Looking for Advice with a Bun with Repetitive Gas Problems

[Leckster]

Elliot is a 2 Year old Lionhead Lop Mix Approx 4.5 - 5Lbs Just had his teeth checked and they are fine.

His Diet is
- Oxbow Organic Medow Hay
- 1 Table Spoon 1/2 in the Morning 1/2 for Dinner of Oxbow Benna Terra Organic Pellets.

So we have had Elliot for the past year and a half and ever since is Neutering he has had spells of Gas it first started off ever 1 - 3 months and has progressively gotten worse to where now its ever 1 - 2 weeks for the last 4 Months.

We have eliminated all Sugary Treats and Fresh Veggies from his diet to try to figure out what is causing him to get gas. Our next step is to cut out the Pellets Completely and maybe change his hay to a Timothy Hay. But one step at a time I don't want to shock him too much by changing too many things at once.

He is going to the Vet Saturday (she specializes in small pets especially rabbits we are very lucky to have her) She is aware of the situation we have been having and that its been an on going problem for quiet awhile now.

So when he gets gas I follow the same steps
- Metacam
- Oval (simathacone)
- Force Fed with Oxbow Critical Care
- Belly Massages Every Hour

I was just going to get some Ideas from the Community out there from anyone that also has had issues with constant gas issues with there buns as well, and maybe some ideas to try.

Other then the bouts of gas he is a fantastic little boy with lots of energy and has total run of my bunny proofed living space (expect when I'm at work)

 

[JBun]

With my rabbit that kept having repeated bouts of GI stasis and gas, it ended up being the pellets that caused it. Once I eliminated pellets completely, he stopped having problems. He now gets orchard and rye grass, plus a small amount of alfalfa hay pellets to keep his weight up, and a few select green veggies. He also developed megacolon from repeatedly getting stasis, so I have to be really careful with his diet. But eliminating the pellets has resolved the issue completely so far, and that's been about a year since he last had stasis.

Another member on here, zeroshero, has a little bun that has had severe gas and bloating since he was a tiny baby, and he's about 4 or 5 months now I think. But he also had stasis after getting bloated, and as he started to recover, she noticed that he started to bloat again after getting his sugary supplements and meds. Pellets also seemed to cause problems for him. So now I think he is on a hay only diet, as he also can't tolerate veggies, along with a gut motility med. And last I saw he seemed to be doing much better.

It certainly couldn't hurt for you to try cutting out the pellets for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference. Rabbits can do just fine for a while on hay only. You will want to keep an eye on his weight though, as he may drop a little weight from not having pellets. If you haven't had a fecal test done recently, it might be a good idea to ask your vet to do one just so you can rule out parasites as being a contributing cause.

 

[Zeroshero]

My bun has chronic gas problems too, he eats only Timothy hay and still has bouts of gas. He lives on a maintenance dose of Cisapride and Simethicone, his GI issues are not just gas. You might want to take a fresh fecal sample with you just before you head to the vet make sure to keep it in a moist paper towl in a ziplock bag. My bun never cooperates wih that, they will check for bacteria and parasites they do a fecal every time we go to the vet. You will likely be sent home with Flagyl and Baytril.

I stopped the Critical Care and everything I was being directed to do, until I did his gas was never under control. He was receiving Simethicone every four hours around the clock just make sure your bun is eating hay before stopping supplemental feeding. How bad is the gas? Can you hear it or feel it "snap" when you stroke him? The best thing is to keep him moving, eating, and drinking.

Good thoughts for your bun

 

[Zeroshero]

Sorry for the incomplete thoughts, hopefully you can make sense of what I am saying. I meant to add that even two pellets is enough to cause severe digestive upset and gas in my bun. Cutting out the pellets while still feeding Critical Care might help.

 

[Leckster]

Thank you JBun and Zeroshero for your quick reply.

The next step will be to cut out his pellets, I did upgrade to the Bennaterra after doing some research about soy in rabbit food can cause gas as well. But unfortunately the gas came back. I'm glad that we are all on the same page and its nice to know I'm not alone out there with these issues too.

You can defentally hear it and feel it its not so much of a snap as a gurgling that you can feel move though his lower portion. You will get 1 to 3 gurgles close together within a minute or so. I've been getting very good at picking out the signs early now and have been able to get him eating again as in little as 4 hours even still I don't want my little guy to go through it at all.

