Snowy with girgling tummy.

[mel d]

Hello, My rabbit Snowy has been on alot of medication this last week to try and stimulate his gut function he has stopped taking to of the medicines but since then his stomach is always rumbling and I don't know whether he is going into gi statis again.

He is eating and drinking but he isn't too keen on eating his nuggets he prefers dandelion leaves,carrot,apple and dried fruit.

Has anyone had this problem with their rabbits tummy?

Thanks

 

[Pipp]

It usually takes awhile for the gut to straighten itself out. Does he eat hay? I'd get him eating as much grass hay as you can. And make sure he drinks a lot.

I still don't know that the vet got to the bottom of his problem, so I'd watch his chewing habits carefully, he could have a dental issue the vet couldn't see. It may take x-rays to detect molar spurs. But they can also often wear them down on their own with the right diet even if that is the problem.

Or he could be suffering from SBS -- spoiled bunny syndrome. Is he not eating his least favourite stuff? A sick bunny being offered lots of treat foods will hold out for the 'good stuff'. How are his poops and general attitude? Does he seem over his problem except for selective eating?

sas :clover:

 

[devilishblueyes]

mel d wrote:

Hello, My rabbit Snowy has been on alot of medication this last week to try and stimulate his gut function he has stopped taking to of the medicines but since then his stomach is always rumbling and I don't know whether he is going into gi statis again.

He is eating and drinking but he isn't too keen on eating his nuggets he prefers dandelion leaves,carrot,apple and dried fruit.

Has anyone had this problem with their rabbits tummy?

Thanks

The gurgling tummy is a classic sign of diarrhea. You may also smell a foul odor coming from your rabbit. Quit feeding the dandelion leaves, carrot, apple, and dried fruit they are almost definitely the cause of the gurgling tummy. And when rabbits get diarrhea they don't like to eat all that much. They'll tend to eat stuff like you were giving your rabbit beause that is basically like dessert to the rabbit. But that stuff is causing the problem.

First, feed your rabbit just hay. Timothy would work pretty good. It may not want to eat it. This may sound cruel, but if your rabbit doesnt' want to eat it just wait. When your rabbit gets hungry enough it will eat the hay. If you give in at that point and go back to feeding the treats you will be doing more harm than good. The rabbit needs fiber and roughage in its diet to help fight off the diarrhea. The hay will help do that. Once your rabbit gets to eating hay for about a day or so, then go back to pellets.

Rabbits are like little kids. The treats are literally like dessert. If you let the rabbit fill up on dessert they won't eat the main meal. And the pellets should be the main meal possibly accompanied by some hay. Treats should be treated like dessert. They should be very limited in amount.

Diarrhea normally is somewhat easy to cure. But if it continues for too long it can kill your rabbit. And continuing to feed your rabbits treats will help the diarrhea to continue.

The dandelion leaves actually wouldn't be too bad for your rabbit, especially if they are dried out so they are dry like hay before you feed them to your rabbit.

Also make sure your rabbit gets plenty of water to drink. When a rabbit gets diarrhea they tend to get dehydrated.

 

[tonyshuman]

When my bunnies' tummies gurgle, it is due to gas. It can take some time to recover from a GI stasis event, and it's best to remove any sugary foods from the diet during recovery. Veggies are fine, pellets are fine, hay is good. No fruit or carrots or other treats.

I would give him some simethicone and belly massages to help with the gas, which can be quite painful and make them not want to eat. Simethicone is a gas medicine and the easiest way to give it is to buy the baby form which is a liquid. Give 1-1.5mL/hr for 3hrs. That should make his belly more comfortable.

I don't like to force feed or force water onto a bunny that's still eating and drinking something.

What caused the initial GI stasis event? Tooth issues, hair blockage, a food that didn't agree with him, gas?

 

[mel d]

The vets don't know what caused to gi statis, I think it could possibly be because I brought another baby male rabbit into the household, so now that baby rabbit is being taken care of at my sons house.

Snowy has only 1 day left of zantac and another 20 days of panacur, I hope he recovers from this if not my next step is an xray.

He is eating better now but he prefers parsley,dandelion leaves,hay and only a egg cup full of nuggets, I hope he will get his vitamins eating just these foods.

 

[tonyshuman]

Zantac? I am not a fan of that in rabbits. Usually gut slowdown leads to the gut getting less acidic, and the addition of an antacid on top of that (like Zantac) only makes the problem worse. A bunny's GI is supposed to be acidic, and usually making it more acidic helps with GI issues. The diet he has should be fine. I don't know how much an egg cup is, though. I've seen them but we don't use them very frequently. Is it about 100g of pellets? If it's a good enough pellet he should be getting his vitamins just fine. My two adult 4-5lb bunnies only get 1tablespoon of pellets each a day.