Gus is gassy...

[funnybunnymummy]

I don't suppose they'd get much romaine, parsley, and other cultivated salad greens in the wild (unless they raided someone's garden! ) either, but I agree they definitely would eat more than just grass/hay. There are lots of leafy weeds out there that wild rabbits would eat. And in the summer/fall they'd eat fruit, berries, nuts, rosehips, etc. etc. too.

But I see CCWelch's point. Nutrition-wise, rabbits really don't need more than pellets and hay. The pellets have all the nutrients and minerals, etc. and the hay is good for their teeth, gut, and mental stimulation. Salads are for variety.

Anyway, I bought children's chewable acidophilus before for him, but we ran out last year. I'll have to see if the vitamin store where I bought it has more. I just thought getting him the animal probiotics would be "better", but at this point, I think any would!

Thanks, guys!

Rue

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

rabbits don,t -as a rule-,-pass gas--,,gas therefore builds up-causing pain ordiscomfort,,-infant simethicone can calm down the gas buildup reducing pain//the intestinal track is very muchrelated to a horse-(herbivores)or rear gut fermenters,,-one of the r-o-l- administrators -(pipp)-,can advise where to purchase probios in your area--i don,t mean to sound persnickity--text has a way of being such--i have a bun such as gus--in my facility--i call him snoball--he is quite the character-he has several girlly friends--all behind fences--snoball loves to roll over and play dead bunny--though i don,t find it very amusing after losing mytwo rex,s,,--sincerely james waller:innocentray::big wink:

 

[Bonnie Lee]

I hope Gus gets better Rue
But I'm glad he only has gas and not something
that's putting him in agonising pain.

My older brother gets rather gassy and he's
more than happy to show the world how much
he can stink up the place maybe Gus is just
trying to express his love for veggies.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Yeah, unlike humans who have no trouble passing gas, bunnies sure hold it in. I was really worried Gus was getting bloat, which can be fatal. But it was just really bad gas. The simethicone (in a large enough dose administered with juice) broke it up no problem.

Oh, for the record, rabbits CAN fart. And loud too. Gus did last night. It was actually really funny because he was curled up on the floor snoozing and all of a sudden he let out this really loud fart, then acted like it wasn't him! Fortunately, though, bunny farts don't seem to smell.

Rue

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Okay, so I went down to the States today to do some grocery shopping and decided rather than keep frustrating myself trying to find probiotics here in Canada, to look for probiotics there. I bought some Probiocin oral gel (15 g) from the tack and feed there and just gave Gus a dose. He seems to LOVE the taste. He ate it right out of the tube! So that's good. I was worried I'd have to disguise the taste with banana or something. Which probably wouldn't have helped the gas situation any.

So how long should I give it to him for? I was thinking I'd just give him a dose every day until the gas subsided (or I ran out of the gel). Maybe a week or so?

Anyway, hopefully this does the trick and he'll be back to gorging himself on salads in no time.

Thanks!

Rue

 

[Watermelons]

One dose a day for 5-10 days depending. Thats the nice thing about the probiotic pastes their so easy to play with.
I like to split the dose up and offer it twice a day.
If you ever have issues getting some again, let me know and I will get my mother to order you in some Florentero. At least that stuff says its targeted for small animals as well as cats and dogs.

When i was giving it to the rats I had 2 that would inhale it and 1 that wouldnt touch it, then one that would inhale it suddenly decided she hated it lol, go figure.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Thanks, Gina. I figured he'd probably need at least a week's worth. I probably should've just asked if you could get some probiotics for me, but didn't think about it. I thought I'd have no trouble getting them from my vet.

I think this stuff should work okay, though. It listed all the same ingredients as the small animal Bene-Bac. Not sure of the ratios, but at least all the bacteria are there. I'd have bought the small animal Bene-Bac (found it at Petco), but the packages were just so TINY!

Oh wait! I'm such a dummy! I should've looked to see if the tack and feed had horse probiotics! I'd have probably ended up with 10x the amount I needed, but it would've for sure had the right bacteria in the right amounts! DUH!

Rue

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[Watermelons]

Haha, I wonder if the Bosleys out there would have had any... Hmm. I had quite a blast at the Laurel farm and western supply store when I went down 2 weeks ago, picked up fenbendazole pellets going to work out the dosage of them because feeding a bunny more pellets sure seems alot easier then trying to shove some liquid panacur down their throat
Well next time, or if you end up running out of this stuff, or want a tube to keep on hand just in case, let me know.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

The one on Laurel road by the high school? That's where I went too! Love that place! They have the coolest stuff in there you just don't see here! Maybe in Abbotsford, but not my neck of the woods, anyway!

