My rabbit stomach feels hard. Help!!

[jamesedwardwaller]

the fluffies wrote:

Hi all. I have posted about Shiro over a year ago :
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=46486&forum_id=16&jump_to=626520#p626520

Shiro suddenly stops eating and drinking since last Wednesday. He only feeds on his fruits and veges.

I fed him the with gas med given by my med (he cant tell me the name) yesterday. Only a very few poop produced.

Today, just noticed his stomach is hard! Not gas, but i think it is fill of poop/food. I haven’t seen any fresh poop from him since i reached home 8 hours ago. Now I try to give some massage on his stomach. I hope it helps. I’m force-feeding him with Oxbow Critical and water. I’ve fed him with 1ml/hr of Zellox-II 45 minutes ago.

Is there any video of how to massage and help him pass stool?

Can we use infant enema on bunnies? Help pls.

my experience with this type of problem is grave.//.i can only urge you to amend the rabbits diet,..70% must be grasses-(non digestible fiber)--and lots of water,and critical care(oxbow)-//.your prognosis is most likely correct,-a hard tummy is the result of too much digestible fibers-over a long period of time,.//-rabbits are consumate groomers therefore fur is most likely in the stomach,,and with the digestible fibers gi stasis is just around the corner,,--a radiogragh would be nice,,if this is not possible--follow the above proceedure,--sincerely james waller--ray:

 

[tonyshuman]

The force feeding is fine as long as he doesn't get terribly stressed out about it. I don't know what this gas med is but it would be helpful if you can tell us what the ingredients are. A lot of human GI meds make the stomach less acidic,k and that's usually the opposite of what you want for a bunny with GI distress.

If it contains anything basic (with carbonate, hydroxide, bicarbonate) in it, stop giving it and just keep up with the rest. Critical care has probiotics in it and that is probably what is turning his gut in the right direction, and the pineapple juice. It is a lot of sugar but the acid in the pineapple juice is good and the probiotics are my #1 recommendation for a bunny with GI issues.

 

[the fluffies]

Hi guys.

Shiro's condition is getting on and off.. The problem happened again on last 12 Oct, and these few days. He still doesn't eat his hay. And i noticed, he is reducing his food intake, and only munch on fruits and veggies. He is losing weight since then.

Just now (lunch hour) i went back home to check on Shiro and feed him some pineapple (bcoz he had a hard tummy this morning).

And when i petted him just now, i found a small lump under his chin, right under his left lower jaw. The lump is same size of green bean, hanging inside his skin. Looks like an abscess. (I'll try to get his photo after i return from work).

I'm not sure if he is having a teeth problem. All his teeth are looked ok.

When he was much younger, he used to sneeze a lot, and producing thick whitish discharge from his nose. The vet gave some antibiotic. After quite sometimes, there was no whitish discharged, and less sneeze. Today, he still sneezing sometimes, but no discharge from his nose.

Compared to other rabbits, Shiro grunts a lot. He makes a funny sound, like grunt+wheezing, esp when he is angry/uncomfortable/stress.

Last month, we sent him to a young vet nearby to deworm him and the others bcoz he is getting skinny and skinnier. The vet said she suspected something is not right with Shiro's lungs,and asked us to send Shiro to other vet to xray and to comfirmed that problem, but my bf and i agreed that, that is how he sounds since we got him. So we guessed it is normal for him.

2 days after he recovered his 1st tummy issue (as i posted on 2nd Oct in this thread), he drank alot. More that double of his normal intake. He wet his chin too. But when i check under his wet chin, i didnt find anything abnormal/lump. And after the 2 days, his water was back to normal. But as i mention, his food intake wasnt as good as before he had his tummy problem.

I didn't notice that lump 2-3 days ago, until i found it today.

Do u guys think he is having a teeth problem that leads him to reduce his food intake and caused those stomach upset/gas/bloat?

If he is suspected to have teeth problem, how to confirm? What treatment will be performed on him?

 

[the fluffies]

I posted up some Shiro's photos in my blog. Pls tell me what u guys think.

I'm calling some vets here to get him xray, but too bad they dont have isoflurane, but they're using injectable ketamyl.

If his condition is getting worse, we'll drive all the way 5-hours journey to get a rabbit savvy vet there

 

[Maureen Las]

Sounds like he has a jaw abscess which is not good news at all; they usually grow very rapidly.

You will need to get dental xrays and possibly find someone who can do dental work ..if his teeth are infected, overgrown etc.
it is very possible that all of the eating problems are from a dental issue but in the meantime you still need to keep fluids and food going in ...


Randy has said that he has treated jaw abscesses with drugs/antibiotics alone, however, in my experience if there are infected teeth in his mouth it is necessary to not only treat the abscess but also the teeth issues.


Jaw abscesses can be treated with bicillin injectionsand I will post a link describing the protocol; in most cases the addition of a second oral mediation (ex zithromax)is preferred.

