please help!

[fever003]

This morning at 8am,as usual I will clean up myrabbits cage,change all the newspapar flooring and the litter box..Itgrowled at me once because I tried to lift her up..
Then after cleaning up,put it back into the cage and placed somepellets and a slice of banana.It ate few pellets and the bananas.Laterat 1030am,I let her out into thegarden to play..It was quite active,weplayed the circle game,it did plenty of binkies,and after a fewminutes,the rabbit lied down at the garden with its hind legs stretchedto the back..
Then it hopped back into its cage and lied down again..So I left italone until lunch,about 1230pm..When I open up the cage i see somepellets left and add up more pellets and some vegetables..Usually itwill eat them right away and even want me to feed by hand..But not thistime..
I came back at 130pm and the food was not touched,the rabbit spend mostof the time lying down hind legs stretched..I dont see any urine andvery little poop..Im starting to get worried and the rabbit also is notthat active..Usually when I come naer to the cage,it will go crazyrunning around..Also,Im not sure about this,but I havent seen himdrinking water lately..

I need some feedback please..

 

[Spring]

How is he?

Does he seem uncomfortable (Belly pressed to the floor, constantlychanging positions, low tooth grinding)?Try to offer him some freshvegetables or a favourite treat. If he doesn't take this, you mightwant to try some baby gas medicine.

Do you have a drug store near you? You might want to pick up some babygas medicine with simethecone in it. It might have been something heate that didn't agree with him. I always try baby gas medicine first ifa rabbit has a decreased appetite.

I would also try putting down a water bowl near him to tempt him to drink. Do you know when the last time he drank was?

Are you able to get a vet appointment for tomorrow if he hasn't gone back to 100%?

 

[fever003]

Ok,I was browsing the computer and suddenly Iheard it drinking through the bottle..It drank ALOT..What a relief,andhe ate alittle bit of pellet..But he seemed to lie down alot and notmoving whenever i come to the cage..I think he might be tired fromplaying this morning..Hopefully its nothing bad

 

[fever003]

I did put some vegetables but it did not eat it all..Only took 1 leaf..The last time he drank was yesterday evening

Spring wrote:

How is he?

Does he seem uncomfortable (Belly pressed to the floor, constantlychanging positions, low tooth grinding)?Try to offer him some freshvegetables or a favourite treat. If he doesn't take this, you mightwant to try some baby gas medicine.

Do you have a drug store near you? You might want to pick up some babygas medicine with simethecone in it. It might have been something heate that didn't agree with him. I always try baby gas medicine first ifa rabbit has a decreased appetite.

I would also try putting down a water bowl near him to tempt him to drink. Do you know when the last time he drank was?

Are you able to get a vet appointment for tomorrow if he hasn't gone back to 100%?

 

[Spring]

Good. I was a bit worried because rabbits candehydrate very quickly. Try tempting him to eat with very wet veggies.Hopefully he'll start getting his appetite and activity level back tonormal.

Something might have not agreed with him.

Also, did you just get this rabbit? Try offering a bowl to tempt her todrink more. Going 24 hours without drinking isn't good at all.

 

[fever003]

Yes Ive just got the rabbit few days ago..

Ok,Im worried that it might spilled the bowl of water in the cage..but i will try

 

[Pipp]

Really does sound like a gas attack.

The best thing to do is, as Spring said, get some baby gas meds thatincludeSimethicone, and give them a good dose of that whenthey start acting uncomfortable like that --lying flat ontheir tummies, sometimes getting up and down like they can't getcomfortable.

Also make sure they get some exercise -- they need tobreakdown the gas bubble that'scausingtheproblem. Gentle tummy massages help, so do carrides and sitting on top of the dryer when you're doing a load ofclothes. (The vibrations help).

She coudl have eaten something in the garden, or maybe a piece of thebanana was bad, or it's possible your pellets are old ormouldy.But somethingshe ate almostcertainly caused the gas.

Hope she's okay!

sas

 

[TinysMom]

I'm just checking - but are you sure this is aboy and not a girl? Is there any chance it could be a pregnant doe (notthat you did the breeding)? The only reason I ask this is because ofthe growling.

I have two or three rabbits that get gas attacks pretty easily and theynever growl. They also will lay with their stomach pressed to the floorbut not with their legs out.

My pregnant does however...growl and lay that way.

