Ms Cleo's having some Tummy problems

[Cyber-Wizard]

Looks like Cleo might have some gas but I'm not sure that I'm treating it right. She's been an exceedingly healthy little bun throughout the 4 years that I've had her. Last year she had a bout of G.I. Stasis. My vet gave her motility drugs and many of the good folks here helped me get her back on her feet again without them.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=47920&forum_id=16&page=1
Last year when this happened it was right after we let the house get a little too hot I don't know if it's coincidence or not but I did it again and let the house get up to about 28 degrees while I was working outside before turning the A/C on to bring it to 25.

Wifey and I went out this morning after watching Cleo's binky recital and when I returned ~8 hours later I found Cleo huddled in the corner of her cage unwilling to move. I opened up her cage and found that she was unwilling even to let me stroke her nose. I decided to check her tummy and she bolted across the room. Her litter box was only slightly less full than a normal day and the few carrot tops and slices of broccoli she had been given for breakfast were about half eaten. Her pellets and hay had only been nibbled at. I figured she might have gas. When she settled down a little I gave a listen to her tummy and didn't hear much of anything. She let me massage her tummy off and on for the next couple of hours and seemed a little better but still wouldn't accept food or drink. I managed to get a little Simethicone into her and her tummy started gurgling a little bit. I gave her a heated rice bag to cuddle with and put a towel over her. Within an hour or so she was getting up to hop short distances and started taking apple flavoured water from a syringe. It's four in the morning now and the two of us are still laying on the floor. (Guess I'm taking a personal day today) She seems to be feeling somewhat better. She won't lay with the rice bag anymore and pulls the towel off of herself when I cover up. I realize it may be too soon to see dramatic change but she's still disinterested in food. That in itself isn't too surprising but she will happily take as much water as I can give her via syringe. If I spill any on her towel she will lick it up right away but won't drink from the dish herself. She'll hop over to the dish and lick water off of the outside and maybe even a lap or two from the dish but not much. As soon as I try the syringe again she'll excitedly accept 5-6mL.

I'm concerned, since she happily takes water, but turns her nose up at hay and greens that maybe I've misdiagnosed. Her tummy gurgles plenty while I'm getting water into her but still no interest in food.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

I may have spoke too soon.

While I was typing this Cleo snuck over and took two tiny nibbles from a slice of apple and then went back and laid down again. Guess maybe I'm just over-fussing a bit and she's actually on the road to recovery. Last time she was sick it was a week before she would eat hay by any means other than hand selected and fed piece by piece. She might just be playing the drama queen a little bit because she knows I'm a sucker for it.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Better to ask and be safe than not. That's good she went for apple. Have you given any simethicone for the gas just to be sure? It won't hurt to give it even if it's not gas.

Just see that she is eating hay. I wouldn't worry to much about pellets unless she eats nothing.

Tempt her w/ goodies, like parsley or romaine, a mainstream veggie she likes. Good thing to do in this possible situation is to give the greens soaking wet too, in case they're not drinking as much.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Yes, I managed to get a little Simethicone into her early on. That at least started her tummy gurgling again.

She has accepted one piece of hay so far but pretends not to see them when I offer others. It's a start.

I keep her veggies in water full time now after her last stomach upset last summer. I've offered her a few of her favourites but no luck so far.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Cyber-Wizard wrote:

Yes, I managed to get a little Simethicone into her early on. That at least started her tummy gurgling again.

She has accepted one piece of hay so far but pretends not to see them when I offer others. It's a start.

I keep her veggies in water full time now after her last stomach upset last summer. I've offered her a few of her favourites but no luck so far.

Sounds good, just keep trying. I hope she pulls out of it. Have u any pumpkin you could give? That's a good one to have on hand just in case. I know sometimes we get scared and worried and forget about that little gem.

If she's not eating by later this morning, you may want to give her some. (Plain pumpkin in can, not the pie mix stuff.)

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Yeah, I was thinking about popping out to pick up some pumpkin later on if I'm still awake. She's turned her nose up at numerous types of melon in the past but it never hurts to try.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Cyber-Wizard wrote:

Yeah, I was thinking about popping out to pick up some pumpkin later on if I'm still awake. She's turned her nose up at numerous types of melon in the past but it never hurts to try.