That is great info on bringing in some of he fecal matter to get it tested for parasites (even though he is an indoor bun still never know what or where he could pick up something from) I'm guessing an Xray would be able to tell if he has a Mega Colon so when I talk to the doctor I'll see if she can get an X-Ray also will rule out anything else that might be wrong too.

I have done Baytrill with him before but had a bad response to the Oral and had to go to the Needle form which he responded to very very well.

Again Thank You for some great ideas and tips.

I have been a troll for quite awhile on here its nice to be part of the discussion
Adam

 

[Zeroshero]

Flagyl is what is used to treat the gas causing bacteria. I am sorry I was all over the place I was sitting at the emergency clinic wih my sister and her Jack Russell that bit a Sonoran Desert Toad (the toad was okay ). Silly animals they always cost money

The lower gurgle is concerning, does it subside with simethicone? Zeros onset with stasis began with and abnormal gurgle in his lower abdomen. If you can it may be best to get your bun in before Saturday for some fluids and treatment. I caught his stasis rather early he didnt totally stop eating or deficating and it was still a long road of recovery. Is your bun eating on its own? The vet will definitely want to do abdominal x-rays to determine the amount of gas in his abdomen and rule out blockages or bloat.

 

[JBun]

Unless you are seeing odd shaped poop with your bun on a normal basis, then megacolon is probably not something you need to worry about. Megacolon is usually genetic in certain breeds and color patterns, and it's pretty rare. Some vets don't even know what it is. So it's most likely that your bun just has a sensitive digestive system. Sometimes previous illness can cause it, and sometimes they are just born that way. It can be a pain though, trying to figure out what is causing the problem, and how to help our little critters. I hope your are able to sort out what is causing all of the difficulty for your bun.

 

[Zeroshero]

It took a while for my vet to finally prescribe motility drugs and give him Metacam, so basically the way we managed his gas was Simethicone, exercise, and lots of worrying. Since I have had metacam I did give him a dose when he was biting his sides, it's a horse thing but it seemed to work for him too. Something else I learned is that Simethicine seems to work best if I wait to give it 30 minutes after I have administered any other meds.

Welcome to the forum Adam

 

[Leckster]

So Here is a big update.

at about 1am on Friday Morning I noticed that Elliot hasn't pooped yet which is extremely weird after having 4 force feedings of critical care. I also noticed that his belly was EXTREMELY distended, hard like a rock no very little gut sounds. I Immediately rushed him at 1:30am I had him at the emergency 24h vet clinic. They were very good took some xrays it turned out that it might be a blockage due to lots of gas and food in his belly and no gas in the cecal part and very little gas in his intestines. So I stayed with him there while then ran some IV Fluids for him to see if they can get it to unblock sometimes they are lucky and are able to get it too move. So I stayed with him and kept him warm by cuddling and wrapping him in a blanket till my vet clinic opened at 8am.

So I take him at 8am to my vet clinic they get him all set up in there special bunny cage with heat fluids and start looking at his Xrays and we decided to get a UltraSound to see what is causing the blockage, The vet was concerned because his gas has been an on going thing and she thought it might be something else like cancer or something on the wall of his tummy and also it would show the blockage since xrays don't. So after going home and visiting him again at noon to keep his spirits ups to keep fighting. I got a call at 1pm with the results the results were there is no doubt its a blockage and the only option is surgery. She was very clear on the phone that gastrol tummy surgery on bunnies is very risky and there is only a 50/50 chance of him waking up or his guts starting to work after the shock of the surgery. Not only that but the cost of it as well. So at the point I left my house I decided to put Elliot to sleep.

I get to the vet clinic at 3pm everyone at the my vet clinic is very somber and sad and the lady at the desk says we are very sad and she says "We thought you would choose the surgery ." after signing the papers for putting him to sleep I see the vet and we start talking she starts to cry and says this is going to be hard for me too because I love Elliot too. I then start talking to her about the Surgery and she says it is high risk and his chances are a 50/50 but she thinks he would has a higher chance to make it. She left me alone to go put down a ladys senior cat and I asked Elliot if he wants to go for surgery and keep fighting he looked at me and kissed my cheek (like hes always licking me to show affection) So I decided to go though with it. the vet comes back and rushes him off.

