The difference between Gas, Stasis, and Bloat

[GeorgiaGirl322]

I have a 6 month old black English Lop. He was absolutly fine yesterday when I made my rounds. I got up this morning to a "balloon bellied" bunny. I thought to myself, this is not normal at all. Mind you he was crunched up in a corner with his back feet and front feet touching. He did not come running to the door like normal so it automatically threw up a red flag. I pulled him out of the cage and found his tummy to be solid as a rock. I immediately googled what I needed to do! I found that using baby gas drops will help. Since then I have brought him inside (because Mommy is a sucker)and let him have run of the floor. He moves about a little, then will crunch up some more. I see he is starting to deficate a little bit here and there and about 20 minutes ago, he had some water. I am only hoping this is the begining of a good thing. I need to however, know what the problem may be. Is it GI Stasis, Gas, or Bloat? and what is the difference?
At one point I even tried giving him some mineral oil, thinking of just something to get his gut moving. I hope I am doing what I need to. This is the first time I have been involved with this but immediately looking at him, I knew something was not right.
If anyone has feed back, I'd appreciate it! :wink

 

[JBun]

This actually is an emergency situation for rabbits. The gas and bloat can lead to GI stasis, which is when the digestion slows down to the point where a blockage occurs. Right now your rabbit may not have stasis yet which is good, but you need to get the gas under control or it very well could develop into stasis. The recommended dosage for the infant gas relief, is 1-2cc per hour for 3 hours, then 1cc every 3-8 hours as needed. If you have metacam on hand that can help too. It's important to get the gas and pain under control so your rabbit will start eating. If he hasn't eaten or pooped for more than 12 hours, I would suggest getting him to the vet immediately. It could very well save his life.

 

[Imbrium]

if you don't have metacam, you can use baby aspirin, low dose aspirin or baby ibuprofen - here's the dosing info:
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

as jenny said, pain and gas relief is just to tide you over until you can get him in to see a vet - if a rabbit doesn't eat for 12+ hours, it's a medical emergency (ie you might want to consider an emergency/after hours vet).

 

[JBun]

Here's some useful info on bloat from the library section.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11931&forum_id=10

 

[missyscove]

Any defecation is a good sign. Did he get any simethicone? Personally I wouldn't recommend giving them any type of oil.