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theevenstarlight wrote:
Awesome! How long did it take? I have been giving him pumpkin since Monday, and it's been helping. I don't know how long to give it to him because I don't want him to get fat from it!
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I saw I difference in a few days, but they only got back to completely normal in about 1 week and a half. You don't have to give him a ton of pumpkin. Just some everyday to get that gut moving. Definitely push hay and wet greens though. And like I said, the tummy rubs helped. Try the infant gas drops (Simethicone) if his tummy feels a little hard or if his poops are still small today. Give him 1ml every 3-5 hours for a day or so. He could just be bloated.

And make sure he gets plenty of exercise! I had my bunny in his exercise pen for 3-5 hours everday with lots of hay to promote gut movement.

Hope that helps!
 
I'm about to lose it.

Fluffy's poops become small when he doesn't get pumpkin. I've taken him to the vet three times in the past three months (two different vets, too). They both checked for molar spurs and his teeth look fine.

My regular vet said if Fluffy needs pumpkin for the fiber, then I can give it to him because I should be more worried about his small poops than calories. He hasn't gained any weight since I've been giving pumpkin - actually, he lost a few ounces.

Last night was bad. His poops were big, but then I left and came back an hour later and he looked really bad. Like, it looked like I had a different bunny! I tried to give him some pumpkin which he usually gobbles up, but he refused to eat any. He didn't want a pellet, either. I found some really small poop in his cage. I separated him from his companion to see if he would eat his greens (Twinky would eat them all if she had a chance). He didn't want greens, but he would occassionally chew on some hay. I watched him for about 2 hours and finally went to bed around 1:00. I woke up (naturally) at 3:25 AM and all the greens were gone. There were some more really little poops in the litter box. I gave him some critical care at about 4:00 AM, and he's had 3 servings of it today.

I'm almost preparing myself for his death due to GI Stasis. I mean, this has been going on since Novemeber of 2007!!!! His poops were okay for a while so I made reservations to go to CA for a week, but now I am terrified that he is going to die if I leave him!!!

 
Oh no. :( I'm so sorry to hear about Fluffy. I hope he gets better soon.

So exactly what and how do you feed Fluffy everyday?

And how much water is he drinking? Have you triedpedialite? Macey was sick for a couple of days which might have been GI stasis, and she drank a lot more of pedialite than she did water, which I think helped a lot. And thanks for Pipp telling me about that.

So if you haven't already, go pick up some.
 
Hi!

I carefully re-readyour whole thread to refresh my memory on Fluffy's situation. You mention in your thread that Fluffy is a dwarf hotot/lionhead mix. I am the mom of a dwarf hotot and have bitter experience on the dwarf hotots' GI problems, namely stasis, which can vary from intestinal contractions' slowdown to total halt (=ileus), and, on the opposite side, diarrhea. GIissues in dwarf hotots are a genetic problem and the way the hotot color gene contribute to this problemhas been discussed in this forum also.

Imade a search andgathered all the threads in RO that refer to dwarf hotots and their GI problems, so that you don't have to go around searching the archives of the forum. Also, Rosie (maherwoman) has provided you with the links of our Health section in the Library where you'll find valuable articles on GI issues.

As you'll read in one of the threads I attach hereto, my personal experience with my Vitto (who had a serious GI stasis episode last September) was that I could dramatically ameliorate his condition by making some changes in his diet. I cut down a biton his pellets and drastically cut down on the veggies I fed him. This made room in his stomach for more hay, which is great in preventing GI stasis, because it helps the peristalsis (i.e. the contractions) of the intestines. Apart from this, I also recently read in a thread here that Vit. C is also very helpful in GI issues, so, from that day, I give one slice of orange to Vitto every morning. Papaya is even better, as it has a higher percentage of Vit. C. Since the day I followed this new diet, Vitto hasn't faced any GI stasis or diarrhea (thank God!). I alsohave never seen againa "string of pearls"-like poop+hairblend in his litter box, the way it happened all the time in the past during his molting days. As you may know this kind of hair+poop mix is the first sign of GI stasis.

What I learnedis that living with dwarf hotots means, most of the times, also living with their GI problems, however, the diet is a very important factor in dealing with these problems. Please do take the time to read the GI stasis articles in the Library, as well as the following threads. I'm sure you're going to get a pretty good idea on how to be better prepared to combat these problems.


