Harvey is not feeling well...

[MATH]

Harvey seems a bit off today. He was a little lazy getting up, but ate breakfast fine and his litter box was fine. I took him out for some exercise and he seemed his normal self. The rest of the day he has been laying down relaxed (not a pain position or DBF). I checked his litter box, there were only a few poos that were lighter in color, and two poos strung together by hair. I should say though I was not expecting a ton in the litter box since I cleaned it out at 12:00. I was alarmed by the poo strung together so I gave him an extra good brushing. He is shedding a little bit but not a ton. I gave him some pellets, which he ate a bit of and he is eating hay. I put in fresh hay as well (though I always do) to encourage him to eat. I always wash his veggies before feeding so I know he is get liquids.

I also should add that temps are crazy here in NE! It was cold cold last night with frost warnings, and then today it got to mid 70's. So this may be throwing him off a bit, he is an outdoor bunny. Granted I made sure he was more than cozzy last night, and cool today.

I do not want his gut to slow down! I have metacam (which I believe is pain, so I don't think he needs that) and metoclopram (which I believe is used to jump start a gut) left over from the vet from Tinsel this July. I also have plenty of critical care. My vet is closed so I can't call and I don't think this at the point where I have to go to the emergency vet. I am more than willing to go out and get something for Harvey if someone can suggest something.

I know I may be freaking out over one peice, but I lost a bunny this July to Gi Stasis, and I can not have another death *shudders*. I also have to go to school tomorrow so I won't be home to watch him =[

Should I feed him his regular diet tonight- 1/4 cup of Timothy complete pellets and 1 cup of dark green veggies or should I feed critical care instead? Should I go out an get canned pumpkin or baby food (if so what exactly should I get and how much should I feed to a 7 pound bunny).

Please Please any suggestions! No need to beat around the bush with me! If you think what I'm doing is fine, and I'm completely over reacting feel free to tell me. If you think he needs to go to vet you can tell me that as well. I just want Harvey healthy!! thank you

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

I would closely monitor what he is eating and make sure he is properly hydrated. My personal suggestion is to toss the Metaclopramide. That is a very dangerous drug in a rabbit's gut. It has little or no upside but a huge array of potentially serious side effects. Hydration is the proper andsafe alternative to thesepotentially dangerous drugs. My vets are all exotic focus vets and none of them will risk using any gut motility drug. Metacam is an anti-inflammatory and is used for swelling and light to moderate pain. Many pain meds can slow a gut.

I would suggest giving him a generous serving of a favorite green....here romaine lettuce and dandelions are a favorite. Many times a hand full of wet greens are all that is needed to get things going in the gut. I would really push the hay...even if you have to remove the pellets to make him eat hay. A couple of doses of simethicone might be helpful too. It really sounds like he is having either a gas issue or possibly a light slow down due to hair in the GI. Sometimes a little heat either from a ricesock or a heating pad on lowest setting might be helpful. And get him to move around as much as possible without causing undue stress. And don't panic as he can pick up on your stress.

Randy

 

[MATH]

Thank you for replying! Okay I will definitely feed him more greens tonight, and no more pellets today so hopefully he will eat plenty of hay.

I am taking him out for more exercise as soon as I finish writing this, and will make rice sock for when I put him back though at this point I'm not sure if he will lay on it as he isn't feeling to sick.

Now my question is on simethicone. I don't have and I'm unfamiliar with it. I will go out to get it. I checked the CVS website and it gives the following listings:

SIMETHICONE 125 MG CTB,
SIMETHICONE 40 MG/0.6 ML SUS,
SIMETHICONE 80 MG CTB.

Which one should I buy, and in what form should I buy it/administer it?

Thanks again!

 

[Maureen Las]

look for liquid baby infant gas drops with simethicone as the only active ingredient on the back of the bottle. . My bottle has 20 mg in 0.3 ml

it won't say simethicone on the front of the package but usually infant gas relief drops . If you get this strength you can use 1cc syringe and give 1cc with repeats x 2 for the next several hours.

Actually your rabbit doesn't seem in distress to me although the changes in temp could rsult in a problem . I would brush him well, make sure to give greens and have plenty of hay and greens available.
if you want him to drink extra fluids spike the water bowl with a little apple juice. since I have started this several months ago my problem drinkers are now drinking a whole bowl at a time.

 

[MATH]

thanks! No you are right, at this point I don't think he is in distress. I just want to be proactive about this, especially where I won't be home to watch him tomorrow for the majority of the day.

I'm going to go out and get the simethicone anyways, as it seems from my search there are no know side effects (so it can't hurt) and just in case this does turn into something more serious. Besides, I'm going to go out to get some sugar free juice.

What do you mean by "1cc with repeats x 2 for the next several hours"?
Do you mean repeat twice each hour so in total 3 cc each hour for the next several hours or something else?

 

[Maureen Las]

Well if your rabbit looks like he is uncomfortable from gas you can give 1 cc of the liquid simethicone

then in another hour if he doesn't look any different you can give another 1 cc of the simethicone.

then in an hour or so after that you can give another 1 cc of the simethicone .


if your rabbit looks much better you only need to give 1 dose ; whatI meant is that you can give 3 doses in a 3 hour range if your bunny needs it.
simethicone is not absorbed into the body so it just binds with the gas bubbles and makes them smaller and easier to pass. It is very very safe

 

[tonyshuman]

I would put out some tasty pedialyte. I did that the other day when I was a bit worried about my two, and it led to some nice, big, dark poops. I flavored unflavored pedialyte with a drop of grenadine and it was a huge hit.

Canned pumpkin is also a good thing to leave out, and give a dose of probiotic (Bene-Bac) to0.

 

[MATH]

Hello! I wanted to update on Harvey. This morning I went to feed him/clean his litter box. There were even more poos strung together (ah!). I gave him breakfast, which he ate fine...

When I got back from school I was happy to see more poos in his litter box, none strung together! Obviously, I am continuing to monitor this, however, because he stills seems a bit off to me.

I ended up not giving him the simethicone because I don't think he is gassy. I think he has to much hair in his gut :grumpy: I am going to go out and buy bene-bac today.

I posted this same questions on another website. I got a reply that I should feed
papaya and/or pineapple that are not canned. It said the fruits have enzymes that help to digest hair. Any thoughts on this? I'm concerned about the sugar level since I don't want GI Stasis.

 

[tonyshuman]

Some people like pineapple, it is sugary but the benefit can offset the bad sometimes. It does have to be fresh pineapple. I think papaya is too sugary, even though it may help. The jury's technically still out on both of them. My guys don't really like pineapple (except dried) anyway.