Why such gas bouts?

[Jenk]

We're less than a week away from leaving for vacation (a total of nine days), and our boy is showing signs of digestive upset. I don't know what tests to do for him anymore. (In the past, during a gassy period, he hada fecal culture, blood work and x-rays. Nothing was definitive, and Dear Hubby is WAY past the point of spending money on such tests due to previous non-specific results.)

Our boy saw the vet this past Monday. She felt no sign of blockage but noted that his digestive sounds were decreased on one side and quite decreasedon the other side. (ThatSunday night, he'd beenlethargic. Treatment of Simethicone doses and Metacam didn't make much difference; I'm unsure that gas was the issue.)

By last Monday night, his fecal size returned to normal and has remained that way. That's what stumps me: His fecal quality/quantity is normal; yet he's not acting like his normal self. Example: Last night, he voluntarily re-entered his x-pen area several times before I was done allowing him time out to exercise (in our hallway/bathroom areas). Typically, he gets upset when you tell him it's time "to go back;" he tries to get as much time as possible out of his room.

This morning, he ate his pellets and rested. One hour later,I heardhis gut making rather loud digestive/popping sounds. When I massaged him, I felt a lot of gas gurgling and breaking up; and he ground his teeth a bit when I did so. Still, his overnight fecals look good.

Any advice would be appreciated. (I'm still panicking about leaving my crew in the care of a non-rabbit-savvy person, but I'm sooooo desperate for this vacation.)

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[Jenk]

I forgot to mention two things:

1) Last Thursday, I heard a commotion from our bun's room and saw our catrunning from that direction. I founda lot of our bun'sfur on the inside of the x-pen walls; I surmised that the cat reached through the pen wall and did the deed. There was no sign of injury (or even bald spots) on our bunny boy. (Sunday night, the pain symptoms struck--without any signs of significant gas.)

2) The past two days', our boy's consumed more hay and water than he has inquite awhile. I'm unsure if that could contribute to his gas/gurgly gutthis morning.

After writing my initial post (and massaging my boy's gut), he perked and came out of his pen for some exercise; he seemed to act relatively normal: dividing his time between snooping, misbehaving, moving and flopping. Egads...

Jenk

 

[Flashy]

Is there any chance this is primarily unrelated to his stomach, and that his stomach is secondary? Like could it be he is in pain and so drinking more and maybe acting different? Have you had his teeth checked? any further insight into his back leg/end problem?

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

Is there any chance this is primarily unrelated to his stomach, and that his stomach is secondary?

I suppose there's the chance of anything else being the cause, true. It's hard to say. (I wish that he could speak to me in plain English!)

Like could it be he is in pain and so drinking more and maybe acting different?

Is increased thirst a common indicator of discomfort/pain? (He was on Metacam from Sunday through Thursday. Could that even have caused an increase in thirst?)

Have you had his teeth checked? any further insight into his back leg/end problem?

The vet took a good long look inside of his mouth (checking teeth and tongue) last Monday; she found nothing amiss.

He didn't have a back-end issue last Sunday; it was his front end that he didn't want to move. Of course, that doesn't tell me much, since I was trying to move him by tickling/pushing on his back end. If he simply didn't want to move, it may have just seemed that he specifically didn't want to move his front end.

He has been moving around in his pen and jumping into/out of his litter pan without much issue. In fact, he's chowing on hay right now.

I'm totally stumped as to what caused the apparent pain last Sunday, where the pain is/was located, and what's causing the loud digestive sounds presently (or at least this morning).

:?

 

[Flashy]

Ah, sorry, I got the wrong end. Sorry.

In my experience pain can make a rabbit drink more, and presumably Metacam must also have that effect given all Randy says about how it affects the kidneys. Hunger and anxiety can also cause increased thirst (two things I had to deal with). I guess really, anything can encourage them to drink more, which is, as with most rabbit related things, very unhelpful.

Any chance of cystitis? Maybe brought on by stress? I'm really just throwing things out there, with increasing irrelevance, I feel.

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

I guess really, anything can encourage them to drink more, which is, as with most rabbit related things, very unhelpful.

What I hate most about rabbit ownership is the lack of definitive test results. At least, that has been the case for our crew. (Heck, it's even been the case for our cat. About $10K gone in less than two years', and nothing to show for it. It's no wonder that I've lost most faith in vet medicine.)

Any chance of cystitis? Maybe brought on by stress? I'm really just throwing things out there, with increasing irrelevance, I feel.

Anything is possible. Is increased water consumption common with cystitis? Could his other symptoms be caused by it?

I just don't know anymore, and I'm so torn. I want and deserve a vacation, but our rabbits are so flippin' delicate and developproblems immediately before we're going to do anything.

I can't renig on this vacation promise, though. My husband will (rightfully) flip his lid if I were to do that, after all the time/money/energy that we've denied ourselves for the care of our rabbits.

 

[Flashy]

You definitely deserve a break. Who is it you are leaving in charge of your buns?

When mine were first showing signs of cystitis they were drinking more, not settling, clearly uncomfortable, lots of little wees, but, at that point, no blood or anything because I recognised it early enough.

However, that really is a completely random suggestion and anything normal and common/healthy (like drinking because its ore humid/hotter, or he's moulting, or he's recovering from the Metacam) is probably infinitely more likely than something like cystitis. But obviously that doesn't mean you should rule out other possible reasons for it, that just means, don't panic prematurely, watch what is going on and try to assess with a rational mind (not ruled by the panic and fear I know any rabbits illness can bring).

It may be that actually, he is fine and just settling after what happened before, so try not to panic about what's happening, just be aware and watch, and if anything arises, you will pick it up.

As sad as this sounds, I bet you'll be so glad when you get back from your holiday. And I bet you will spend yyour time thinking and worrying about them and not enough time enjoying yourself.