Yes, for sure. Keep us posted! I hope she snaps out of it and it's just gas.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Wifey had some canned pumpkin stashed away so I didn't have to leave Cleo to pick some up. No go though. She sniffed it and turned up her nose. Strangely she's gotten pretty weird about accepting water from a syringe as well and fights it really hard. She's gotten wise to the Simethicone and I haven't been able to get any more into her yet. She has, however gotten fond of licking up the water that spills from the syringe onto the towel that she's laying on. Not sure I understand it but she's happily licking up any water that I pour onto the towel she just won't take it from a dish or syringe.

She has accepted a few small pieces of hay but pauses while eating them, almost like she forgot what she was doing and then quickly finishes it up again.. I tried offering her some water soaked carrot tops and dandelion leaves and those were gone in seconds. As soon as she finishes licking up the water, or eating the greens I can hear her tummy start gurgling again. She's sequestered herself in a difficult to reach corner of the room with her towel and a rice bag and hasn't made any attempts to get back to the litter box. It's been almost 24 hours now and while she's accepted water, hay and greens in very small quantities, nothing has come out again.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Cleo's been lounging in her litterbox for most of the afternoon. Every now and again she sits up for a while before flopping down again. Often when she flops, it's either on her side or stretched out with her chin on the side of the box. Both positions indicate to me that she's still uncomfortable but not in much pain anymore. Usually when she's in pain she hunched up in a ball in the back corner of the cage. I noticed that when she sits up it's to actually use the litterbox. It's nowhere near as full as I would like but she's clearly been working on it.

Right now she's flopped out with her head on the side of the litterbox. When I reached in to massage her tummy earlier she got out of the litterbox right away. After a few minutes she flopped down on her side on the bottom of the cage with a couple of feet in the air. A sort of position that I generally associate with her being quite comfortable.

She's still not moving around or eating as much as she should but I'm pleased to see the litterbox being used.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Give tummy rubs. Try to get some simethicone in her and some food/water. If she seeps it up off the floor on her own terms, so be it.

Anyone? Any suggestions?

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

She hopped around pretty good in her house last night. She's been flopping on her side a bit and doing some grooming. Last night she took a drink from her dish on her own and will still attack wet carrot tops like she's never seen them before. Last night she leapt up onto the shelf in her cage and lounged bunny-style on the top one. No litterbox action at all. It looks like one dropping fell out of her during a shelf leap but she hasn't been in the litterbox since it was changed last night around 5:00.

Apart from still moving a little slower, she seems a lot better than she did on Sunday night. She's just not using the litterbox. I feel like she's on the road to recovery apart from this one hurdle.

 

[tonyshuman]

I wonder if she has tooth pain? You mention that she won't let you syringe her water, but she'll lick it up off the floor, and that she will start eating some hay but give up halfway though--these could be signs that her molars have developed sharp spurs on them that cut into her tongue or cheeks when you put a feeding syringe into her mouth or when she eats hay.

The more important thing right now though is to get her belly moving again. I personally will keep up the gas protocol until I see consistent poos, whether the bunny's eating or not. That consists of 1ml simethicone per hour for 3 hours, then waiting 3 hours, and repeating, plus syringe feeding up to 10ml pedialyte per hour, and offering favorite foods, pumpkin in a dish, and an extra bowl of pedialyte. I spent several hours up late one night with Benjamin doing this same thing. The fact that she's eating is good, but you need to get her pooping again. What about some probiotic? I know here in the US we can get BeneBac at pet stores and ProBios at farm supply stores, but it can be harder to get probiotics in Canada it seems. Human acidophilus capsules from the natural foods store can help--just break them open and dissolve in liquid to be force-fed, or sprinkle on the wet carrot greens.

How does her belly feel? Is it bloated at all? Do not massage if it appears distended right below the ribcage--a bloated stomach is dangerous.

 

[Cyber-Wizard]

Tooth pain is a possibility. This has been quite sudden really and she just had her molars ground down about 3 months ago. She has a malocclusion and gets regular molar checks.

She visited the litterbox a couple of hours ago and passed what looked like a good sized stoppage followed by a fair number of slightly smaller than normal poops. She's starting to move around a little more now but still resting it seems. She's still turning up her nose at everything but carrot greens at this point but she's eating those well enough. She's definitely got a little ways to go but it's looking promising. Her belly doesn't feel unusual at all when she lets me rub it. She's not fond of being handled as a rule so I don't have a lot to compare with.