Rabbit gassy everyday

[zoe2112]

Freddie is frequently experiencing gas and I don’t know what’s causing it. He is constantly eating hay and continues to pass faeces but his stomach makes popping sounds and is firm and tender to the touch. He was treated for GI stasis in Feb and was admitted earlier this month with gas. He’s had x rays and blood work but nothing is coming up. I originally thought it was Science Selective food so now he’s on Vetcare Digestive Plus but he’s still having symptoms every evening. I’ve been giving him simeticone which seems to help him but it’s a daily occurrence.
I’ve cut out veggies to see whether that causes it but he still gets symptoms. When he gets gas he does get his simeticone on a piece of romaine lettuce but that’s once he’s already gassy.
Do some bunnies just always have gas? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Z

 

[maiyaeh]

would it be the hay? what kind and brand of hay do you offer?
My bun had several episode of GI gas before, but it was caused by the Science Selective food. I gave her fiber plus and she still had the same issue. I changed to oxbow and she's very well from then on.
also the hay matters too!! my friend's bun can't eat the timothy hay from small pet select and she had diarrhea.
i would suggest you to change the pellet again and possibly the hay as well
hope it helps

 

[zoe2112]

I thought maybe he was eating his litter so changed to using meadow hay for his litter tray and he also has timothy hay and some readigrass. I have considered the hay, I bought some new burgess stuff today which turns out to also be timothy hay mixed with dandelions and marigold. I’ll try stripping him back to just meadow hay and try to find some Oxbow online. I’ve also been giving him some metacam as recommended by the vet but I’m worried that this might not be a long term solution.Does anyone know whether it can be used for longer periods?

 

[Blue eyes]

Jenny (Jbun) will probably have some good advice. I was wondering whether your bunny is one that needs to go pellet free (or maybe switch to a more natural pellet like Sherwood Forest). Some rabbits cannot tolerate manufactured pellets (ever look at that long list of ingredients?).

 

[maiyaeh]

my vet said the use of metacam can damage kidney function in dehydrated buns. if your bun doesn't drink enough water because of GI gas, i think metacam is not a good medicine for him. timothy hay mixed with dandelion and marigold tastes better, but plain timothy hay or oat hay is a better choice for a bun who has digestive problems.
i hope you can find out the cause soon. I had stomach gas before, it was super painful

 

[zoe2112]

Thanks for the replies. The mixed hay I only bought yesterday but he had gas with plain timothy hay. I’m going to call the vet and see what he thinks I should do. I’ll look into the Sherwood Forest food. There must be a solution out there! He’s happy today and not currently gassy so his day on hay seems to have been unproblematic.

I suspected as much about the metacam. Freddie will be gutted, he’s mad about the stuff!