Need some advice fast-SUPER gassy bunny going downhill!

[gentle giants]

A friend of mine has two pet rabbits, and the buck, Snickers, is ill. Since my friend is working twelve hour days right now, Snickers is at my house for nursing care while she is at work. Here is what has been going on: He is a neutered Holland lop, a few days ago his appetite went a little off. She took him to the vet yesterday, did an x-ray, and while there is no sign of any blockage he is suuuper gassy, as the vet put it "it's all the way from one end to the other!" The vet thinks it may be something bacterial, so gave him antibiotics along with a shot of Metacam for pain. Today, I noticed he is also passing these sort of slimy strings of mucus, mostly clear. I have not seen any normal poops (a couple of squishy ones, but very few) and he is peeing fine.

Treatment at this point is simethicone and tummy rubs for the gas, Sulfatrim antibiotics, Tramadol for pain, and I am syringing pumpkin and pineapple juice down him to keep the gut moving, since he refuses to eat on his own.

 

[tonyshuman]

How old is he?

I would stop pineapple juice and go with pedialyte or just plain water because pineapple juice has a lot of sugar in it. Pineapple is good for stasis because of the enzymes, but when there's runny poo and not blockage, it's not a good idea--it helps the bad bacteria survive. If you can, give him some sub-q fluids.

I would also give him some probiotic.

You say he's gassy from one end to the other--does he maybe have bloat? If bloat is the cause, massaging is not going to help. Is his stomach distended at all? Did you see the X-rays? I've seen some x-rays of a bunny with bloat and all the gas was in the tummy, not the gut. I know that if there's gas in the tummy you shouldn't massage.

I'm not sure on the use of sulfatrim for bacterial enteritis. I know it's a less strong antibiotic than those typically prescribed, and something like metronidazole would be better as it isn't a sulfa drug (sulfa drugs can exacerbate diarrhea in a condition called Tyzzer's disease) and it is also anti-inflammatory.

I would also want him to be on something to absorb bacterial toxins, like Questran (with lots of water) or Bio-Sponge.

 

[tonyshuman]

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171319.htm

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/tyzzer.html
bottom of this page mentions that sulfonamides can cause tyzzer's disease and Sulfatrim is a sulfonamide.

 

[gentle giants]

Ok, I will back off on the pineapple juice. I am confused on one point though-I thought the tummy rubs were good for gas because it helps break up/move the bubbles? He seems to like it, perks up slightly after a little rubbing. I am not sure on his age, three or four I think? I did see the x-rays, and yes his tummy is quite distended. It is less so now than it was yesterday, thankfully. What is the difference in bloat and a gas attack? I don't like the Sulfatrim either, but it is pretty much all this vet will prescribe for rabbits, he still insists that they can't have pennicilin. :banghead

 

[tonyshuman]

Tummy rubs are great for GI gas--but with stomach gas, they'll cause lots of pain and won't move it through.

Good thing he's not very young.

Have you asked for Flagyl? That's more old-school to use in rabbits and is the brand name for metronidazole. Penicillin's not so good for GI upset.

I'll find some pics of bloat so you can figure out if it's bloat or gas.

 

[tonyshuman]

That's a general pic to help figure out what you're looking at in the x-ray.

Article about GI stasis vs bloat (how to tell which is which )
http://www.bunnylu.org/bloat.html

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/bloat.html

More about bloat vs gas:
http://www.ontariorabbits.org/hot_topics/hint_9.html

Way a vet can treat bloat:
http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.co...ceeding/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/586476

 

[tonyshuman]

This page has an external pic of a bunny with really bad bloat:
http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/gutstasis.asp