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

You definitely deserve a break. Who is it you are leaving in charge of your buns?

With a pet sitter who's more experienced with cats/dogs. (She actually trains dogs, too.) I don't have other options, other than a bun boarder who lives far from us. And I really know nothing about her and feel uncomfy with the fact that she's far from our vet (and, thus, wouldn't take a sick bun to her vet).

When mine were first showing signs of cystitis they were drinking more, not settling, clearly uncomfortable, lots of little wees, but, at that point, no blood or anything because I recognised it early enough.

I can't say if he's having "lots of little wees;" I rarely ever catch him peeing, and when he does, he's surrounded by a ton of hay. He also pees through a grate onto wood stove pellets; so the only thing that I can judge is the amount passed.

This morning, I did notice what looks like urine on the sides of his tail. But that could be from him peeing on a high pile of hay and then rubbing against it.

However, that really is a completely random suggestion and anything normal and common/healthy (like drinking because its ore humid/hotter, or he's moulting, or he's recovering from the Metacam) is probably infinitely more likely than something like cystitis. But obviously that doesn't mean you should rule out other possible reasons for it, that just means, don't panic prematurely, watch what is going on and try to assess with a rational mind (not ruled by the panic and fear I know any rabbits illness can bring).

But I am panicking. We leave super early next Friday, and I can only leave my guys in the care of a non-bun-savvy pet sitter. I am panicked.

It may be that actually, he is fine and just settling after what happened before, so try not to panic about what's happening, just be aware and watch, and if anything arises, you will pick it up.

I haven't much time left to pick up on any potential problems. And anything can happen health-wise within a nine day period.

As sad as this sounds, I bet you'll be so glad when you get back from your holiday. And I bet you will spend yyour time thinking and worrying about them and not enough time enjoying yourself.

I've already told my husband that this vacation is almost pointless (for me) at this time, due to the health issues that I'll be stressing about while we're away from home.

I did tell Dear Hubby that our boy may require another vet visit (and tests) before we leave. I was met with silence, which isn't a good sign. He is so not happy with what the rabbits health care has cost us financially....

Did I mention that my megacolon girl's follow-up fecal culture indicates a light growth of enterococcus and that she's to go back on Baytril for 14 days'? Of course, that means that the non-bun-savvy pet sitter will need to dose her. On the bright side, Zoe likes the taste of medication.

 

[Flashy]

Do you think that educating your pet sitter may help you fele more comfortable? I'm fairly certain you've written out extensive information and instructions for her, I just wonder if maybe having her on the forum for this time, until you go, (if she is able) might be of benefit to you both.

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

Do you think that educating your pet sitter may help you fele more comfortable? I'm fairly certain you've written out extensive information and instructions for her, I just wonder if maybe having her on the forum for this time, until you go, (if she is able) might be of benefit to you both.

We had a meet-in-greet last weekend, and she's returning to our home tonight to watch our evening bun routine. I plan to have her visit twice more before we go, so that the buns can get more acclimated with her. During her three intended visits, I definitely intend to train her on bun care (as much as is humanly possible). She's never medicated a bun (much less a non-cooperative bun), so I'll need to show her some tricks.

I've already asked her to join this forum, which she agreed to do. (I may just create an account for her tonight while she's here.)

I will leave her two copies ofvery detailed notes (including photos) before we go, so that she has some point of reference.

That all said, I still can't help but worry. I'm more attuned to our rabbits' health issues, and two of them have developed "sudden" issues before my eyes. Some days, the sitter will make two visits (1.5 hours' total); I'll ask her to make three visits some days, too. Still, it's not a lot of time in which to observe a potential health problem.

I keep vacillating between worry (about something being wrong and not being caught in time) and feeling more laissez-faire about the whole thing (e.g., "If a bun should die while we're gone, it was meant to be). I can't seem to find a comfy middle ground mindset.

 

[Jenk]

Brief update: I spoke with the vet today. We discussed the idea of me dropping our boy off at her office Monday morning, so that when she has time, she'll palpate his bladder (and see if she can express it for a urine sample). She's also recommending x-rays, to which I've agreed.

Mind you, if our guy requires more involved care, I'm not sure what we'll do in order to take our vacation. I'm still working on that possible scenario.

 

[Flashy]

Try not to jump the gun. Yes, having ideas may be sensible, but try not to look at worst case scenario because that's an extreme and the extremes occur far less commonly than the middle ground options.

What are they going to do x-rays of? Worthwhile getting one of the skull just to check the teeth?

 

[Maureen Las]

Jenk wrote:

Brief update: I spoke with the vet today. We discussed the idea of me dropping our boy off at her office Monday morning, so that when she has time, she'll palpate his bladder (and see if she can express it for a urine sample). She's also recommending x-rays, to which I've agreed.

Mind you, if our guy requires more involved care, I'm not sure what we'll do in order to take our vacation. I'm still working on that possible scenario.

Geez you never get a moment of peace :expressionless

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

What are they going to do x-rays of? Worthwhile getting one of the skull just to check the teeth?

Since he's still eating very well, I'm feeling a bit negative about paying for mouth x-rays on top of gut x-rays. When he had gut x-rays done last Dec., part of his mouth accidentally got on the film and indicated no teeth problems.

Note: His Dec. '08 x-rays showed a calcified area in his intestinal area. It wasn't clear enough to make much of it.

And a PS: Just today, I remembered that sometime around 6/10, my wily guy leapt from my arms and, so, hit the ground from about 4-ft. high. I observed him immediately thereafter and for several more days'; he showed no signs of illness/discomfort within that time. But now I'm wondering if he hurt himself from the fall alone, or from the fall and his roughhousing (at playtime).