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=33072&forum_id=16&highlight=hotot


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=32037&forum_id=16&highlight=hotot


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=30709&forum_id=16&highlight=hotot


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=30548&forum_id=16&highlight=hotot


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=29367&forum_id=16&highlight=hotot


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=26270&forum_id=16&highlight=hotot




Also, as Montana pointed out, if you give us his exact daily food and water consumption, maybe we could discuss on changes, if any, on his diet that could help you and Fluffy out.

Marietta

 
OMG, that is really good info to know! I never would've guessed that Dwarf Hotots can be more suseptible to GI stasis because I do have a 100% dwarf hotot who has the biggest poops I have ever seen! Although, he is 4 lbs, so he is not really a dwarf.

This is usually what I feed Fluffy:

Morning:

1/16 cup of pellets
1 tablespoon of pumpkin mixed with 1 CC of Benadryl (he has been having allergies lately, but no runny nose - the vet checked him over)

Treats:

2 Oxbow pineapple/papaya tablets

Evening:

1 cup of 3 different types of greens
1 tablespoon of pumpkin mixed with 1 CC of Benadryl
*I never feed broccoli, spinach, or kale.

I don't know how much water he drinks because when he uses the water bottle it never makes a sound, whereas I can hear the other buns from across the room.



Am I to cut back on the vegetables and hope he eats more hay?
 
The big poops of your dwarf hotot are due to "megacolon syndrome", which means that their colon is bigger than other rabbit breeds (producing, thus, poops that are bigger and unbormal in shape). Also the lining of their intestines is less than other breeds, resulting to less contractions of the intestines, which can lead to GI slow down or complete stasis.

In regard to the quantities that Fluffy eats, a couple of more questions, please: You don't mention how much hay does he eat. Well, I know that hay cannot be measured the way pellets can, but a rough estimate would help. Unlimited hay should be with him all the time. Adding fresh hay 2-3 times per day entices them to eat more. So does hay put in their litter box. In order for the hotot intestines to work properly, they must eat first and foremost a lot of hay and secondarily pellets and greens.

Also, why do you feed 1/16 cup of pellets per day? I mean, it sounds too little a quantity. How much does he weight? The papaya or pinapple tablets are fine, as well as the greens. For more variety, you could also check the safe veggie list in our Library. And in regard to water, I guess your bottle doesn't have the ml measurement on its side, but can you observe how much the water level in the bottle goes down? Also, providing a heavy water crock or the kind of crock that attaches to the cage bars, would save you from the trouble of cleaning the mess of water spillage, and would make Fluffy drink more, if you think his water consumption is not satisfactory.

Marietta
 
As for the hay, I put fresh hay in Fluffy's cage 5-6 times a day. It is in a easy accessable hay rack that is above the litter box. The hay also falls down into the litter box so he does have access to hay at all times.

He doesn't eat as much hay as my other buns, but they also eat more of everything! LOL

For the pellets, I was giving 1/16 of a cup because I am feeding him pumpkin at the same time, so I don't want him to have too many calories.

I tried using a crock with him, but he didn't seem interested. I did notice him drinking a lot of water last night.

Fluffy weighs just under 3 pounds. And yes, I do use a variety of vegetables, I have a list from a house rabbit organization.
 
His diet seems alright, especially given that he won't need to eat the pumpkin for ever, so when his tummy gets better, you can start feeding him a bit more pellets. Make sure that the pumpkin does not substitute his hay intake, i.e. since the pumpkin is more tasty, see that he doesn't eat pumpkin to the expense of hay. In any case, no more than a bit of pumpkin once a day is enough. Hay is the most important feed he should eat to combat GI issues. Also, a lot of water is necessary. Maybe you should try finding these water bottles with a measurement on their side, so that you can calculate exactly how much he drinks per day.

Is he any better by now?

Marietta
 
theevenstarlight wrote:
He seems to be pooping a lot, but they are still small.  I think he is eating more hay because I cut back on the veggies last night.
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That's good news! I'm also very glad he eats more hay! Hay'll do the trick!

Marietta
 
Thanks everyone so much for helping me!

The vets said "Make sure he is eating lots of hay." Unfortunately, I didn't know this meant to cut back on the veggies. I think it is doing the trick because Fluffy's poops look great! I can't say for certain whether they are back to normal because it has been so long since I've seen good-sized poops, but they look healthy!

I wish I would've stated in this post that he is a half dwarf hotot, but I never knew that a certain breed could be more prone to GI stasis. I knew that some breeds are more prone to sore hocks, such as the Mini rex, but that's about it.

I think the new diet is working. Thank you for possibly saving his life, and for helping me to sleep at night!
 
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