Possible constipation?

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Rusty

Rusty

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2007
Messages
371
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Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hey guys! I know I haven't been on here for a while since I have been so busy, but I have a question about Akira. She is about 2 years old, spayed, and has been healthy since I've had her. tonight I went to give her and Rusty their pellets and she didn't run to her bowl like she normally does. Usually she is crazy about getting her food and acts like she has never been fed before. today she just kind of sat there. I picked her up to feel her tummy and she didn't grind her teeth or anything and I didn't feel anything hard, and she hasn't been sitting there grinding her teeth or sitting oddly. She is just kind of sitting there with her eyes half closed while Rusty eats (also cuz she's probably mad that I picked her up.) They have hay at all times and they have a water bowl that is filled every night and they have a water bottle as well that still has water in it. I tried giving her her favorite treats but she wouldn't take them. Again probably cuz she is pissed off I picked her up. This morning she was her normal spunky self, running around like crazy in my room. Rusty is acting normal, so I'm really worried. Is there anything I can give her to maybe help her pass some stool, or am I concerned over nothing.... I'm just really worried since my friend (the girl who owns Hershel) found her rabbit dead the next morning and the night before he was just sitting there in his litterbox not doing anything... Let me know if there is anything I can do for her. Vets are closed ATM.
 
Give her pedialyte or water with an oral syringe. You can also give her baby gas medicine (simethicone.) I am not sure how much your rabbit weighs but for my 5 lb bunny I gave 1 CC of simethicone once per hour for 3 hours in the evening, then another dose the next morning. My bun was having GI stasis issues and this is what the mods recommended I do. Also soak veggies in water and try to tempt her with them.
 
Hi could you please fill in the missing info?

- Location: Calgary, Alberta, CA

- Description (Breed, color., weight): (?)

- Age: 2yrs

- spayed/neutered?: spayed

- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output
- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? : (please fill in)
- When did they last use their litterbox? : (please fill in)
- Any unusual behavior? : not interested in food, sitting there with her eyes half closed, failed the treat test

- Medical History -- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? : has been healthy (annual exams?)

- Diet - what does your bunny eat?: hay, pellets (what kind, how much?), treats (what kind how much?)
- when and what did s/he eat last? : (please fill in)

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? : (please fill in)

- are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? : (please fill in)

- has the rabbit been outdoors? : (please fill in)
 
it sounds like She is going into what is called GI stasis and there are some things that you can do tonight to help get her through the night.
When did she last eat?

whendid she last poop?


First you need to go out and buy a few things and believe me they are necessary

You need to go to a pharmacy or dept store and buy some liquidbaby gas meds . The primary active ingredient on the back of the box should be simethicone. You can buy any liqud infant gas drops with simethicone as the active ingredient Mylicon, gas X or a generic). When you get home you should give her about 1cc of the gas meds. You can repeat a 1cc dose in a hour or so X3 doses

Gas will often cause a rabbit to not eat and be in pain . if her Gi tract is sluggish the gas will build up . You can massage her tummy gently after giving the meds or encourage her to move about in order to attempt to ove the gas bubbles by motion

The simethicone will not harm her it is not absorbed into the body.

You need to buy some liquid electolyte drink for babies (pedialyte or generic)
. When you get home you need to syringe her liquids ; without liquids her Gi tract will become even slower and if she has not been drinking then she will already be dehydrated. When you give her liquids slip the syringe into the side of her mouth behind her teeth ( not pointing towards back of her mouth) and slowly push in the liquids watching her swallow. Many rabits like the taste of pedilayte.

When you give me more info I will know her weight but for now give her as much as she will allow. you can stop and let her rest and then give her more.

Tomorrow if she is not pooping you will need to take her to a vet who knows rabbit medicine.

you will need to get a probiotic (which is the naturally occuring microorganisms in a rabbits Gi tract) You can buy benebac at petsmat or petco in small tubes for small mammals. this will help resestablish normalcy in her Gi tract. probably cannot get that tonight

If she has not eaten for the entire day you should also buy some canned pumpkin without seasoning . it should not be pumpkin pie filler which is seasoned so look at the back of the can ; it will say pure pumpkin.

you can also pick up some baby food ..veggies kinds or possibly apple /banana etc.

Try the pumpkin per syringe first as that has the most fiber and use the baby food if you are having a lot of trouible getting her to eat the pumpkin.

you can buy syringes to feed infants at pharmacies or dept stores like walmart or even ask a pharmacist for a 20cc syringe for feeding a pet.
For the night the primary objective is to give her liquids , help her get releif from gas and if she has not eaten for over 12 hours ..to keep her system from shutting down
The fluids are the most important .

the food is secondary unless she has not eaten for 24 hours; the amount of food is not as important as giving her gut something to move through so even a small amount of pumpkin wil hel as it is high in fiber.

if this has been going on awhile you will need to do a lot of self -treatment even after a vet visit .

