Extended Stomach

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Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears

Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears

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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Yesterday I noticed Monsters Stomach was abnormally large. My first thought was Stomach Bloat but I did my research and she didn't fit the symptoms. She has continued to eat and drink. Today her Stomach isn't quite as large but is still bigger than normal.
My thoughts are maybe I was just feeding her to much and she isn't going in right? Does that make sense? I have talk to Angieluv about this already. She's unsure what the cause could be besides maybe the to much food as her second thought.
I have emailed my vet so she's aware of what's going on.

My conversation with the Vet

Hi Dr. Parker,
I don't know if you'll see this before you go to work but, Wednesday afternoon Monsters stomach looked huge. As of right now 1:30am it still looks bigger than normal but smaller than it was. The first thing that came to my mind was stomach bloat but when I did the research on it didn't fit her symptoms as she was still eating. Do you think we should bring her in or just see if it gets better?
Her reply
I would wait to see if it gets better – they don’t eat if they have bloat. Let me know if it gets worse!
D.
I have photo's will post them next.


 
It looks to me that the stomach has gone down.

Ok here's the photo's of her.

Yesterday
DSCF3015.jpg

DSCF3014.jpg


Today
DSCF3023.jpg

DSCF3021.jpg


 
What does her stomach feel like? Is it tight like a balloon or more like dough?

With true bloat the rabbit is in alot of pain, won't eat. won't move etc. Also the stomach is located to the left side, with the intestines/bladder more to the center.

If her belly feels tight, it could be gas and she might benefit from simethicone.

It also could be that her bladder is overly full, actually that may be my first guess. One of my rabbits drinks quite a lot and has a full bladder almost always when I handle him. He sometimes shows his displeasure at being handled by peeing- fortunately this doesn't happen often!

What has Monsters bladder control been like? How much has she been drinking/urinating?
 
dquesnel wrote:
What does her stomach feel like? Is it tight like a balloon or more like dough?
Her stomach feels soft.

With true bloat the rabbit is in alot of pain, won't eat. won't move etc. Also the stomach is located to the left side, with the intestines/bladder more to the center.
She's not in pain.


If her belly feels tight, it could be gas and she might benefit from simethicone.
It doesn't feel tight. It feels nice to loose or maybe it does feel tight. I'm not sure.
It also could be that her bladder is overly full, actually that may be my first guess. One of my rabbits drinks quite a lot and has a full bladder almost always when I handle him. He sometimes shows his displeasure at being handled by peeing- fortunately this doesn't happen often!

What has Monsters bladder control been like? How much has she been drinking/urinating?
I don't think it's her bladder. I know how to express it and I have but not much comes out.
I don't know much she has been drinking. But i gave her about 3cc of Pediatyle earlier just to make sure she's not dehydrated. Her poop output isn't so good.
Click to expand...
 
angieluv wrote:
I had thought that it could be an accumulation of fluids in her abdominal area (ascites) but am unsure :?
Click to expand...
It is possible this could be the case- especially if it is suspected that her kidneys are shutting down.

The fact that the belly does not feel tight - you can pretty much rule out bloat and a distended bladder. Both would feel tight, not doughy and loose.

What could cause the doughy feeling is intestinal stasis, that type of 'feel' to the body is really common in this case. That would mean there is food in there that isn't going very far. I suspect this is what is happening since you mentioned poops aren't so good right now. Her GI system is probably slowing down and the intestines are full.

I think you should increase her water intake as much as you can right now, some water has to get in there and soften/move along the food in her gut. You can also try some gentle massage, stroking her belly in a downward motion towards her backend. This will stimulate the gut into moving along.

Is she on metacam? That would worry me a bit as it does strain the kidneys if there isn't enough hydration. If the kidneys are strained, indeed that could cause ascities.

If it is the start of GI slowdown then I think with hydration this can sort itself out, I would reduce her pellets and encourage more veggies during this time. Hopefully you see some change soon and your vet may offer advice.