I am sorry that you are in a spot like this as it is difficult to know what to do if the vets are not experienced.



http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm

 

[the fluffies]

Photos of the lump and the teeth.

http://thefluffies.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/shiro-is-not-eating/

 

[Maureen Las]

That looks like an abscess; the incisors are the front teeth and they look fine but you really can't visualize the molars and their roots without an x-ray

 

[tonyshuman]

:yeahthat:

As for the anesthesia, do you mean ketamine? It is common here to use a combination of ketamine and xylazine for induction of anesthesia, with maintenance by isofluorane. Are you saying they use just ketamine to knock the animal out, with no gas?

I certainly think that his teeth need to be looked at under anesthesia at least, and the abscess needs to be treated with antibiotics. The teeth on that side may need to be removed as well.

So sorry that he's having such difficult medical problems and you can't get him the help he needs easily.

 

[the fluffies]

I called 2 vets today. They're most well-known vets around Penang. They have a very good names in treating cats and dogs and they have xray service for rabbits.

Vet #1 - they have isoflurane but they never use on rabbits. (In Penang, the vets here seldom/rarely seeing rabbits sending to their clinics). They said the xray can be taken without sedate the rabbits bcoz they said they have enough assistant to hold the rabbit.

Does anyone know how they do the xray? I'm very curious. Do they need to make the rabbit pass out before taking xray?

Vet #2 - long ago, they took rabbits for treatment. But some of the rabbits died under anesthetic (Yes, they're using injectable drug called Ketamyl (or ketamil, i cant remember exact spelling). They said to take xray, the NEED TO sedate the animal for xray but they CANT sedate the rabbit. Bcoz they afraid they might loss the rabbits.

 

[pla725]

#1 vet sounds like they have more experience with rabbits. I would give them some information regarding the use of isoflurane.I'm sure there is somethingin the library section or on the HRS site. Perhaps they may be open to consulting with other vets.

It is not always necessary to sedate for x-rays. They can be tranced.

 

[Maureen Las]

is there any way that the girl who owned Hans could take care of him for awhile and take him to her vets?

Your vets just don't sound like they have it together at all...

some rabbits will sit still for an xray but I think that it would be very difficult to do dental xrays without anesthesia
holding a rabbit down is dangerous because it is so easy for them to actually break their own bones with sudden movements
if the vets cannot administer an anesthesia because the rabbit will die ...that sort of says it all

 

[the fluffies]

pla725 wrote:

#1 vet sounds like they have more experience with rabbits. I would give them some information regarding the use of isoflurane.I'm sure there is somethingin the library section or on the HRS site. Perhaps they may be open to consulting with other vets.

It is not always necessary to sedate for x-rays. They can be tranced.

Tranced means make the rabbit laying down with all his four legs facing up, rite?

If it can be done by tranced, that it will be no problem. I can help the vet to trance Shiro myself. But if the xray is taken with the bunny lying at one side, then there will be a big problem. Shiro doesnt like to be pick up.

One more thing, the vet advised me to take 2 xrays. One is to check his molar. Another one to check on his lungs. Is it ok to take 2 xray at one time?? There will be no harm?

 

[the fluffies]

angieluv wrote:

is there any way that the girl who owned Hans could take care of him for awhile and take him to her vets?

Your vets just don't sound like they have it together at all...

some rabbits will sit still for an xray but I think that it would be very difficult to do dental xrays without anesthesia
holding a rabbit down is dangerous because it is so easy for them to actually break their own bones with sudden movements
if the vets cannot administer an anesthesia because the rabbit will die ...that sort of says it all

Streisand is temporary occupied with extra bunnies and chincillas because one of our friends giving birth and Streisand is helping her with the furkids.

I'll talk to my boyfriend if he can find a time to drive me to Hans' vet.

 

[the fluffies]

-double posting-

sorry...

 

[the fluffies]

OH NOOOOO!!!!! Shiro is having another hard tummy tonite! This is the 4th on this month. He is eating some veggies and pellets today.

I dont think it is gas. It is food/poop maybe.. The hard is almost a size of golf ball on the right side of his tummy. On the left side, i can feel small balls lining down to his butt. Poops i guess.

He already had his papaya on the evening, and just now (right after i realised he has a hard tummy) i fed him with 5ml pineapple (he refused to drink more). I dont know why he having hard tummy now

 

[the fluffies]

He produced mishapened, smaller and less poops that usual

 

[Maureen Las]

How he is doing now?

 

[tonyshuman]

I did find this info
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anesthesia/Safe_Anesthesia.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anesthesia/Safe_Preanesthesia.htm

 

[the fluffies]

angieluv wrote:

How he is doing now?

He is not eating at all.

I force feed him with Critical Care, pineapple juice and plain water.

 

[the fluffies]

tonyshuman wrote:

I did find this info
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anesthesia/Safe_Anesthesia.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anesthesia/Safe_Preanesthesia.htm

Thanks,

I've printed it out. I hope it will helps to guide the vet.