Possible GI problems

[Oglie2000]

My bunny seems to be experiencing GI stasis or gas. Adam Bomb was fine last night he ate all of his hay (as usual), at all of his pellets, and at his greens, he peed and pooped too. He may have pooped a little less but the size was normal. Tonight I gave him his pellets as usual and he wouldn't eat them. I tried to give him a treat and he refused which is unlike him. I checked on him and he still didn't eat.

I gave him some simethicone. I've given him 2cc once an hour for 3 hours now. I lightly massaged his tummy and he didn't seem in discomfort other than he wasn't eating or running around as fast as usual. I also gave him some pedialyte since I don't know when the last time was when he had water. I had to give it to him by syringe because he won't drink on his own. I also ran out to the store and got some pumpkin in a can and squash baby food, and his favorite greens.

After chasing him around a bit and getting the 3 doses of simethicone and pedialyte into him, he ate some greens on his own and pooped and peed. He only had 2 pellets though and they were very soft and mushy.

I know once they eat and pooped you are on a better track. He is currently sitting by his water bottle (as usual) licking himself. His tummy wasn't distended or hard, it was normal but his gurgle noises stopped. I am thinking he either has a hairball due to heavy shedding (and he loves to lick himself), gas, or because a few days ago we got a new kitten (6 months old so not too young).

I was wondering if you thought this was good that he did eat on his own and went to the bathroom? Should I still be very worried or just slightly concerned? Also since he still isn't drinking on his own how much water/pedialyte should I be giving him?

Thank you! I appreciate the support and help.

 

[JBun]

If he is eating and pooping now, he may be fine but you need to keep a very close eye on him to make sure he continues to improve in the next few hours. But if he doesn't soon start drinking on his own then that means there may still be a problem. You can try offering a water dish if he normally drinks from a bottle, to see if that makes a difference. Sometimes a rabbit with dental issues will be reluctant to drink from a water bottle as it can cause them mouth pain. If he doesn't continue to improve and/or won't drink, then you should get him to the vet right away, as there is likely still something wrong causing the lack of appetite.

Many things can cause a rabbit to develop stasis. Gas, 'hairball'(which is really a gut slowdown which ingested hair just contributes to), or stress from something new, are just a few things that can lead to stasis developing. Really anything that ends up causing a rabbit pain and/or discomfort can lead to stasis developing. So there are other health problems that can also cause this such as dental issues, injury, or internal problems. If your bun continues to be unwell, you will need a vet checking to make sure it isn't a dental issue causing lack of appetite, or another health problem.
http://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer-2/
http://rabbit.org/sluggish-motility-in-the-gastrointestinal-tract-2/

 

[Oglie2000]

Thank you! My other bunny which was a dwarf mix got this problem but her tummy was bloated and tight. She also laid around a lot but I got her from a pet store. My current bunny came from a breeder. He is always active and will eat anything I give him by hand. My other bunny wouldn't do much and she was a very picky eater.

This is why I got so concerned about my little Adam Bomb. I put him I let him out of his cage and he is becoming more active than he was earlier. He is running around on his own and playing with things unlike earlier this evening I had to get provide simulation for him to run around.

I am really keeping an eye on him. After running around he laid down on his side with his feet stretched out, but he usually does that after a good run

 

[whiskylollipop]

Adam Bomb! What a great name. I don't think it's gas or stasis, he would look visibly uncomfortable and not move much if it was. Hairball is possible. Give him lots of hay and water to push it through.

 

[Oglie2000]

Thanks! He got his name because my friend Adam got him for me, and I didn't want to tell my parents about it, since it was so close to the passing of my other bunny. He's a little black bunny so when I did tell my mom she said call him Adam bomb. He looks like the cartoonish bombs and my friend Adam got him for me so that's how it happened.

