Olive isn't pooping, is it gas?

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ollie1115

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Olive is a holland lop around 8 months old, who is spayed. 2 weeks ago almost the same scenario occurred. I woke up and Olive was not leaving her litter box and would not respond to treats she normally goes crazy for. She would not eat or drink anything, I brought her to the vet who took xrays and told me it was gas. She gave her pain meds and critical care that I took home with me. I provided her the critical care that I had to force feed, it took about 6hrs for her to start moving around again.
It seems as though this may be repeating. I woke up today and after coming out of her cage she was hiding in the corner, she would not respond to her treats and has since been in her cage. It has been 8hrs and she has no went to the bathroom and will not eat anything. I gave her some critical care as well as simethicone(infant gas meds).
Im not sure if there is anything else I can do, and I'm not sure why this keeps happening. Both of my rabbits have unlimited timothy hay and get a small scoop of timothy hay pellets. Also a couple times a week I give them some greens and fruit.
What is going on, this is so frustrating and scary.
Any help would be appreciated.
 
A rabbit that isn't pooping or eating, should not be syringe fed any food until a vet has ruled out a complete blockage, as forcing food can make a bad situation worse. You can try another dose of simethicone an hour after the first, if your bun is cold warm up with a warm pack or warm towels, and encourage to hop around to try and help get the digestion moving. If you can contact your vet, and have any pain meds left, you can ask about administering a dose. Pain meds are essential to help get a rabbit eating again, as a rabbit in pain isn't likely to eat on it's own. If after 3 hours from the first dose of simethicone, your bun isn't starting to eat and improve, you will need to take her back to the vet. They need to rule out a blockage. A conscious exam of the molars is also a good idea, to make sure that sharp points on the teeth aren't causing your rabbit to reduce hay consumption from the chewing action causing the sharp points to cut into the tongue and cheek, which can lead to digestive problems occurring from the lack of fiber intake from hay. Often a gut stimulant is prescribed as well, to help get gut contents moving.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

If dental problems are ruled out as a cause, and there are no other health issues discovered that could be leading to this occurring, it likely has to do with something in your rabbits diet. It could be from too many sugars and carbs from treats and/or pellets leading to gut microflora imbalance and GI slowdown, resulting in stasis, gas, and lack of appetite. Or sometimes some rabbits will be sensitive to a particular veg/herb, and this is causing the upset stomach. Cruciferous veggies in particular seem to cause some rabbits digestive problems. Usually what needs to happen is to reduce the diet to grass hay only, ensuring that with this diet change your rabbit is eating hay really well to make up for the lack of other food. Once your rabbit is doing well and poop is looking good and normal, then you can gradually start adding in other things into the diet, one thing at a time and gradually, starting with a small amount and gradually increasing each day. You can start with pellets or one veg at a time. Then you keep a close eye for signs of digestive discomfort, and keep a very close eye on your rabbits poop. You are looking for mushy poop or the poop starting to get very small. Both are signs of digestive upset. If this occurs then you either need to reduce the amount or may need to eliminate that item from the diet completely.
http://rabbit.org/sluggish-motility-in-the-gastrointestinal-tract-2/
http://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm
 
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ok,
Well its not dental problems as I said I was at the vet, 2 weeks ago and everything else was in perfect health. Her temperature is not low. Any idea why this continues to happen, I don't feel like she has a bad diet. I don't think anyone would be able to afford to go to the vet everytime a health issue arises that is why I am trying to get to the root of the issue here, bc I don't know what I'm doing wrong and don't want this to continue to happen. Also she is not grinding her teeth and still jumps when I gave her the simethicone.
 
