eating problems

[shelly316]

I've been noticing my bunny won't touch her pellets recently..still eats grass and treats although she's eating less of that as well. I tried checking her teeth..wouldn't let me near em :/. I bought a new brand of pellets today which she still barely touched. When I went to change her litter box today I noticed that her poop was very dark and very small and there wasn't much of it. Short of getting her to a vet, does anyone have any suggestions of what I can do until I can get her there and what this might be? Thanks



I forgot to add that she seems to be acting a little lethargic...not as peppy as usual. I should probably mention that she's about 7 years old so she's a little older, but in general still pretty active.

 

[Pipp]

Hi Shelly, can you put your location in your profile? (And your bunny's name would be nice!)

Is she molting per chance?

Is she spayed?

For the immediate future, you really have to get her drinking a lot, and eating a lot of fibre... Does she get hay or fresh grass or both? If you're in an area where you can get canned pumpkin, that's always a good source of wet fibre. I will spike a bowl of water with carrot of apple juice for my guys.

If she's seven and she hasn't had dental problems before now, not sure if molar spurs or a malocclusion is likely, although a budding root abscess is possible.

At that age you alsohave to keep an eye onorgan functions, etc.

Hope she's okay!



sas :clover:

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Gas is also a possibility. It wouldn't hurt if you had a baby gas med around (Simethecone) that you can syringe just like 1 or 2 cc's of, it won't hurt if it's not gas. But, check the tummy before and afteradministering, and see if it's swollen, hard at all. Monitor both ends of this. Excercise is good for this too, it helps to get the gut moving if it has started to slow.

Good Luck, and I know more will be along with more info for you.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Is she picky about her new pellets? It might take her a while to adjust to the new diet. Try some oats and flaxseed for fiber.

 

[shelly316]

Her name is Gloria and we're located in mid-state NY. Not molting, not spayed. She's never been picky about her pellets before, unless she's getting stubborn in her old age . She does have access to hay and I do give her greens regularly. Thanks for the tips guys, I'll try your suggestions and let you know how it goes

 

[shelly316]

Ok i gave her some of the simethicone and WOW she did not like that lol. She started batting at the dropper and I had to resort to putting it on her nose so she'd have to lick it off. Not sure how much actually got into her though.A friend of mine said to put some pedialyte in her water so I did that as well and I gave her some fresh lettuce which she actually ate some of. Apparently she was trying to poop all day, would sit on her litterbox for a bit but when she got off nothing was there. We're not out of the water yet but hopefully this gas stuff will do the trick.

 

[Pipp]

Yes, Pedialyte and canned pumpkin, can't go wrong. Get her drinking as much as you can, that will help the most.

If she does have gas, it's probably a by-product from the stasis. A bunny suffering from a gas attack will most often act stressed and not eat anything at all,until the attackpasses (or in severe cases, sucuumb to shock).

In this case, it sounds like stasis and it has to be determined what's causing the stasis.

Normally I'd say give her tummy rubs and keep her moving, but especially if she's unspayed, there's a pretty good chance the problem could bea uterine tumor or something else age related.

I think she really needs to see a vet, asap.

Hope she's okay!



sas ray:

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

ray:being sent your way. I hope that's all it is too! Keep us posted.

 

[Haley]

How's your girl doing today?

My Basil wont take meds from a syringe, try putting a little in a bowl or bottle cap. You can also try mixing simethicone in with other things she likes.

Main thing is to keep her eating lots of fiber and hydrated, is she still pooping?

 

[shelly316]

She's about the same :/ Since she doesn't have a problem eating her lettuce I snuck some of the gas medicine on one of the leaves. Not much poop coming out..it's almost as if she's constipated because she just sits on her litterbox for awhile but nothing much comes out. We've got a vet appointment for Saturday morning..that was the earliest we could get. She'll also eat some crasins, but does anyone have any tips on getting her to eat the pumpkin? I put that on a lettuce leaf too but she ate every leaf except that one.