I get home and after 2 hours of waiting I get a call the vet says Elliot is doing Great! they opened him up removed a cup of food water and critical care from his belly and 3 medium size fur balls from his belly, they also found that he has a smaller then average valve that goes from the belly to the gut. Which she thinks is a birth defect because the fur that was in his belly was big but should have been able to pass. They said as soon as they sewed everything back up his belly started working which is very very very good. So I went and picked him up at 6pm as soon as he heard my voice he turned around in his cage to look at me. It was very moving.

So he stayed the night at the emergency vet clinic and I phoned before I went to bed to see how he is doing and they said they are very impressed he is doing very well from a surgery that rabbits dont usually do well from and that he is a very very good little boy.
Called again at 10am today hes doing great passing some poop but still not eating on his own they figure when he gets home he will start but keep doing the critical care till then. But other then that he is doing great they said and are very impressed!

So i'm leaving in 10 minutes to go get him I'll update you guys later

I feel very lucky and count my blessings that he is doing so good now I know the cause hes going to need more brushings and I'm going to cut is long lions main down as well anything I can do to prevent this in the future.

 

[Zeroshero]

Awe you two sound as if you have been through the ringer. My vet palpitated Z when he went in for stasis and said most of the time when there is a blockage they will squeal. While you were doing tummy massages did he happen to squeal?

It sounds like he is getting great care but it would be a bit frustrating dealing with the clinics emotions about your initial decision to euthanize. I did have an emergency vet that refused to euthanize a megasophogus dog I adopted from the pound after keeping him overnight for observation because he was just "too nice". He was under regular veterinary care and my vet also believed it was the most humane decision.

Anyway, I hope your bun continues to improve

 

[Chrisdoc]

Adam, I consider myself lucky that my boys haven´t had these problems but I know some of Jenny´s buns have been through this and she our resident expert on these problems on RO. Sorry to hear about your little bun´s problems as well, Zeroshero.

Glad to hear Elliott´s doing well after the surgery, he sounds like a little fighter and looks like you´ve really bonded with him. Hope he continues to get stronger and would love to see a pic of him.

 

[Leckster]

Update Hes been home for 24 hours now he is doing pretty good, still not eating on his own yet so that is a bit of a concern, but he just had a major major he was pretty much cut from stem to stern. His poops are still tiny but that is due to his lack of eating.

I just talked to the doctor and we have upped his force feeding from 7.5Mls every 6 hours to 10mls every 4 hours so that should help him out and make his poops bigger.

He is also on Bupernofonal 3 times a day and Metoclorpamide for bowel mobility.

I can get him to nibble at his hay and get him to eat or two strands but that its he is drinking on his own which is good but I'm still giving water when he gets wrapped for medications.

Well I just hope he starts eating on his own soon either way I think the vet will want to see him tomorrow.

Here is a recent photo of him out on the grass this summer I always let him run around the back yard in the evenings when I'm in the backyard. He never leaves my side

Edit (anyone wondering about the cost of all this, its Just about $3,000 for all his treatment)
Emergency Vet and Xrays at 5am $480
Stay at his regular vet $380
Ultrasound $510
Surgery to remove blockage $1100
Emergency over night stay $460

 

[nora123]

Hi I dont know were you live but in England there is a pellet which is alfalfa based called science selective its high fibre and has really great reports from people who have had rabbits with severe gut problems that have diminished once they put them on science selective mine are all on it and they have had no gas problems since the only problem with mine is they seem to have back teeth problems so I was wondering wether to put them on oxbow t as its timothy based but not sure what to do now you can get the science selective on line but dont know wether they will deliver to you also burgess excel do a pellet for sensitive tummys but I have not tried this its so worrying when they get gas on a regular basis hope this helps.

 

[tonyshuman]

Maybe your rabbit would benefit from having probiotics added to his diet. Often, gas is caused by an imbalance in gut flora, and adding probiotics to the diet can bring the GI back to normal.

 

[Zeroshero]

What a handsome boy he is! How is he doing today after his visit?

 

[Leckster]

Update!

Elliot is doing great hes still getting a force feeding but we are cutting them back starting tomorrow because hes starting to eat hay on his own now.

To answer some questions
Yes he is on probiotics
and here in Canada we can only get so many different types of pellets we are using the oxbow benna terra oganic mix

 

[Maureen Las]

Glad that he is doing good :nod