Do you know for sure that your vet checked the back teeth 2 weeks ago? Up until now, has your rabbit been eating her normal amounts of hay? Even though the vet may not have found any health issues at the time, it doesn't mean there may not be a hidden health issue that could be causing this. Where blood tests done, urinalysis, full body xrays of the head and organs, or a dental exam under GA to get a more thorough look at the teeth for hidden dental spurs? If not, then it is possible for there to be an underlying health issue as the cause of the repeated lack of appetite and stasis/gas. And even with all of those diagnostics done, things can still be missed or overlooked. Lack of appetite is often just the most obvious symptom of there being something wrong. It may or may not be a digestive issue that is the cause. Any health problem that causes pain and/or discomfort can cause a rabbit to stop eating, which in turn will lead to digestive problems and stasis. But if you aren't seeing any other signs of a health problem such as neurological symptoms, increased thirst and urination, being picky about food and not eating certain things or not eating in the same amounts, odd changes of behavior, that could point to something being the cause, it very well could be happening due to diet alone. I had a rabbit that repeatedly kept having reoccurring stasis and digestive upset, until I figured out it was the pellets causing it. Once I eliminated those from his diet(as he couldn't tolerate even the smallest amount) he never had a bout with stasis again.

What you are feeding is usually perfectly normal for a rabbits diet, but the issue is some rabbits have specific dietary needs. Some may be more sensitive to excess sugars and carbs in the diet, some may be sensitive to a particular veggie, or even a particular type of hay. This can happen from the moment you get your bun, or it can occur later in your rabbits life. A rabbits diet is all about tailoring it to your specific rabbits needs. General dietary guidelines for rabbits are just that, general. Not necessarily suited to all rabbits dietary needs.

Most of my rabbit get pellets, but I tailor the amount they get to how they react to it. If I start to see any mushy poop or small darker poop, I reduce the pellet amount so they eat more hay, which has always resolved the issues for my rabbits. Though many rabbits may do well on a similar diet to what you have your rabbit on, it obviously may be causing issues for your bun, as long as another health issue doesn't end up being the cause. When something specific in the diet is the cause of digestive upset, if you want to prevent it from continuing to occur, you will need to find what exactly in the diet is causing the issue. This is best accomplished by an elimination diet. Grass hay is almost always well tolerated by most rabbits, so starting with that as the base food will get your bun back to feeling better and being healthy, then as you gradually add things back in, if you pay attention to changes in poop and any signs of digestive discomfort, you can usually catch what it is that is causing the issue. That is why you gradually increase, so that if something is causing a problem, you are only starting out with a small amount and can catch the problem before it gets too bad that you need to take your bun to the vet. In my experience, it is almost always too many sugary/starchy treats and/or too many pellets(which contain sugars and carbs) that cause these stasis issues to occur(though a particular veggie or type of hay is always a possibility). Sugars, starches, and carbohydrates slow down a rabbits digestive system, which starts to back up, leads to smaller poop, which then leads to slower emptying of the cecum, which then leads to a bacterial imbalance in the cecum, which leads to gas and digestive upset. So you can see it is a chain reaction of events. Rabbits have a very sensitive digestive system, some more so than others, with specific dietary needs for it to run well and the rabbit to stay healthy and not have digestive issues. Read the articles I shared above. They help explain the issue in more detail.
 
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You've already gotten so much good advice i hate to add more but. ...

When my rabbits have stopped eating it has been at night - three different rabbits, three different times. I went in to offer their nightly treat and they didn't eat the treat, which never happens so I know something it wrong. Then I noticed the signs of gastric discomfort— my bunny stretching out to alleviate pressure on its stomach and then hunching. With two of them I could hold them up to my ear and hear stomach gurgling. Each time I syringe fed them 15mm to 20mm pedialyte mixed with water and some semethicone. I fully expected to wake up in the morning to take my rabbit to the vet... but each time when I woke up in the morning they were eating and fine, like nothing was ever wrong. But they truly seemed sick the night before. This trick of syringing water/pedialyte has worked for me three different times to three different bunnies. They were Jersey Woolies and I suspect they were having some wool blocks forming.

... So my advice is as soon as you see your rabbit not eating syringe some water into them, 15mm to 20mm pedialyte or water, (not food because if its a blockage it will make it worse). Water can't hurt and if they are not eating, they aren't drinking either so water/pedialyte can only help - and then if they aren't better shortly after that take them to the vet.
 
Soo just a little update. Olive did not eat for about 18hr, other than the simethicone and some critical care. At that 18th hour she all of a sudden started eating hay and some dill. She is now eating a lot of hay and drinking a lot of water. She has yet to poop tho, other then the soft poops that they eat. I feel like she has improved so I'm letting her run around, hopefully that will stimulate her bowel.
Thank you guys for the great advice!
 
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