Here's a picture of her Btw, can anyone tell what breed she is? We were told she was a dwarf when we got her but she's definitely not haha

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

"Dwarf"? Haha, pet stores love to use that one, not saying that's where you got her from, they just all say that. She "looks' like a mini rex, how much does she weigh?

Nice trick with the lettuce. I would say to just syringe it to her. I once wrapped meds inside a veggie burrito and my bun ate around it, too smart for me.

Good Luck with her! Let us know how she gets on. I keep her in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Haley]

wow, shes pretty..looks like a minirex to me.

Is she eating hay? She needs some fiber in her. If shes eating lettuce, make sure its romaine or another leafy green one. See if she will take the pellets if you grind them up and mix in some pumpkin.

She needs to be eating a lot of fiber which will help get that GI tract moving.

Also, how does her belly feel? Is it hard or distended or anything? I would keep with the simethicone, as much as you can get in her.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

If shes eating lettuce, make sure its romaine or another leafy green one.

Yes, make sure you are not giving regular iceberg, this can cause diaherrea.

 

[shelly316]

She looks like a stuffed animal in that picture to me I am feeding her lots of romaine lettuce and yes she's still eating her hay. I will try grinding up her pellets and the pumpkin, seems like a good idea. I don't know much about how bunnies' bellies are supposed to feel but it does feel a little hard to me :/ What could that mean?

 

[Haley]

well its good shes at least eating hay and the lettuce. Still no poops though, huh?

It could be she's ingesteda little hair, is she shedding? That combined with gas can get a bunny blocked up. Just be sure her belly doesnt get hard and distended, you'll want to get her to a vet asap if that happens.

For now, keep her eating and hydrated. Do you hear any noises coming from her belly? I would give her gentle belly rubs and simethicone, 1cc every hour tonight and then some every few hours tomorrow. If you have to, wrap her in a towel and put the syringe in her mouth. Just be careful she's swallowing so she doesnt aspirate.

Praying for your girl. So many bunnies are having gas/stasis issues lately!

 

[Starina]

shelly316 wrote:

A friend of mine said to put some pedialyte in her water

That was me! :biggrin2:Gloria is one of the bunnies I have been making toys and treats for.

I really am hoping it is some gas, and not something serious. I have been worried about her. She's eating something which is positive.

~Star~

 

[shelly316]

Hi everyone,

Well I have some updates. Today my boyfriend said she had some diarrhea and that he heard her tummy rumbling.I also saw some more...formed small black poops in her litter box..only about 3 or 4 though and by the time I got home I couldn't hear any rumbling. Since she's mainly been eating romaine lettuce for the past few days it probably has something to do with that. I'm glad something's finally come out though. I made her drink some water/pediatlyte (which she seems to resent me for) and put some oats in her bowl but she hasn't touched the oats or her hay. I even hid some crasins in her bowl. Gave her some tummy rubs too. I'm just glad our vet appointment is tomorrow...getting really worried after reading some of the posts about bunnies with similar symptoms. If anyone's got anymore suggestions before the vet tomorrow I'll gladly take them. Thanks guys

 

[shelly316]

Ok, so we just got back from the vet. He said she's really backed up and it's probably something like hair that got stuck in her GI tract. He gave her a shot of Reglan and some fluids to get things going, as well as Laxatone, Critical Care, and more Reglan to take home and give to her. Hopefully this should get things moving.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

keep up the tummy rubs, see if you can get pumpkin down her.

 

[shelly316]

I think she hates the pumpkin lol. Probably the only way I'll be able to get it in her is through a syringe and I'm already squirtin enough stuff down her throat I want to try and avoid that, but I will if I have to She likes her critical care stuff though and she seems like she's feeling a little better. She got out two piles of mushy poop yesterday (nothing yet today :?) and she's a bit more active. The vet did say I might not see changes until Monday, so we still have some time before I start to worry a lot again.