First experience of bunny with gas!

[Katie94]

Hello,

So we had our first scary situation last night with one of our bunnies. We were so worried we called the out of hours vet. After describing his symptoms the vet thought it might be gas and suggested doing a tummy massage in case he improved before we brought him in as they already had a patient on the way and access is restricted due to Coronavirus. Around 2.5hours after the on-site of symptoms he seemed completely normal again which was good news. It seemed very strange because he hasn’t had any new foods and everything else was fed according to his regular routine so no idea where it came from I’m just a bit worried it will happen again. Now he has had one episode is it more likely he will suffer from this again?

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Gas is normal in rabbits and can be caused by more things than food such as dehydration, dental disease, and stress. I'm glad that he is better, and I don't think it will come back. I suggest getting infant gas drops to have on hand in case it does come back because a 1ml dose can knock gas out as soon as his first symptom. Here is a link on gas and Gi-stasis to help if it does come back: https://rabbit.org/chapters/se-pennsylvania/GIStasis.htm.

 

[Katie94]

Tonight he didn’t seem interested in his veggies but is eating hay, pellets and grass. Veggies were the last thing he had before he had the gas problem so I hope he’s not put off

 

[Mariam+Theo]

What veggies is he getting? I would give him one 1ml dose of gas drops to knock this out before it gets bad. You can also give him a tummy massage. Here is how to do that:

 

[Katie94]

I usually mix it up between spring greens, watercress, kale, broccoli, romaine lettuce and herbs like mint, basil, parsley and coriander. They also get a small piece of carrot, parsnip or fruit. He isn’t acting like he was yesterday apart from being uninterested in his veg his other eating habits and behaviour are normal.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I would not give him broccoli or kale because according to HRS:
"kale, cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens. For some rabbits they can cause painful gas"
It may be that the broccoli and kale caused him to get gas in the first place.