If it was a pregnant doe that was due to deliver soon - she might not be eating...

Peg

 

[Pipp]

Ah, if you only just got her, do you know what she was eating before you got her?

Sudden diet changes aren't good, you really have to change the dietvery slowly. And if she wasn't used to eating grass orveggies, that very likely caused gas.

She can eat them, but they have to be introduced slowly ideally alongwith what she was eating before -- new food should account for just1/5th of the total at first, and increase it gradulaly allweek.

Congrats on your new family member!



sas

 

[fever003]

Hmmm,maybe you are right Pipp..I dont know itsprevious diet..But maybe its true,because all the foods are prettyfresh I assume..The banana,vegetables and pellets..

Tinysmom,I doubt my rabbit is pregnant..The previous owner did not mention about that..

1 more question about hays,Im using timothy and the first day i servedthe rabbit with hay,it ate plenty..I started changing the hay everydayand never seem to see it eat the hay..Must the hay be stored air tight?

 

[TinysMom]

One more quick question...where there any otherrabbits in the same house or yard as this rabbit. (It is possible forkids to think its fun to breed a rabbit - or a friend playing ajoke...and the original owner might never know).

I'm not trying to say she IS pregnant. It's just that I have over 100rabbits and the only time I EVER hear a growl....is from a pregnantdoe. I'm sitting here looking at 5 does that are due in the next week -all are laying with their legs stretched out behind them. One is due onMonday and she is starting to go off her food (which makes me wonder ifshe'll have them today).

So while all the symptoms you talk about could be a rabbit with gas...Ihave yet to have a rabbit with gas growl. Growling is a territorialmatter usually....at least with my rabbits!

Peg

 

[fever003]

No,only 1 rabbit Well,if you say so,I assumeits a gas.Is it a must to get that baby medicine? Or can I just let therabbit let the gas out by itself? Not that I dont want to get themedicine,but its pretty far away

 

[Pipp]

Here's a link about Simethicone. Where are you located? This just has brand names for the US and Canada.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15551&forum_id=10

It's important to treat for gas as soon as the bunny shows signs ofdiscomfort. A rabbitallowed to suffer gas painsforan extended period of time will lose it's appetite and/orcan potentially go into shock, see a drop inbody temperatureand other problems.

The meds will take away the pain in an hour or two, without it, the suffering goes on for hours, which isn't fair to the bunny.

If she's coming out of it now, showing interest in food and water, youcan forego the Simethicone for now, stick withtummyrubs,exercise and vibrations, but you should always have someon hand, so the sooner you do get some, the better. Whatevergave her gas this time may happen again pretty quickly.

sas

 

[fever003]

Pipp,thank you so much..Im at the Asianside..Yes,the rabbit has alraedy becoming more active..It also finishedup its meal and drank loads of water..Im so relieved that it is ok..butI will get that medicine right away.. Thank you!

 

[Pipp]

fever003 wrote:

1 more question about hays,Im using timothy and the firstday i served the rabbit with hay,it ate plenty..I started changing thehay everyday and never seem to see it eat the hay..Must the hay bestored air tight?

Where did you get the hay from? And you were giving therabbit more of the same hay everyday but she stopped eating it?

Hay should be stored very well ventilated, and kept verydry,otherwise it can pick up mould that can make your rabbit verysick.

Could that have been what caused the gas attack? Could she have stopped eating it because it was mouldy?



sasonder:

 

[fever003]

I bought the hay from a pet store..It was sealedair tight and came in a plastic bag..The hay is dry and it smellsfresh..Yeah,I throw the old hay and put a new hay everyday but it seemslike its not eating the hay..How often do they chew hay? Maybe its justme not present while the rabbit is eating up the hay..

It stopped eating even before the gas attack..I only saw it eating the first time I introduced the hay to the rabbit..

Anyway,bunny is ok now ..Its back to normal,with all the humming andhyper active..I see 1 big staint on urine and plenty of poops! And Ivejust gave it its dinner and ate them all right away..:colors:

 

[fever003]

I bought the hay from a pet store..It was sealedair tight and came in a plastic bag..The hay is dry and it smellsfresh..Yeah,I throw the old hay and put a new hay everyday but it seemslike its not eating the hay..How often do they chew hay? Maybe its justme not present while the rabbit is eating up the hay..