Picking up problems

[Zeroshero]

My sweet little guy is developing a really bad habit of trying to jump from my hands when I am putting him back in his cage. He has jumped in a few times I am afraid he's going to get hurt. How do you stop this behavior? He also didn't want to sit on my lap for pets so we both laid on the floor. I am sad he's becoming more independent. Last night I was scratching his tummy and he flopped in my hands (that is a weird feeling) and stayed there while I continued to scratch. He is a little high maintenance as far as attention goes but I don't want him to be aloof. I am not liking Zero maturing!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Just keep at it getting him used to being handle. When you go to put him up keep a good hold and put him in backside first--that should keep the launching behavior to a minimum.

 

[Zaiya]

Put him in bum first!

 

[Zeroshero]

Good idea, never thought of that. Thank you both

 

[majorv]

You can also get him out of that bad habit by not putting him in the cage if he starts struggling. As you're placing him in, if he struggles or tries to jump immediately bring him back to you and hold him, saying NO. Keep doing that until he's still when you put him down. He'll figure out eventually not to do it. You could also give him a treat and praise him when he does it right.

 

[Zeroshero]

Thanks again for the suggestions, I have been putting him in bottom first and he is definitely confused but no launching. I was a disaster this morning when I was posting how he was changing. So silly! He was quietly laying in his hammock looking at me (he's usually eating) so I took him out again, we had snuggle time, kisses, and some binkies. Now he is happily eating his hay :bunny19

 

[Zeroshero]

This morning I let Zero out for a little romp and as he was running he flopped. Is that normal or does he have something neurological going on?

 

[Kittiebot]

Flops are good! They do that when they are happy. My little guy runs and runs, then stops and flops over on his side, it looks like he died but really he's just super happy!

 

[JBun]

I guess it would depend on what it looked like when he did it. My rabbits will sometimes be out playing and running around, then flop over, then pop back up. Or they may loose balance making a turn on a slippery floor. But if Zero is falling over mid run, and it doesn't look right, then it's possible it could be something like a seizure. If you could by chance, catch it on video, that would help figuring out if what he is doing is normal or not.

 

[Kittiebot]

I was thinking it was a dead bunny flop going on... if it doesn't look like that, then it could be something wrong with him

 

[Zeroshero]

It definitely didn't look normal and my first thought was a seizure, he's acting really punky tonight. He didn't eat much hay today, I gave him some simethicone and his critical care which he ate. His belly feels bloated and he is acting bloated . I don't know how much more of this I can go through with him financially and emotionally.

 

[Zeroshero]

He just passed some ceccotropes and he's nibbling on hay. He is moving around a bit bit not like he usually does. What could be the cause of problems with his ceccal poops? My poor bunny

 

[Zeroshero]

I gave Zero a second dose of simethicone about 20 minutes ago, 1/2 a gram of benebac and he has had maybe 1oz of hydropet electrolyte. He had several ceccal poop pellets followed by normal feccal pellets of various sizes. I let him out of his cage to move around a bit more and to try more abdomnial massage. He passed more fecal pellets that were his normal size. The gas finally started breaking up. He is now in his bag of hay eating. Should I give an additional dose in an hour if he still has audible gas sounds?

 

[JBun]

The dosage info from the medirabbit website for simethicone is, 1-2cc (20mg/ml) every hour for three hours, then 1cc every 3-8 hours as needed. Are you still only feeding him the hay and critical care? I can't recall if you've mentioned this already, but has the vet ever done a blood test on him?

 

[Zeroshero]

Flops are good! They do that when they are happy. My little guy runs and runs, then stops and flops over on his side, it looks like he died but really he's just super happy!

He was mid-stride/mid-hop and flopped while he was in the air and landed on his side. He immediately got up but it did seem to be involuntary.

 

[Zeroshero]

So far we have done two fecals no bloodwork, I am going to call in the morning and see if I can drop him off. He is getting Critical Care 2 x daily and grass hays, I didn't try veggies yet because he has seemed a bit off lately.

 

[JBun]

I don't know if bloodwork will showing anything, but it is something to consider.

With him continuing to have digestive problems, you may want to try cutting the critical care out. You don't have to do it long, just a few days, so you can see if it is possibly causing the upset. I've also read accounts of a rabbit that had a very sensitive digestion, and if the grass hay was too green, it caused upset. Some rabbits are just really sensitive and you have to try different things until you find the food or foods that are causing the problem.

 

[Zeroshero]

Jbun, I think you are onto something with the hay. I just bought him a new bag of timothy. Same brand same size bales but he really doesn't want to eat it, thankfully I have had horses long enough that I have some of the old stuff left over until I get to the store to get him different hay (probably Oxbow) I was feeding him Vitakraft that was supposed to be all natural,pesticide free etc which he was doing great and eating large amounts of.

I was looking at 20lb "mini bales" of timothy hay at the feed store (for horses). I couldn't get a distribution company but I am curious if anyone feeds them?

So, does it sound more like stasis because he's not eating normally? (He's eating a handful of the old stuff right now) or bloat?

 

[Zeroshero]

Well, he made it through the night. I dosed him with three doses of simethicone between 6pm and 10pm. I have him a fourth dose at 1am and 4am, he is still gassy but is acting like his normal self. He is nibbling on hay and he's even binkied a few times. I withheld his critical care this morning and gave him his old hay, he is currently in his hay bag eating. He is such a silly guy!

 

[JBun]

I just love pictures of Zero. He's such a cutie

I buy 50 lb compressed bales of timothy, from my local feed store, and my rabbits all like it and eat it well. But quality can vary, so you'll want to make sure it's good. But with your horse experience, you'll be able to pick out a good hay easily.

What stasis is, is a slowdown of the GI tract, which slows the passage of food, and can create harmful bacteria overgrowth, and problems with a rabbits cecotropes. Because of the slowdown and the growth of the bad bacteria, that creates gas and pain, which then stops a rabbit eating. Any painful health problem can create a lack of appetite. So just because a rabbit stops eating, doesn't necessarily mean it has GI stasis yet. Though the lack of appetite can then lead to stasis because the GI tract isn't moving.

With Zero, it seems more to me that some particular food is causing lots of gas, and therefore pain and the reason he then stops eating. But because you've managed to get the gas and pain under control each time, he seems to recover fairly quickly, and doesn't seem to get much of a gut slowdown from it. If you want to read about a general explanation of the function of a rabbits gi tract, look at this link. It explains it pretty well.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=484#.UZ8FPbx7LTo.twitter

I'm really glad he's feeling better. We want our little Zero to be around for a very long time Hopefully you'll be able to tell right away, whether or not the critical care is causing the continued bloat. I would think that it should only take 2 or 3 days to really notice if there is any difference. If the bloating stops or isn't as bad, then you'll know it's the culprit.