Gas?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

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

Ilovemyrabbit

Elise - Introductions & Blogs Moderator
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
3,317
Reaction score
306
Location
West Virgina, West Virginia, USA
Yesterday I saw Ash laying on the floor. His belly looked a little bloated so I went over and felt it and it did feel a little bloated so I went online and read some stuff. I read the symptoms were belly gurgling and grinding teeth but Ash had shown none of these signs. I read that you shouldn't massage their belly as it can make things worse so I didn't. I read that you should get as much fiber in them as possible so I gave him a bunch of nice fresh hay to entice him to eat it. He ate a few strands of it and that's it. So I go out some wheat grass and soaked it in some water so that I could get some more fluids in to him in case he wasn't drinking enough. He ate the veggies down and than got up and started jumping around and running around. I saw him pooping some really small poops than later on his poops started getting to normal size and he hopped on my bed and pooped a lot and even peed on my bed twice. So he peed and pooped fine. So at like 10 PM I put him back in his pen and gave him lots of fresh hay than I went to bed myself. I woke up this morning and went to check on him. He's still eating and pooping and drinking fine. He's hopping around and right now I can see him eating hay and going to the bathroom in his littler box. He's acting pretty healthy except his belly feels a little weird still. I don't have any gas drops or simethicone on hand unfortunately. Nor do we have any rabbit savvy vets around here to take him too. So I need some kind of a home remedy or something but how do I know if he even is sick? He's acting very normal. He's hopping around and eating hay and veggies and he's eating and pooping normally. He isn't grinding his teeth and he's not making gurgling noises so I don't really know what to do. Here is some more info on his breed age, ect.

Name: Ash.

Breed: American Chinchilla rabbit.

Gender: Male.

Age: 1 1/2 years old.

Has he had any other sicknesses before: No.

Is he fixed: No.

Hope that helps. I'm looking for any help I can get. I have one question, should I feed him pellets just yet? He seems to want them but I don't know if I should give it to him yet.

Thanks.
 
I had a similar situation just happened to
Me. But my bun had small irregular poo,
No gas, bloating etc arcing normal no teeth
Grinding laying with his butt in the air nothing
Like that other then the small irregular poo.
The people on here suggested to give veggies
And cut back the pellets. I feed 1/4 c a day so
Split up to 1/8 twice a day. While the tummy
Trouble was going on I was just doing the 1/8 a day plus
Tons and tons of hay and his veggies.


Someone else will come along and be better at this but
Try cutting back his pellets or when u do
Give him back do it really slow. What kind of
Pellets r u feeding?
 
Next time you get the chance to buy some of the simethicone. It is not expensive and is safe for bunny's if they do get gas. All that I have read says that massaging the belly can help for gas you just can't do it hard or you could hurt their organs. I also read that getting them to move around can help.

If he is pooping, peeing and acting normal as well as eating as usual then he should be fine. Just keep an eye on him in case. If you are not feeding him his pellets I would wait a few days and if he still seems fine then start him back on them slowly. Push fluids so refill his water bowl if he likes it cool and fresh. Push the hay. If you think he was gassy then I would avoid any veggies knwn to possibly cause gas such as bok choy.
 
Update on Ash. I let him out of his pen. He laid down on the floor he's still laying down right now. I offered him some Cilantro and he nibbled on a bit if it and than stopped. Poor boy. I hope he gets well soon. I'm so scared for him. :(
 
He just got up and hopped around for a couple minutes and laid back down. I got some pictures of him to see if you all can judge if he's sick based on his posture, ect.
 
I'm sorry Ash isn't feeling well. Hopefully the poor guy will be feeling better and back to his happy self.

When you are dealing with real bloat, the stomach is extremely distended, and in this case you shouldn't attempt tummy massage, or do anything besides get the rabbit to the vet immediately, because it is very serious. If Ash is having a mildly distended stomach with a little gas, then tummy massage can often help get the gas bubbles moving along. But I would really suggest getting some simethicone if at all possible. It can really help with the pain and discomfort from the gas.