 
She was on Metacam for a long time. Last week we switched to Tramadol .06ml of it.
I think her poops have finally sorted them selves out. I have been syringing her water off on thru out the day. Just about 10 mins ago she took about 5ml of water or more.
She hasn't had any pellets since last night around 12am. I only feed her pellets once a day but thought of switching it to two feeds a day to help keep her weight up as she's losing it fast as it seems. She has been eating a lot of Orchard Grass and bit of Oat Hay.
If it is Fluid, would is it possible for it decrees? It doesn't look quite as bad as yesterday. I guessing this something that can't really but done about it given her age. I'm not ready for her to leave me.
 
Problem is is that if it is fluid we are not sure why it is accumulating or if that's it at all.
When are you going to the vet. ?
Fluid accumulates in humans when there are liver or pancreatic problems

if her belly is soft and she is eating and drinking I doubt that it is stasis.
 
I hadn't made plans on a vet visit. When I emailed my vet she said to let her know if it gets worse. I have been keeping a close eye on her and her tummy. I pick her up at least once an hour.
She lives in my room permanently now. So I know whats coming out of her at night time.
 
angieluv wrote:
I know that you are her private duty nurse and she couldn't have a better one :)
Click to expand...
:bunnynurse: Yep I'm on duty 24/7 with her. Even when I'm at work I call home to see how she's doing.

How is she?
Click to expand...
She's good. Looks the same as yesterday. She had loads of good poops last night. Her supper consisted of a few pieces of parsley, about 10 pellets and all the hay she can eat from the bag.
This morning around 10am when I finally decided to wake up, I picked her as usual and what happens?? She had soft poops on me, which she ate..... YUK It's a good that I love her, And I'll get over pooping on me. :)
 
Hmm... I can't decide if it's ascites or GI slowdown myself. Have you given her some simethicone to see if that solves the problem? The problem is that I wouldn't want to give a bunny with ascites a lot of water, but a GI slowdown bunny should get water. This may require a trip to the vet so they can x-ray and see what's going on in there, if it's GI full of poop, or air, or water around the body.
 
tonyshuman wrote:
Hmm... I can't decide if it's ascites or GI slowdown myself. Have you given her some simethicone to see if that solves the problem? The problem is that I wouldn't want to give a bunny with ascites a lot of water, but a GI slowdown bunny should get water. This may require a trip to the vet so they can x-ray and see what's going on in there, if it's GI full of poop, or air, or water around the body.
Click to expand...
I gave her some simethicone yesterday, didn't seems to help that i noticed.
What is ascites?
 
ascites is fluidretention in an area of the body where it shouldn't ordinarily be. It usually is the result of some organ dysfunction. For ex. some people with heart problems get swollen ankles, people with cirrohis of the liver get fluid accumulation in their abdomnal cavity
But we aren't sure what she has yet so maybe its not that

Idon't think that she has stasis if sheis pooping and eating


 
It's accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity, between the tissue attached to the muscles and skin and the tissue that surrounds the organs. It can be caused by liver or kidney damage, or heart failure. A pretty serious thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascites

Problem is that the treatment is giving diuretics to remove this fluid (or remove it by needle aspiration). This is the opposite of what I would recommend for a bunny that's constipated. I guess she's not gassy, so it might be better for you to get a vet to figure out if it's an accumulation of poo in the gut that's not moving out or ascites. The fact that she's eating normally points away from GI slowdown. However, GI slowdown is a much less serious condition so of course I would rather it be that.
 
As of now she's still having soft poops. She also might have the start of a URI. So sister again is on strict orders to watch her like a hawk. I have discuss this with my sister and if she doesn't look to go when I come home I will e-mail the vet again and likely take in her on Sat is necessary. I have a bad feeling the vet's prediction of her life span is coming to life. I'm just not ready for that to happen.:nerves1
 
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