possible gi stasis and no access to a veterinarian

[mifflorida]

my 2yr old rabbit has become lathargic. my sister said as soon as she took her out her cage she ate a tiny bit of hay from her food tray, pooped a lot apparently, then ran to a corner. i came to her and thought she was just tired. i put some food infront and her didn't even touch it. she'd take some food when i hand fed her but she absolutely refuses any hay (most of our hay is tiny bits now, i asked my mom to get some more today when she comes back home.) she only eats cilantro and some iceberg lettuce, refuses both small slices of celery and hay.

i took her out her corner and moved her to the tray but then she went back to her favorite corner. then i tried to open the door to where food is because she always runs when that happens but she stayed in that corner. i saw her cleaning herself, and eat some of the droppings stuck to her fur but that's it. i checked her lower belly and it's pretty jiggly as usual. her upper chest area is hard but i'm pretty sure it's supposed to be that way, isn't it? she's refusing water as well and has only gotten some from cilantro and iceberg lettuce.

right now i brought her to a room i know she loves exploring but she went to a corner and just hunched over staring at me, then loafed. she peed a bit, but her poops are very tiny :| i'm very worried and upset about her, she's like my baby and i don't want her to be like this.

even though she hunches over sometimes, it's only a bit and she still stretches out and lays down like usual. if it was G.I stasis, i thought they would stay hunched over or loafed in a specific way.

what do i do?

as i'm typing my mom brought the hay and i handfed her some and she had quite a bit but she's still not eating much :|

 

[JBun]

Is she eating some foods then, and is still pooping? Do you feed pellets and is she eating those too? Is it just hay and hard veggies she's not eating or most of her food?

Is it because of the hurricane you can't get to a vet, or is there some other reason?

And just an added note on the food you feed, generally you shouldn't feed iceberg lettuce to rabbits as it can lead to diarrhea and serious GI illness. Usually a very tiny bit won't cause problems, but otherwise it's not advisable to feed.

 

[Ampee]

Yes, poop size decrease is due to what you percieve: not eating much.
I would start force feeding her, however I know my Rabbits so I usually "know" I can do that.
The problem with force feeding is that if there is a blockage in the stomach somewhere you could cause serious harm to the bunny.
Or maybe start with a pretty small dosage and wait for the poops to happen? Like start with 10-20ml Critical care.
Once you see the poops are happening "constanly" then probably the stomach is not blocked so it is safe to keep feeding her until you can get to the vet.

Do you have Critical care at home?

When will you be able to visit the vet?

And on a general note: I only feed my Bunnies Hay + Unlimited water. Oxbow adult pellets as an addittion but not much. These fruits and stuff are not really recommended.

I will let JBun and other ones correct me on the force feeding if my thinking is "wrong".

 

[mifflorida]

Is she eating some foods then, and is still pooping? Do you feed pellets and is she eating those too? Is it just hay and hard veggies she's not eating or most of her food?

Is it because of the hurricane you can't get to a vet, or is there some other reason?

And just an added note on the food you feed, generally you shouldn't feed iceberg lettuce to rabbits as it can lead to diarrhea and serious GI illness. Usually a very tiny bit won't cause problems, but otherwise it's not advisable to feed.

yesterday i fed her a hand sized amount yesterday but my mom constantly throws her iceberg even though i told her to only give her romaine, she could have fed her some when i went to the bathroom. :| i can't reach a vet because i have no car, my mom works all day and has the car, and she's not willing to drop any money even though i offered to pay with my birthday money ($220, but i don't know rabbit veterinarian prices so i could need more,) and i also don't know any rabbit centered veterinarians in my area.

right now she's eating some hay when i push it near her mouth, but sometimes she'll just grab hay with her teeth and throw it on the ground. i tried to hand feed her about a handful and half of that was on the ground afterwards.

i'm all out of pellets, been out for half a month actually and she was fine until today. usually i feed her a good amount of hay and bit of cilantro and water. i also let my sister feed her an inch of celery yesterday.

when i let her into a room she loves exploring and sat in the corner the whole time, she actually left a bunch of poops, but they were very very tiny.

she hasn't taken a sip of water so i gave her some cilantro and soaked some hay in water and handed it to her.

she's has not pooped at all in the last hour besides the very tiny ones. i looked up a video to detect gi stasis and felt around the area past her elbows and she wasn't hard there at all.

