Rabbit Gas

[Moshimoud112]

Hi everyone my rabbit was completely fine this morning she ate some pellets and was her usual self then at about 12 o clock she started to distance herself and just wanted to lay in the corner with her belly pressed to the ground she didn’t eat no more pellets and was extremely quiet, I can read her like a book she’s with me 24/7 so I knew something was up, I massaged her belly for about a hour and i could hear some gas and then I seringe fed her some water mixed with a couple of drops of pineapple juice and she started to perk up, she then ate some coriander and banana , about 3 of her poos looked a bit small then she done a whole load of healthy normal ones id say she done over 50 healthy poos after the massage, i then shook her treats and she came zooming over honking as she usually does, she still hasn’t touched her pellets but seems to be a lot happier in herself I’ll be giving her metacam in the next hour as she has it every night for her teeth, does this sound like gas to anyone else or would anyone have a idea of what it could be ?

 

[Preitler]

Hard to tell if the gas you heard was the cause or a result of the slowdown, but the first thing I too do are massages and/or make them move, this imo is good first aid at any kind of bowl/digestion issue. I also give them some Simethicone (baby gas drops, at least 20mg per dose), can't hurt and helps to move the gas, one of the staples in my rabbit medicine box. That solves most of the issues before a vet is available or it becomes a real emergency. I usually massage it for 10-15 minutes every hour, maybe every second through the night.

It's always a relief to see that they start eating again, the first things mine eat again are rose apple leafs, hogweed, and some other herbs, I always have a stock of those dried for times when not available fresh.

 

[Moshimoud112]

Update- she seems a lot better today! over night she ate all of her pellets and done a large amount of poos, some normal and some that were bigger and runny (sort of like Cecotropes but runnier) but apart from that all the recent poos have been normal she’s been running about this morning and playing, eating more food so it must of just been some gas!

 

[Blue eyes]

Glad to hear she's doing better. In the future, please skip the pineapple juice. This only adds unneeded sugar to her system which has the potential to make things worse. It used to be recommended because it was believed it would break down hair in the gut, assuming there was hair blocking the digestive tract. But a rabbit's stomach pH is very low, well below the level at which bromelain (pineapple enzyme) is destroyed. So pineapple does nothing to break down hair in the rabbit's stomach.

I'd suggest getting some simethicone (baby gas drops) as part of your bunny first-aid kit. It's great to have on hand the moment a rabbit shows signs of gas discomfort. Offering it right away (along with massage) is usually all that is needed to prevent this from getting worse if the occasion arises again.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/first-aid-kit.html

 

[Moshimoud112]

Glad to hear she's doing better. In the future, please skip the pineapple juice. This only adds unneeded sugar to her system which has the potential to make things worse. It used to be recommended because it was believed it would break down hair in the gut, assuming there was hair blocking the digestive tract. But a rabbit's stomach pH is very low, well below the level at which bromelain (pineapple enzyme) is destroyed. So pineapple does nothing to break down hair in the rabbit's stomach.

I'd suggest getting some simethicone (baby gas drops) as part of your bunny first-aid kit. It's great to have on hand the moment a rabbit shows signs of gas discomfort. Offering it right away (along with massage) is usually all that is needed to prevent this from getting worse if the occasion arises again.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/first-aid-kit.html

Hi thank you for your advice, i was scrolling through some past forums and people was saying pineapple juice would solve it I had no idea it could make it worse so thank you for letting me know! in future I’ll try the baby gas drops ,do you have any recommendations of brands that I should buy and the dosage I should give her ?

 

[Blue eyes]

You're welcome!

Brand doesn't matter. Just get one made for infants.

1-2cc per hour for 3 hours, then 1cc every 3-8 hours as needed

 

[Preitler]

Imo baby gas drops come in a rather wide variety of concentrations, which one doesn't really matter, mine have about 40mg/ml.

Give at least 20mg per serving, lower doses don't work, and more doesn't hurt, I go for at least 30-40mg to make up for spillage. You'll have to calculate how many cc you need depending on the concentration of the brand you can get.