I have great news. He chased his best friend is my cat Sammy. They play together nicely. Either Adam thinks he's a cat or the cat thinks he's a bunny. Anyways, Adam chased Sammy around after not doing it all day. He actually ran up to me. Then he was pulling at some old hay I put in a garbage pail, so I put him back in his cage. He ate all of his greens, still no hay, pellets or water but I will take eating the greens since they have water in them. Hopefully he will eat the rest of the stuff through the night.

 

[Oglie2000]

Posting an update. He finally took a few sips from his water bottle, Now if he would only eat hay and go potty on a regular basis again.

 

[Oglie2000]

Now that it's 3am. He has pooped a fair amount and peed. He has eaten all the greens, eaten the majority of his pellets. I gave him another dose of simethicone and some more pedialyte just to be sure.

When I let him run again, I had a hard time catching him to give him a little more medicine, which is great. I always have had a hard time trying to get him to go back in his cage. I also got his temp and it's 101.9.

I think we are on the up and up. His poop pellets are still small but I will take it for now, since we went from no eating or pooping to eating and small pellets.

 

[Channahs]

That's wonderful news. We are having some similar issues with Bun Jovi today. I knew the answer was out there. It's encouraging to hear that he has improved! She's at the refusing to eat anything, even pumpkin or Craisins. I have managed to give her some syringes of water and some simethicone. She actually finds that tasty. Now to get that bunny butt moving around.

 

[Oglie2000]

I hope you had success! Adam Bomb is fully back to normal possibly even better. His brother the cat kept him running around in those critical moments.

 

[Channahs]

That is such wonderful news! Today Jovi ate some greens and this made me do a little dance. Maybe this means things are dissolving and making room for food. Still nothing coming out yet, but maybe now if the gut starts moving.

 

[Maureen Las]

What a fantastic name !!! I just love it
You did a great job of catching the signs of GI stasis early . He is lucky to have such a devoted mom. Great job!!!:bunnydance:

 

[Oglie2000]

Well I can tell you this if the bunny eats it means something is happening in a good way. I gave my bunny 2CC of simethicone once every hour for 3 hours and after I gave him the medicine I would either have the cat or myself run him. I had him run up and down our stairs and the length of our house (our attic is finished so that is our family area and where he lives so it is the length of our house). Then I would give him about 14CC of pedialtye using a syringe after he ran.

After the 3rd dose of the medicine, pedialtye and running when I put him back in the cage, he had 2 mis-shapped kind of mushy poo pellets pass from him. The one had yellow mucus on it (which I know isn't good), but after reading so many things one article said if they haven't pooped in a while then most likely they will pass some mucus.

After the poo came out he started taking treats and food pellets from me. He would also eat some hay out of my hand. I continued giving him the simethicone for a couple days. After the first 3 hours I gave 1CC every 3 hours and continued the same routine as above. He started have more poos but they were very small. I then backed the simethicone off to every 8 hours. He then started drinking water on his own if I held the water bottle for him.

Finally after day 3 of this he started drinking and eating on his own but I still had to convince him to eat hay from my hand. After the 6th day I stopped the simethicone because he was having regular movements and doing everything on his own, including charging my cats at playtime.

Also during all of this I tried to keep a very sterile and clean cage so I could monitor his bathroom habbits. I mostly leave hay laying in his cage for bedding and only clean his litter once a day. I didn't put any hay down as bedding for him and I cleaned his litter as much as I could. I was putting the poo and pee out of the litter in separate zip lock baggys in case I needed to run him to the vets so they could see what everything looked like.

I really kept a close eye on him. However with my other bunny that died from this, she died fast from it while I was on the way to the vets. It may have been that this bunny has a bond with the cats, unlike my other bunny who lived alone (I was in an apartment at the time). I also read and made sure that I gave him extra cuddles to show I loved him.

Hopefully this may help you out as well.

 

[Maureen Las]

I've been through GI stasis many many times with rabbits and it is very exhausting . The rabbit gets well and the owner get sick (LOL ) it really takes a lot of effort to do it right .