 

[mifflorida]

update, she's now able to feed herself a bit of hay but still seems really uniterested in water. :|

 

[mifflorida]

update: she has returned to not eating and is pushing the tray away, just lays on her stomach a lot, still not loafing as much as i thought she would if she really had gi stasis.

 

[JBun]

Belly pressing, if that's what she's doing, is also a sign of stomach pain and upset.

Try feeding her more soft foods like the cilantro or other dark leafy greens. If she'll eat those fine without too much of a problem, then it means she might not be eating her hay because she has a dental problem. In which case, you really have no choice but to take her to a knowledgeable rabbit vet, otherwise she'll continue to get worse until she stops eating completely and essentially starves to the point of it being fatal.

Until you can get her to the vet, you will need to either get pellets or oxbow critical care syringe feeding mix, as this should be easier for her to chew and eat. And it's essential she continues eating enough that her digestive system doesn't shut down where she develops GI stasis. If she won't eat the pellets either on her own, then you'll need to make a pellet mush or mix up some oxbow critical care to start syringe feeds every 4-6 hours until you get her to the vet.

If she won't really eat cilantro or other leafy greens much at all either, then she could have developed an upset stomach from the celery or something else. You can try giving baby gas drops(simethicone) 1-2ml every hour for 3 hours. If she still won't eat and continues to get worse where she stops eating and pooping completely for more than 12-24 hours, there's no choice but to get her to the vet, as she'll likely continue to get worse without a vet figuring out why she's stopped eating.

https://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer/
https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/

 

[mifflorida]

Belly pressing, if that's what she's doing, is also a sign of stomach pain and upset.

Try feeding her more soft foods like the cilantro or other dark leafy greens. If she'll eat those fine without too much of a problem, then it means she might not be eating her hay because she has a dental problem. In which case, you really have no choice but to take her to a knowledgeable rabbit vet, otherwise she'll continue to get worse until she stops eating completely and essentially starves to the point of it being fatal.

Until you can get her to the vet, you will need to either get pellets or oxbow critical care syringe feeding mix, as this should be easier for her to chew and eat. And it's essential she continues eating enough that her digestive system doesn't shut down where she develops GI stasis. If she won't eat the pellets either on her own, then you'll need to make a pellet mush or mix up some oxbow critical care to start syringe feeds every 4-6 hours until you get her to the vet.

If she won't really eat cilantro or other leafy greens much at all either, then she could have developed an upset stomach from the celery or something else. You can try giving baby gas drops(simethicone) 1-2ml every hour for 3 hours. If she still won't eat and continues to get worse where she stops eating and pooping completely for more than 12-24 hours, there's no choice but to get her to the vet, as she'll likely continue to get worse without a vet figuring out why she's stopped eating.

https://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer/
https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/

which brand of baby gas drops and how to administer them? my family is very low income, but my dad has some money and is heading to pet store tommorow for medicine for her

 

[JBun]

You can get gas drops at any pharmacy for a few dollars, walmart probably has the best price. Just the basic infant gas drops where the active ingredient is simethicone. Though making sure there's not xylitol in the inactive ingredients(not sure if that's even something they might add). Ask the pharmacy for a 1ml oral syringe if there isn't one included with the gas drops. I put the syringe in the corner of the rabbits mouth and slowly squirt it in. Slowly, giving them time to chew and swallow each small amount so as to not risk them breathing it into their lungs, which is a very bad thing.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Medicating_your_rabbit

Keep in mind, this is only something that I try first when a rabbit stops eating and seems to have belly discomfort, before deciding if I then will need to take them to the vet if the gas drops don't help. The gas drops may only make a difference and possibly help if the rabbit isn't eating due to minor or moderate gas pain. If it's from some other digestive issue, a dental problem, or some other painful health problem, this won't make any difference. The recommended and best thing when a rabbit isn't eating well, is to have your rabbit checked by a knowledgeable rabbit vet.

 

[marilynpearson237]

Vet as soon as you can. Yes, Mylicon infant drops every few hours. If you have pellets, soak in warm water make a puree. Offer to bun in a dish. If won't eat, syringe feed. If you can get some Critical Care at a pet store, mix with water and force feed slowly. Puree like. You'll need to get some pain Medication and gut medication from the vet ASAP. You're unlikely to get anything of significance in his belly if he is in pain. You can try belly massage if he will tolerate it. Buns can die from gi stasis in under 24 hours. Strongly recommend vet visit with eval and meds to go home. Talk about a payment program. Good luck!

 

[marilynpearson237]

How is your bun today?