Rabbit May Possibly Have Gas

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haeller

haeller

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Hello again! I apologize if this was posted in the wrong forum and/or section.

We believe one of our rabbits may have gas in her stomach. She is sitting awkwardly and barely shows any interest in the food we tried to give her. We looked up her symptoms and think that she may have gas from all the lettuce and sweet potatoes we have been feeding her. Could anyone please tell us how to treat this problem without accidentally harming her?

We heard that massaging the bunny may help, but another site advised against it. Someone gave her a massage anyway, and the bunny moved to the bedding box to possibly poop. Another site suggested to give the bunny a simethicone product orally such as Infant’s Phazyme or Infant’s Mylicon. Is this fine to give to the rabbit? If not, what medicine do you suggest? We appreciate all help and are praying that our rabbit will be fine.
 
Hi,

I only had that problem once, that is what I learned:

Simithecone is fine, about 20mg per serving if I remember correctly. The concentration in various baby drops differ a lot, so you have to calculate a little. I soaked some oatmeal with it, works fine if they still eat. If not, syringe feed it in very small drops. Never heard that simithecone did any harm.

Massage: I have limited experience, but my doe (which I normally must never touch there) accepted it, and it seemed to bring her relief. I put her on my lap, fingers under her belly and massaged, heard some gurgling sounds - good thing, I guess, if there'S something moving. She let me do that for about 10-15 minutes per session.

Trust your feelings about what helps and what not, nothing on the internet can trump your first hand experience.
 
additionally, forcing the rabbit to hop around can help move things along too. they usually won't want to, but putting them outside on grass in a pen or gently chasing them around the house just to get them moving for a few minutes i've found really helps. every now and then one of my rabbits gets gas and a quick jaunt around almost always perks them up.
 
Is she pooping? And are the poops normal?

Is she eating at all? Is she drinking? Make sure she has a crock or bowl of water if she has a bottle. It is easier for the rabbit to drink its fill that way and it essential to keep it hydrated.

The advice you have already been given is good, but I do wonder if it is gas. Please give us a little more information to work with. Also how long has this been going on?
 



Thank you all for the advice and answers! We gave her a massage and let her run around for a while. That seemed to really help because she seems more comfortable and willing to eat.

MaggieJ: We cleaned the litter box again so that we could check if she could poop. It seemed that she did go because we found some after she ran around. The droppings looked normal. As for eating, after we let her out, she came back into the cage and started to eat. We also gave her some water to drink (not from a bottle).

We assumed it was gas because she sat in awkward positions. She tried to avoid sitting on her stomach and constantly shifted her position. She refused to move from her corner, and when we tried to feed her favorite treats to her, she apathetically sniffed it before moving her head away. When we looked up these symptoms, the results pointed to gas. As for the time, it started today around 3:00 and persisted until we gave her a massage and let her out.
 
Glad she seems to be doing better! It does sound like it may have been gas. Probably she passed some of it when she was running around. I know you'll continue to keep a close eye on her and post again if there is reason for concern.

:clover: :clover: :clover:
 
MaggieJ":3j0wuj2z said:
Glad she seems to be doing better! It does sound like it may have been gas. Probably she passed some of it when she was running around. I know you'll continue to keep a close eye on her and post again if there is reason for concern.

:clover: :clover: :clover:
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Yes, she is doing much better! She is now eating and drinking normally. We gave her another massage, and she did poop a bit more. And yes, we will post again if we encounter something negative. Thank you for the response!
 
We assumed it was gas because she sat in awkward positions. She tried to avoid sitting on her stomach and constantly shifted her position. She refused to move from her corner, and when we tried to feed her favorite treats to her, she apathetically sniffed it before moving her head away. When we looked up these symptoms, the results pointed to gas. As for the time, it started today around 3:00 and persisted until we gave her a massage and let her out.
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I know this has been resolved and the bunny is ok but if it ever happens again I think it was GI stasis which is a slowing down of digestive system and can lead to a blockage, sometimes caused by ingesting fur during molt- and it creates discomfort gas and dehydration. If it ever happens again this is what I do. First thing I do is syringe electrolyte/fluids pedialyte if you buy it or you can look up a recipe online for 'baby electrolyte recipe" and make it cheaply- So I syringe to hydrate the rabbit because if its not eating it may not have been drinking. Then massage rabbit and keep rabbit warm, and the semithicone. I syringe Electrolyte fluids instead of food (incase it is a blockage) and also to keep the bunny hydrated. I have 12 Jersey Woolies, fluffy like angora, and this has happened to me several times. I have even given an enema. Its also a common ailment in rabbits. So this is the article I recommend most:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
 

Thank you for the advice and for the article! It is very helpful to know this.
 

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