Bosley's had some powdered stuff for dogs and cats, but I wanted the paste as I didn't want to mix it with anything if I could help it.

I'll let you know if/when I'll need more.

Thanks!

Rue

 

[Watermelons]

Haha well where you live is more country then where I live once you cross the river its 100x more then us.

I had to control myself down there, would have blown my entire budget in that 1 store and it was our first stop.

would have thought bosleys would have had something given their somewhat decent horse section. Thats too bad. And I cant believe the vet didnt have anything for you :S any vet should have some kind of probiotic paste! What are they sending diarrhea dogs home with!

 

[funnybunnymummy]

No he had it, just didn't want to give it to me. He thought I needed to just cut out Gus's veggies. I tried to explain his diet hadn't changed, but then he wanted me to bring him in for an exam. I said I didn't think he needed an exam at this point, just some probiotics!

Yeah, I guess we do live pretty rural. Still, our feed store selection isn't that great. Not compared with down south!

Rue

 

[Watermelons]

OH! you HAVE to check out Mount Vernon next time you go down! We always head down to mt vernon and check out the walmart... well its MASSIVE (twice the size of their old location)... but if you want a feed store.... Go to where the Walmart used to be in Mt Vernon.

Coastal Farm and Ranch
2021 Market Street
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273

Its basicly a farm supply store... thats the size of the costco here. Laurel was still cheaper on a few items I noticed, but these guys have 100x more.

 

[bunnyfoof]

I think that my bunn Polka may be dealing with gas right now. Also possibly with hiccups. He looks as though he is breathing fast & twitching like us humans do when we hiccups.
He is about 8 lbs & unsure of age due to him being a rescue.
He is pooping, peeing, drinking, eating, & alert & curious
The only change in behavior I see is the breathing/twitching & being very picky about food.... Not eating his pellets. He will chow down on greens & banana ( which Ive limited due to him possibly being gassy)
Any ideas or suggestions?
Has anyone seen this behavior?

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Gus gets hiccups once in a while. Not sure if it's at all related to gas, but it's pretty darn cute. Not that he looks amused when he's got them. Anyway, is this what Polka looks like when he's twitching?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSIkipInd28[/ame]

Does the twitching come and go? Or is it all the time? If it's all the time, I doubt it's hiccups.

The easiest way to check for gas is to feel his belly. If it's hard or round, then he's most likely got gas. Treat him with 1 mL of simethicone baby gas drops (found in the infant section at most grocery stores and pharmacies) every 3 hours or until the gas disappears (usually one dose is enough for Gus). Brand names include Ovol Drops, Infacol, Mylicon, Baby Gas-X, etc.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Oh, and thanks for the heads' up on the super-sized tack and feed! Will check that out next time I head south.

Rue

 

[MiniLopHop]

I also suggest a tummy rub after the simithicone. Even my buns that normally hate getting rolled onto their backs will lay still when I do this. Just rub in circles, sort of gently squeezing their tummy between your fingers and thumb. You will feel the gass bubbles popping and the pressure releasing. The rabbits get a relaxed blissed out look on their face. It must feel really good.

Massage in general is great for them, you can check out the "relaxed rabbit" book for more details

 

[bunnyfoof]

Thank you for your suggestions & help! I greatly appreciate it.
I'm very worried about him
I am gonna check out his belly more & give him a massage & see if that helps.
The movement seems pretty consistent... Now more so looks like he is just breathing fast constantly. Anyone have any ideas about constant fast breathing?
I've noticed he really isn't cleaning himself like normal either. So I'm more concerned now.

 

[ZRabbits]

bunnyfoof wrote:

Thank you for your suggestions & help! I greatly appreciate it.
I'm very worried about him
I am gonna check out his belly more & give him a massage & see if that helps.
The movement seems pretty consistent... Now more so looks like he is just breathing fast constantly. Anyone have any ideas about constant fast breathing?
I've noticed he really isn't cleaning himself like normal either. So I'm more concerned now.

Sounds like he's uncomfortable. I would try to get him to a Rabbit Savvy Vet as soon as possible. Best to be safe than sorry.

K

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Honestly, it could be any number of things. I'd take him to the vet just to be safe.

Rue