New to the forum, Looking for suggestions regarding GI Issues

[BlakeandBraxton]

Hi, My name is Shelby and I am new to forum. I am currently the "Foster Mom" (but soon to be officially "Forever Mom") to two 6 month old bunnies. My boys, Blake (New Zealand White Mix) and Braxton (New Zealand White/Dutch Mix) came from a hoarding situation where they were two of 108 bunnies living in deplorable conditions. The majority of the buns were New Zealands with some others, like my Braxton mixed in. I have had the boys since early September and early on I experienced some issues with Braxton and his GI tract.

Braxton has never gotten to the point of refusing to eat or extreme lethargy, his only symptom generally is that his feces becomes smaller in size and the feces is produced in very small quantities. Sometimes I will notice him looking uncomfortable, but usually the unstable fecal production is his only issue. He has been prescribed oral metoclopramide by one Vet for these periods of GI issues and recently, another Vet provided me with Critical Care to make a watery paste and to try to get more water in him and get things moving. His periods of stasis are hard to predict. Sometimes he will go weeks without issue, then some weeks he will only be bad for a day or so where other weeks several days will pass with him producing limited stool. He even went through his neuter with no GI upset whatsoever, so I really don't understand what sets him off balance. When I first got him I went straight to the oral meds for any issues and it always did the trick, but I am trying to go the more natural route, using the Critical Care and making his greens more watery to help things along naturally, just to try to limit how much medicine he is taking.

I am here to see if anyone else has had a bun with similar problems and can provide me any feedback. He is so young that I have heard it is odd for him to have these problems already but there is no doubt in my mind that his rough beginning in life, all the stress he endured and inbreeding in his lineage are all a large part of his problems.

The boys currently are fed several (about 4) approx. 1 tablespoon feedings of Oxbow Essentials Young Rabbit Food daily (Even though the bag states they can still be fed unlimited pellets), along with unlimited Oxbox Western Timothy Hay, and unlimited fresh water from a bowl. They boys also get 1 Oxbow Natural Science - Digestive Support Tab daily and leafy greens daily as well (Usually Endive, Green Leaf Lettuce, or Dandelion Greens). I also sometimes mix in the Oxbow Organic Meadow Hay with their Timothy Hay for some variety.

Braxton lives in a hutch but enjoys several hours of playtime in a dog size playpen and also enjoys supervised free roaming time of my room daily.

I am really interested to see if anyone can help me out! Should I try to limit his pellets even more? Should I switch him over to Adult Oxbow food already? I know that does not have Alfalfa in it, so maybe that could help? I have also been looking into the Organic Oxbow food as well, the brand that is supposed to be used specifically with the supplement tabs as that seems like it might be helpful but it says its not to be used in growing bunnies, so I am worried to do that. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!!!

 

[JBun]

I have a bun that got really stressed when I first got him. He got GI stasis, and it took a couple weeks til he was pretty much back to normal, but he got it a couple more times later on when I tried to change him to a healthier pellet. After that I couldn't feed him pellets anymore without it continuing to make him sick. So he was on a hay and veggie only diet for several months. His poops were coming out irregular at times, and extra small and large. So I started using a probiotic to try and help get his degestion balanced and back to normal. It seemed to help. So he's been started back on pellets again, but very limited, and he seems to be doing ok.

Some buns just have a more sensitive digestive system, then other buns. I would try a no pellet diet with him to see if it helps. With these buns that are sensitive. Any carbs and sugars can really mess up things. There are grains and sugars in almost all rabbit pellets. You may also want to cut out those digetive tablets as they also have grains and sugar in them. I would avoid all grains, sugars, carbs, and starches(like carrots). Try just feeding him hay and green leafy veggies for a while and see if that makes a difference. I would also stay away from veggies that may cause gas. If he still has problems after trying this you may need to cut the veggies out, then gradually reintroduce them to see if any of them are causing problems. You may also want to think about giving him probiotics. The best one I've heard of for rabbits is called Proviable RB, and you can only get it through your vet. I couldn't get a hold of it, so I used Probios pet gel. You don't really need to use the critical care unless he starts having problems again and isn't eating very much or isn't eating at all. Did the vet ever do a fecal just to make sure parasites weren't causing the problem?

If the no pellets works and you are also able to get his poops back to normal, there is a rabbit pellet available that doesn't have added sugars or grains, that you could give a try, but I wouldn't try it until he's feeling better and his poops are normal. It's called Sherwood Forest Rabbit Food, and it's only available online.

 

[BlakeandBraxton]

Thanks so much for your input. I cut down his pellets a lot last night and this morning, also leaving out his digestive tabs and then after I left him alone for the afternoon, I came home to decent amount of stool, which I was very happy about. Now he is in his playpen but seems to be producing limited stool again, so I let him free roam a little, gave him some greens and his favorite Oxbow Timothy Basket to play in and am keeping my fingers crossed he straightens himself out. He has so many ups and downs, it can be so frustrating. I think we are making progress then he regresses. I think it is just gonna be a guessing game until I get his diet regimine down. I just got a surplus of leafy greens for him to enjoy and also picked up some simethicone to have on hand, but I have never used it so I am a little leary about trying it. I called my vet and she is looking into a probiotic, she personally has never used them in a bunny but she also works closely with some other bunny specialists in our area and is gonna see if they have any recommendations. I also will have a fecal run to check for parasites next week. I am gonna monitor him this weekend and see how he does, with limited pellets, my vets recommendation before going completely pellet-free. Then, if that is neccessary I will look into the Sherwood Forest Food.