If Ash is still acting uncomfortable, it's probably best to stick with the hay and not feed treats or pellets. Continuing to feed veggies is also usually a good thing, but if he continues to feel uncomfortable, you may need to figure out whether or not any of the veggies are causing any stomach upset. If the wheat grass is something new and not used to, it might be better to hold off on that. I'm reluctant to give my rabbits any new foods when they aren't feeling well, as it would be hard to tell if the new food is causing any problems. I would stick with really basic veggies like leafy lettuce, cilantro, and maybe parsley, and avoid the cruciferous veggies. If he is still acting a bit off, just keep an eye on him to make sure he continues to poop and eat, and reevaluate what veggies to feed if it doesn't start clearing up after a while. It's probably best to stick with hay and no pellets for a few days, until you're sure he's feeling better. Then as Denise said, slowly reintroduce the pellets.
 
Thank you Jenny. I can try to get some simethicone from a vet office if they will give me some. He doesn't seem to be in much pain. His stomach doesn't look extremely distended. It actually looks pretty normal just feels a little weird. One thing that I think could have caused it was yesterday my dad fed Ash some tomato. He hasn't ever had it before and I think it may have been what caused it. I told him not too feed Ash any more as its new to him and feeding new things isn't good. And I know that tomato's are high in sugar. But guess what I saw another piece of tomato in his pen. I took it out right away and I was like, I told you not to give him anymore but he's just like, well I didn't feed him that much. I'm going to wait a few days and keep him off pellets for the time and if he doesn't improve I guess I'll have to take him to the vet even if they aren't very rabbit savvy.

Its kind of hot in the house. I wonder if I shouldn't put him back in his pen and turn the fan on for him. I let him out today with the hopes that he'd run around a bit but he isn't. I'll take him out later on and see if he's more active.
 
So I got Ash in his pen (he was reluctant though) I turned on the fan and got him some Cilantro. The good news is he ate it. While I was putting him in his pen I think I smelled a poop smell. Kind of smelled like poop. Maybe he farted some gas out. I don't know. I'm going to post those pics soon. Maybe I can try to get a pic of his belly.
 
I'm sure your dad is just trying to be nice to your bun, but people don't realize that us owners know our rabbits best, and definitely not a good idea to be giving a sick rabbit, something that may have been the cause of it's upset stomach in the first place. I hope you're able to convince your dad to leave the feeding to you, or maybe tell him what he is allowed to feed Ash as a treat right now(cilantro, leafy lettuce, etc).

Simethicone is just Gas x for people. The easiest way to administer it is the infant gas relief drops. You can get it otc at any pharmacy. Dosage of the 20mg/ml concentration, is 1-2cc. You can give it every hour for 3 hours if you need to, then 1cc every 3-8 hours as needed. You may not need it now though, if he is starting to feel better, but you may just want to get some to have on hand. It's pretty cheap. The walmart brand bottle is only $2-3, I think.
 
I told him again and now he's not doing it anymore.

Update, Ash seems to be doing better! :D He's a lot more active and is eating more of his hay! I'm so happy! He's starting to act more like his normal unique self. :) I'll continue to update on him.
 
I'm glad Ash is feeling better as I know how hard worrying about them and trying to make them feel better can be.

Definitely see about getting some simethicone to have for the future. You can find it at most stores. Just look for baby gas drops. One thing to keep in mind though, the bottles are small and I found that you go through it pretty quickly when they require several doses so I keep a few bottles on hand. I know you all don't go shopping too often.
 
Thanks Denise We will go shopping on Friday so I'll pick up a couple bottles then.

I let Ash out and he ran around much more than when he did during the day. So we'll see how he does tomorrow. Hopefully good.
 
If you're going to walmart, the gas drops are in the baby medicine section or possibly in the pharmacy section with the gas relief. They're like $2 a bottle for the drops, so I would grab a few. I always keep a spare bottle around, just in case.

I'm glad Ash seems to be doing better! I would be super worried.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top