Worried about Winston

[pipwin]

In the past, Winston has had a few really bad bouts of GI stasis. One from anon bunny safe medication prescribed by a bad vet, and another after we moved. He has seemed totally fine for the past few months. Today, I let him out to run, and he came out and spent a bunch of time under the bed. I couldn't get him out for quite a while. Finally, I moved some boxes around, and left the room and he put himself away. I noticed several minutes later he was laying down looking not quite like himself. I took him out and immediately noticed something was wrong when I could basically reach in and take him out easily, as Winston typically is not a very cage friendly bunny. His belly felt soft, but now feels a bit firmer His eyes are alert as well. When I placed him on the bed, he walked around a bit, and pooped a few very normal looking pellets.

I know something is off because of the way he's acting, but I don't know if i should hurry him off to the vet just yet. His stomach isn't gurgling, and he's not grinding his teeth, he just occasionally looks uncomfortable. Further back on his abdomen, his stomach kinda sits on the floor (he's always been a bit chunky, but this seems extreme today) Right now he's sitting on a chair in the living room, looking around, responding to sounds, and occasionally grooms himself. He will pull at the hay that I put in front of him, but won't eat it. Today we ran out of his normal pellets, and he got different ones instead. I'm not sure if this is the beginnings of stasis or something I'm not really ready for. I have some critical care and simithecone and could give him some of that in a few hours if he's not eating, and try to make an appointment for the vet tomorrow... but I worry I'm overlooking a bigger problem and syrine feeding him might be a bad idea. Any thoughts?:?

 

[naturestee]

It's really good that he pooped some for you.

Did he start feeling ill before or after you started feeding him the different pellets? I'd take away the pellets he's not used to for now as the fast switch might be what's upsetting his stomach.

How is he sitting? Is he upright or sitting in a meatloaf position? Pressing his belly to the floor or arching his back stiffly?

Do you have any simethicone that you could give him just in case? Also, has he peed and is he drinking much water?

 

[Pipp]

Is he prone to stress? The move set him off?

Good questions from Naturestee.

He's a young bunny, he shoudln't have too many problems.

If he's having a gas attack or a bit of indigestion, it should work itself through in less than 12 hours. While I will give mine simethicone, a little waterand tummy rubs at the first signof discomfort, I don't normally get too concerned for the first 12 hours. I never syringe feed.

The next 12 are concerning and I watch for other factors, trying to determine how bad they feel and possiblecauses, possibly going to the vet. If they haven't eaten or pooped, I increase the water, try enticing things like parsely in their face, bits of fresh pineapple andcanned pumpkin.

I syringe feed water, but I generally don't feed Critical Care until they've gone without food closer to the 24 hourmark -- depending on if they've nibbled, if they're drinking, etc.

A 24 hours, I'm panicking and off to the vet or even the ER. I'm syringe feeding Critical Care. I haven't yet, but I would also consider liquids via a subq injection or infusion at this point (or sooner) depending on the symptoms and (hopefully) vet advice.

The exceptions here are teeth-grinding and overtlethargy. Either/or mean an immediatevet trip.

Hope Winston's feeling better soon!



sas :clover:

 

[pipwin]

Thanks for the quick replies. Actually, I guess I didn't make it clear, the move I was talking about was months ago. I fed the pellets this morning, and he appeared to have eaten about half of them. He has peed several times, not so nicely on my carpet. He normally isn't much of a water drinker till the middle of the night.

I do have simethicone I can give him. His postures are changing quite frequently. Right now, I left him sitting in his litterbox, and now he's out of the cage walking around. Whenhe goes back into the cage, and i am watching himhe occasionally lays down full down with the belly to the floor in the litterbox. When I leave the room, he comes out and walks around. The two other times he has had stasis he didn't move at all on his own, and also acted funny where i can pick him up in his cage. Now he's moving around, and pooping somewhat normally it seems, the only thing i'd say is setting me into a frenzy is the fact i can pick him up which is unusual.

I may go ahead and give him a dose of simethicone. If this could happen to be some other condition besides for gas, do you think that will upset it further?

 

[Maureen Las]

No..the simethicne is harmless..go ahead give it

 

[naturestee]

Simethicone is a really safe, gentle drug so it's nota problem to give him some just in case.

From the sound of it, I would suspect the fast pellet switch right now. Take the pellets away and see if you can get him to eat stuff that he's used to, whether it's hay or veggies that he is used to eating. Sometimes sick buns will eat food from your hand that they would otherwise ignore, so try holding his food for him.

Also, if you can get to a pet store you could pick up some Benebac. It's a probiotic that can help settle an upset bunny tummy. You'll most likely find it in the cat or dog medication aisles and that is the type you want.

 

[Pipp]

I understood that the move was a while ago, just wondering if you think it was a stress reaction back then and if heusuallyreacts badly tostress.

Inappropriate urnination, however,could mean adifferent problem. Is his pee a normal color andtexture? Is he straining at all?

I'd look closely at that issue and take him in for a checkup, he may have a urinary tract infection or stones. That in turn would cause his appetitie to drop off leading to GI stasis.



sas :clover:

 

[pipwin]

Glad you understood the first time Pipp. He does get a bit stressed out about things. The move back home was an eight hour car trip in a carrier he doesn't particularly love, so i'd say it stressed him out a bit. That one wasn't too bad, he didn't eat for a night or so, and he got settled back pretty quickly. The other time with stasis though, he was touch and go for several days.

I wish i could say the urination on the carpet was abnormal... however, even with being neutered, he occassionally does it. For now, I will give him a dose of simethicone, and I also have benebac from the last time he was feeling off. If he doesn't look any better tomorrow, I will surely make an appointment right away for him. He's normally a monster for hay, but really has no interest except in breaking into pieces and spitting them out. I am going to try his veggies and see what he thinks of those.



Thanks again for the help, i'll keep you all posted.

 

[pipwin]

hi everyone.

i wanted to let you know after much stress that Winston is feeling much better today. Last night I gave him several doses of simethicone and some benebac, although he refused to eat. He also stopped passing any feces pretty soon after my original post. At about 10 pm, I was pretty sure he wasn't going to make it through whatever was bothering him. He was breathing heavily, and just laying on my bed looking pathetic. I left the room for a few minutes, and returned and he had picked his head up and was just looking at me. He looked a bit more alert, and decided to give him some time to relax without me watching him constantly, before rushing him to an emergency vet. Before i went to bed, i decided to syringe feed him just a little bit of critical care. I set my alarm to wake up at 2 to give him more gas meds, and i woke up before then to hear him chomping away on hay. This morning all of his parsley is gone. I made him a salad this morning, and right now he's enjoying that. He came out of his cage and littered the floor around Pip's cage with tons of normal looking poop. He's back to his same territorial self about his cage space.

I have NO idea what possibly went wrong with him, but glad to say it's been resolved. I will continue to watch him in the next few days... and in the future, will never change his food so suddenly again. The feed I switched him to was a higher quality than what they were getting upstate, and i really didnt expect those issues.

but thanks for all the support again... it just makes you feel better when you can tell someone who knows something about rabbits that your bunny is off.... rather than everyone else who says "he looks fine to me."

 

[Maureen Las]

Very glad that he is better.

Did you mix his new food with the other brand when you started it? (maybe you already told us... sorry). If you just started a new food it could upset his Gi tract.
I have used simethicone many times for gas problems with my rabbits..very successfully. The look off ..and uncomforable and several hours latrr they are back to normal.