Emergency! NEED HELP NOW!

[Cosima]

ghost got blotted. her belly looks like a pregnant cat and she is hiding in the corner.

 

[hotzcatz]

"Blotted"? Drunk? Ah, most likely 'bloated'. Hmm, that's serious and I've not had any experience with it but there's things about it on the internet.

Did the bun stop eating all of a sudden? If so, then it could be bloat. If the bun gradually stopped eating, then it's G.I. stasis which is treated differently.

Here's a link on bloat: file:///C:/Users/PREFER~1/AppData/Local/Temp/v13n2.pdf Hopefully that will open.

Here's a fairly clinical paper on both stasis and bloat: https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/differentiating-gastrointestinal-stasis-from-gastrointestinal-obstruction-in-domestic-rabbits-oryctolagus-cuniculus/

They mention keeping the patient warm, hydration and pain relief of some sort. I'm not a veterinary, but it sounds like the folks who wrote that are.

 

[Cosima]

Sorry for the spelling mistakes.

 

[Cosima]

I can feel gas and she is not eating. thanks.

 

[Cosima]

what I have done already is massage her belly and put her in a nesting box filled with grass. I have also tried to feed her water with a syringe.

 

[ladysown]

you need to get her moving, remove pellets, feed thistle type plants if she'll eat, but bloat is a tough one to battle. Massage her a lot GENTLY, get some gas drops into her.

 

[a7736100]

A few days ago I posted a link to a youtube video which I thought was a good description of how she medicated her rabbit with GI statis. One moderator decided it was spam so it was deleted. Maybe you can do a search in youtube.

Seriously maybe you should give up rabbits as you seem to have a problem in keeping them in good health. Dogs and cats may be a better fit as they don't die so easily and pretty much any vet can deal with their health problems.

 

[Cosima]

Seriously maybe you should give up rabbits as you seem to have a problem in keeping them in good health. Dogs and cats may be a better fit as they don't die so easily and pretty much any vet can deal with their health problems.

I am not giving up rabbits.

 

[Cosima]

you need to get her moving, remove pellets, feed thistle type plants if she'll eat, but bloat is a tough one to battle. Massage her a lot GENTLY, get some gas drops into her.

I don’t have thistle plants but I do have a hairy Plant. my mother is massaging her gently (she is good at it). I don’t have gas drops.

 

[Cosima]

My mother just update me on ghost‘s state. apparently ghost has eaten a little and here is less gas in her tummy.

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

Seriously maybe you should give up rabbits as you seem to have a problem in keeping them in good health. Dogs and cats may be a better fit as they don't die so easily and pretty much any vet can deal with their health problems.

I don't think we should discourage a person, on Rabbit Talk of all places, from owning rabbits. Yes, Cosima has had lots of health issues with their rabbits, but that shouldn't necessarily mean no rabbits at all. Instead, we should give up on practices we have that cause negative impacts on our rabbits and their health.

@Cosima, I am so sorry that you keep having problems with your buns. I know it must be difficult for you both dealing with this and having limited information for therapeutic plants to alleviate your rabbits' ailments on your side of the world in Indonesia.

I recognize this has been stated in the past to you as well, but I think you should be reevaluating your setup and feeding practices. From what very little I have read from this book, it seems a major issue for meat rabbits in Indonesia is parasites and cleanliness of living areas. It is also possible you have inadvertently offered, or the rabbits have found for themselves, something that is toxic to them causing the bloating you've seen.

What I would suggest is thoroughly cleaning their enclosures. If you have access to disinfectants like a bleach; use that. Be mindful of the bleach runoff, though, as it will kill plant life. You'll need to make sure it is diluted enough to not cause harm when you are discarding it. Ensure there are areas that cannot collect urine or feces build-up and can maintain a level of hygiene for the rabbits. The book I linked above mentioned that switching from deep litter (which I don't believe you are doing) to bamboo slats or wire mesh bottom cages improved the health of the rabbits. It also suggests cleaning their enclosure floor daily. I know you were at one point wanting to do a colony, but cages may be the safest bet. Keep them up off the ground, away from their waste and any possible parasites or diseases in the soil. Clean their enclosure vigorously and frequently.