 

[JBun]

It may take a few days to notice a difference. With my bun, as soon as I stopped the pellets, he stopped having digestive problems, but his poop was still coming out really big and really small, and that didn't improve until after several weeks on the probiotic. I've used the simethicone with my bun and it seemed to help. A couple hours after giving it and metacam, he seemed to be feeling better and started eating. I don't like to overuse it cause of the sugar in it, but I figure if my rabbit is really sick then it can only benefit him. The only time I think that it wouldn't be good is in cases of complete blockages where surgery is required to save the rabbit. When I was first having problems with GI stasis, with my rabbit, this article helped me understand what was going on alot better. It also gives the recommended dosage for simethicone.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

I really hope you are able to find the solution you need for your bun.

 

[Imbrium]

BlakeandBraxton wrote:

I just got a surplus of leafy greens for him to enjoy and also picked up some simethicone to have on hand, but I have never used it so I am a little leary about trying it. I called my vet and she is looking into a probiotic, she personally has never used them in a bunny but she also works closely with some other bunny specialists in our area and is gonna see if they have any recommendations.

the simethicone is VERY safe for rabbits

as for the probiotic, I definitely recommend it. one of mine wasn't eating normally a couple weeks ago and I tried a few things (simethicone, metacam, etc) but she was still eating a lot less than usual... then I gave her some probiotics and she was back to normal by the next morning. probiotics are quite safe for small animals - I even gave some to my baby sugar gliders recently when they started on an antibiotic.

 

[Geoff]

If your rabbit does not do well with pellets, then stop feeding them. Pellets are NOT a necessary part of a rabbit diet. Most rabbits will do fine on unlimited grass hays and unlimited leafy greens. Exercise is very important and if you have a yard with weeds and grasses, this is even better. I have few clients with rabbits under those circumstances that ever get a single GI issue.

 

[BlakeandBraxton]

Thanks everyone! My vet is getting me prices on the Proviable probiotics and figuring out where she will order it in from so he should be starting it fairly soon. I have kept him on a very minimal pellet diet (perhaps only 10 pellets a day or so) since getting the suggestion to eliminate the pellets and consulting my vet. I am decreasing the amount down to even more and seeing if I see even more change. He has made a lot of improvement I think since limiting the pellets. I have been giving him more frequent but smaller handfuls of hay throughout the day (he always has a supply) which is leading to him consuming more and I have been giving him more greens and he has been producing a fairy good amount of stool everyday. He does have a few hours where he doesn't produce a ton but it definitely seems to be getting more regular with his feces production. I found some extra fencing and made the boys exercise pen bigger and have been letting him free roam for about 40 minutes a day outside of the pen and we are getting there! I thank everyone for their suggestions! Hopefully he will get on a good schedule soon and I can truly see what works best!

 

[JBun]

Probiotics seemed to help my buns poops get more normal looking, at least I think that's what did it, but I also want to add this cautionary note as well. That, times that I've given it to my other rabbits, it has seemed to upset some of their stomachs, cause I'll notice that later in the day they aren't eating as much and seem a little off. I've been using the Probios. I would like to get a hold of some of the Proviable though, to see if it is better and if it is more helpful. I just wanted to let you know this. Maybe if the limited pellet diet, gets your bun all sorted out, and his poops get back to normal on their own, you may want to consider holding off on the probiotics and just saving them in the event that he gets sick again.

When my buns are at their less active, sleepy part of the day, they don't produce as much poop either. It's usually evening to morning that it starts to pile up.

 

[BlakeandBraxton]

Thanks so much for clearing that up for me because I was wondering if he seemed to do well if I should hold off and keep it as a backup! So that is what I will do! I definitely do not wanna make him regress if I can help it! And as for buns producing less stool at certain points of the day, I have a question regarding that also, if its normal. My boys seem to produce their least stool from late night (usually early morning to mid morning like 2 am-8am), do you think this is just normal for them? This is when they go in their cage for bed and when I get up to feed them Braxton usually but sometimes both will have limited stool in their cages, but then normally once they get breakfast they start producing stool. They just recently got a new cage, a hutch when they used to have wire cages and this pattern is new to the new cage, it's darker and more natural to a den or rabbit hole I would think and they seem to like it, so could this just be their sleeping all night so that's why there is limited stool? They never make a lot of noise during this time so I have been thinking they just must be sleeping.

 

[JBun]

With my buns, they sleep the most during the day, and that seems to be when they also don't poop as much. So if your buns sleep a lot and are less active at night, then I would think that would be why there is also less poop.

 

[BlakeandBraxton]

Thanks! Knock on wood, or should I say Thump on wood rather, we have been doing well on the limited pellet diet. My vet has been having issues finding the Proviable, so since Braxy is doing well we're gonna hold off and see how he continues to do.

 

[Imbrium]

sometimes you can find probiotics at pet stores or feed stores... I ordered mine online from http://www.leithpetwerks.com/prodpage.cfm?prod_code=MS510 along with some no-chew vet wrap, critical care food and papaya tablets (was stocking my emergency/first aid kit). it's good to have on hand in case GI issues ever crop up again.