
 
I would hold off on the pellets. Green poo is a not so good sign. Just keep her on hay, water, and pedialyte. Things with lots of sugar, like carrots, will allow the bad bacteria that are taking over her GI tract to grow even more. In the rabbit gut, generally bad bacteria thrive on carbohydrates and sugars, and good bacteria thrive on fiber. In a situation when the bad bacteria overgrow the good bacteria, you want to avoid any food that will help the bad bacteria grow. That means hay, water, and pedialyte only. Pedialyte has a small amount of sugar but most of its sweetness comes from artificial sugars that aren't as bad.

Pedialyte is fine on its own. If you are worried, you could do an equal volume of water and pedialyte, but that's probably not necessary.

enterotoxemia caused by clostridium bacteria:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171319.htm

a bit more updated treatment:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/squirts.pdf
 
Was told to give her baby food today. The vet called me to tell me that, and to keep her moving and with tons of hay. He consulted with another vet, which I believe is my usual vet. However she's not taking anyone right now still.

Hannah has a vet appointment for Tuesday. She's doing much better than she was, little dehydrated, but the baby food and pedialyte should be helping that. Also getting better at bunny burritoing her. Hopefully theres no more complications or problems between now and Tuesday to add to the issues.
 
Baby food is good. You can also use plain canned pumpkin, no spices for pie, just the plain stuff. It is full of fibre and super good for rabbits. For the baby food, try to stay away from sugary foods like carrot and fruits.

You can also make a pellet slurry out of her pellets by soaking them in water for a bit. You'll be amazed at how much water they absorb. Give them a good soak and mix them up into a paste and feed through a syringe.

You could also put some greens in a blender and make a slurry that way too.

Lots of options for getting some food into a bunny.

I know the fluids can be painfully slow to feed. I had a bun have an off day the other day (I think he had a gas attack) and it took for ever to get a decent amount of fluids in him because he would just let most of it dribble out of his mouth. I had to put the fluids in just a couple drops at a time and wait for him to swallow.

When I have to give medicine or force feed, I use the same position. I put the rabbit on the floor on top of a blanket or towel (feeding can get pretty messy with an uncooperative bunny). Then I kneel behind the bunny with their butt between my thighs so they can't back up. I then bend over the bunny and have two arms available for lifting the mouth a bit and inserting the syringe into their mouth. This technique is the best one I have used so far, and I personally like it better than burritoing.

And please, please, please stop using the oil. It is really doing more harm than good and any progress seen is probably from the oral liquids being given.

-Dawn
 
Sounds promising. :clover:

The mineral oil isn't horrible, although anything by Hartz usually is. :p As long as the mineral oil is the plain laxative grade, unscented, it's sort of okay, its just that the hydration should come first. Its just as noted there's a wide school of thought that any petroleum-based products will keep a mass from being hydrated and moving out naturally, which is the best course of action with rabbits.

At this point the issue is the blockage and not a gut imbalance, but having food fermenting in the gut without going anywhere I'm sure will cause bacterial issues.

I always push the fluids, canned pumpkin and Critical Care treatment -- Critical Care being a mushed up pellet slurry chock full of fibre, vitamins and a probiotic.

Baby food is my next choice if I can't get Critical Care or canned pumpkin.

And tummy massages can really really help. They don't like them at first, but usually realize they're not so bad. And gentle exercise.

Hope she's okay.


sas :pray:
 
Oh, and sorry about the Vet listings. We're in the process of trying to update them. If you can let us know which ones need updating, it will help a lot.

Thanks.

sas
 
All the vets listed didn't work except the one in Middleton I think.. Which isn't open until Monday and said they only do cats, dogs and large farm animals.
Why is it so **** hard to get this stuff into her? Im trying so hard to get fluids into her and she fights it every step of te way.. Which I guess is a good thing but it's just so difficult.
She ends up spitting half of everythig we give her on me anyway, and she officially hates me and the hospital cage I have her in(can't get her out to give her anything in her big cage)
seriously, I wish I had someone more experienced here to help me with it.. Or at least that she could be tranced.. But of course that's not going to happen.
Also her stomaches not as hard but her dewlap looks bigger than normal.. Is this a dehydration thing?
I actually found two normal coloured poops on my floor today when I came back from buying the baby food.. They were round and normally sized.. Good sign? Or do you guys think shell get worse again?
 
I'm so sorry hon. But, any normal poop is GOOD. Keep her drinking best you can, any food she intakes is good as well. Push the hay, maybe even sprinkle the hay with some apple juice to entice eating it (although, if she doesn't eat it, remove it asit will cause it to mold when dry and that is toxic). You can do the same with her water, put a bit of juice in it as well. See if any of that helps her. Try to syringe her water w/ some apple juice in it, see if she might take it a bit easier too.

You could also place her on a heating pad w/ a towel on your lap and gently heat the belly, and give messages. That may help as well.

Keep us posted!:hug:

 
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