NowI will also ask you to give us more info so we can help you in a more accurate way

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=44529&forum_id=16
 
Location: Calgary, Alberta, CA

- Description (Breed, color., weight): rex, albino, 6lbs

- Age: 2yrs

- spayed/neutered?: spayed

- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output
- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? : Can't tell from just today, but it has always been normal (before today that is)
- When did they last use their litterbox? : Don't know have been at school all day
- Any unusual behavior? : not interested in food, , failed the treat test

- Medical History -- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? : has been healthy (annual exams?) She has gotten one exam and is due for her second in april. Have only had her for a year and a bit.

- Diet - what does your bunny eat?: hay, pellets (what kind, how much?), treats (what kind how much?)
- when and what did s/he eat last? : last night that im aware of, unless she ate some hay while I wasn't home

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? : (please fill in)

- are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? : (please fill in) none.

- has the rabbit been outdoors? : (please fill in) no.
 
Bunniekrissy has some good advice. Simethicone 1ml/hr for 3hrs, pedialyte (leave some in a bowl, and force feed at least 10mL to make sure she's got some in her), belly massages/rides on top of the washing machine. If you have any metacam (meloxicam, pain med) on hand, use it (only if it's less than 6mo old) at the dose written on the bottle--but make sure she has water in her system, and perhaps even some food if you can get her to eat. Set out some pumpkin puree--not pie filling--and force-feed it to her if she doesn't eat by tomorrow morning. Clean out the litter box to make sure she's pooping. If you have probiotic, get a dose of it into her (Bene-Bac, Probios). These are the things I do when I suspect a small GI disturbance, and it usually works.

Any time a bunny doesn 't eat for 24 hrs, or starts being lethargic ("floppy"), showing lots of pain, it's an emergency vet situation. Good luck!
 
OOF that's not great if she hasn't eaten all day. I'd do the treatment you can tonight, and take her in in the morning if at all possible.
 
Is she molting per chance? Or could she have eaten a veggie that didn't agree with her?

She could have a bout of gas. Whatever the cause, the first line of defense is fluids, fiber and simethicone-based gas meds with some looooong tummy massages and gentle exercise. And keep her warm.

Keep an eye out for poops, they're usually the 'window' to bunny health.

I give my guys either a full cc (depending on the weight of the bunny) of baby gas meds like Ovol (in Canada), and I'll syringe warmish water into them if they're not drinking on their own. Sometimes spiking the water with a few spoonfuls of apple or berry juice will help. (Make sure regular water is available as well).

I'll also do 'vibration therapy' where I do tummy massages with my vibrating toothbrush or put them on the dryer for a bit. This, along with the gas meds, I think helps break up the bubbles and makes them easier to pass.

Don't worry about force feeding at this point, just deal with they hydration. Some Pedialyte, an infant electrolyte replacement drink, is always good.

Good luck!


sas :clover:
 
Warmth! I forgot that. Use a pop bottle full of warm water, a water bottle, supervised with a heating pad (they will chew on it), a Snuggle Safe, or a rice sock. Rice sock=sock filled with dry rice microwaved for 1-2min.
 
Ok got two types of syringes, got a huge tub of fruit flavour pedialyte and got ovol gas med. its liquid and the main ingredient is symethicone, no alcohol and no lactose. is that ok?
 
also she keeps getting up and laying down in a different position so I think she also has really bad gas. I have given her a couple of belly massages but I dont feel anything hard and no bunny farts.
 
Ok I gave her 10ml of pedialyte and 1ml of simethicone... I did some tummy rubs and I could feel like air bubbles moving around...
 
Keep up the good work!

Hydration and pain management are the most important things for a bunny going into stasis. Give her a rest, and then see if she'll take some more fluids. The simethicone should help with the gas pains a little bit if it can get her passing it.

You can try using a vibrating tooth brush or put her on top of the washing machine on the spin cycle to help break up gas bubbles (as long as you don't think that will freak her out too much).

--Dawn
 
Rusty wrote:
also she keeps getting up and laying down in a different position so I think she also has really bad gas. I have given her a couple of belly massages but I dont feel anything hard and no bunny farts.
Click to expand...
I think by your description that it sounds like gas also...
the simethicone usually works well but keep up the pedialyte also...
 
I got her to lay next to a hot water bottle to keep warm. she was laying directly on it for a while but she is so not herself I just might cry. I'm so worried for her. She is breathin pretty hard. She does keep putting her head down and then all of a sudden look up and around and then put her head back down.
 
If this has been going on for awhile she may be in trouble :(
I will give you a list of vets in Alberta; i would suggest that you get her there in the morning as fast as possible

When you give her the hot water bottle let her choose whether she wants to lie down on it or next to it ; we don't know if it is comfortable for her or not..

she may be breathing hard because she is stressed out also

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12114&forum_id=9

there is little else you can do except what has been suggested unless you have an emergency vet there
you can repeat a dose of simethicone if you have not given a 2nd dose... and you can continue to give pedialyte

I am signing off now because it is so late here.
I hope that in the Am that you continue to get support from more members.
:pray:I hope that she makes it
 
Thanks again for all your help. This is the first time she has ever not acted like herself, and that is why I am so worried. She was perfectly fine this morning, her perky little self chasing me around my room while I got ready for school, binkying and harrassing me all night. Its just tonight she is like this.
 
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