If you have introduced any new foods into their diets that aren't known are 100% rabbit-safe, stop feeding that. Give them only what you know is 100% safe and healthy for them. If you were ever unsure, either don't feed it or give it to a fryer that you were planning on dispatching eventually anyway.

Another thing to consider is their water source. Is the water clean? Do you offer them the same quality of water you drink? Is potable water difficult to obtain on your island? Perhaps boiling any fresh water on the island first prior to offering the rabbits would be smart. It may become quite a chore, but at least it could help narrow it down should you see any improvements after giving them cooled water treated by boiling.

Keep us updated with how Ghost and your other bunnies are doing. Please also let us know what steps you have taken to help prevent more health problems with your rabbits as we can better tailor our advice.

 

[Cosima]

I think I know the problem. Most people that are raising rabbits in hot climates says that greens have to be dry for a day well I was feeding them fresh greens because i don’t see why the greens would have to be dried but now I will be feeding dried greens only. Ghost is much better now and I think that by tomorrow she will be back to normal.

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

Glad to hear she is getting better! Interesting about drying your greens first. Perhaps there is a bacteria/parasite/virus/etc. that naturally lives in the greens that die during the drying process. Please do let us know how that goes! Documenting your trial and error may make a future Indonesian cuniculturist's life a lot easier.

I do think it is still important to consider cleaning (and disinfecting if you can) of their enclosures. Especially after sudden bloat; you would not want that to spread if it were an outside source other than food/water.

 

[Cosima]

Okay I will but I only have vinegar and alcohol (I think).

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

Alcohol would be a better choice as it requires less time to disinfect and kills more than vinegar does. If you have only vinegar, though, just keep the areas soaked in vinegar for a long time before rinsing away. That said, I looked into it a short bit ago and found that vinegar won't kill all viruses (it is better for bacteria and moulds). You could try boiling the vinegar (do not inhale the steam) to maybe help kill off anything extra, but I've not confirmed the effectiveness of that.

Ultimately, though, you may have much better luck with maintaining their health if you cage them with wire floors so they are off the ground and away from their own waste. That way you can eliminate unsanitary conditions or tainted soil as a cause.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

If there is an issue with water quality, would iodine work? I keep betadine in the rabbitry for any scratches I get from the metals etc. On occasion I have sprayed a tiny bit into their water if I thought it was getting stale. I know a small amount of iodine can disinfect quite a bit of water. Also ivermectin is good for parasites. I don't think it's a good idea to put that in the water though LOL

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

If there is an issue with water quality, would iodine work? I keep betadine in the rabbitry for any scratches I get from the metals etc. On occasion I have sprayed a tiny bit into their water if I thought it was getting stale. I know a small amount of iodine can disinfect quite a bit of water.

Absolutely iodine will work to disinfect the water! It does great at killing both bacteria and viruses and, as you stated, does not require a whole lot of it to get the water to safe levels. That being said, you do have to limit intake of iodine as it can cause thyroid issues. When I do backcountry camping, I never drink it for more than 20 days as recommended by the bottle. I would also assume you would not want to give any water treated with iodine to a pregnant or nursing doe, as it is warned to never use iodine on a pregnant human. Some people (and I'm sure rabbits) also have an iodine sensitivity so could react poorly to iodine-treated water. You would use 5-10 drops of liquid iodine per every litre of water depending on how cloudy and cold it is. That would be about 0.2-0.5 grams per litre, if you use the tablets. Let the water sit for 45-60 minutes before drinking.

Another alternative is using chlorine (unscented bleach) to treat water. I've known more people to be allergic to bleach than iodine, though. There are no known issues outside of an allergy or not diluting it enough (poisoning yourself), as far as I recall. You would add 4 drops of bleach per litre of water. Let that sit for at least 30 minutes. If the water is cloudy after that, or there is no faint chlorine smell then you must repeat the process (4 drops/litre sitting for 30min) until it is clear and has the faint scent. If the chlorine scent is very strong, do not drink it. Dilute it with more water and check it again after a half hour.

I tend to opt for boiling clear water and using a chemical treatment for cloudy water. If I were home, I'd use bleach for chemical treatment. If I were camping, I'd use iodine for chemical treatment.

All said, be sure you do your own research prior to treating non-potable water. Use the above guidance as reference only.