What does bloat look like?

[FourRingCircus]

I have two sets of kits - one batch is close to 8 weeks old, the other 5 or 6 (don't have my records in front of me). I have been feeding occasional plantain, dandelion and wild blackberry canes to them without issue (since the moms have had it consistently at least once a week, usually more). Tonight I dropped some more blackberry pieces in that I had weeded out from another area, not a huge amount, but a long enough piece that they could all chew on it. I went back a little later and was handling them and all the babies bellies seemed to be pretty full... not sure if it's gas or just well fed since I had also topped off pellets. Should I be concerned about bloat at this point? Anything to look for specifically to know one way or the other, or just wait it out? No gas drops in the house, unfortunately, or I could give them a little each as a precaution. <br /><br /> -- Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:01 pm -- <br /><br /> I just went out to check on them and the younger groups bellies have gone down, the older ones are still noticeably poochy. I massaged each one and plan on checking on them first thing in the morning, one didn't feel quite as full as the others so I am hoping that's a good sign... They don't seem to be uncomfortable at this point. Hopefully the gas (I assume) will work it's way out by morning :x

 

[Petlover500]

Normal belly full of food:

Bloated belly:

(I know this is a squirrel or something, but it represents the same thing)

I wouldn't be too concerned unless they look like the last picture.
But if you suspect bloat I would stop giving them the extra stuff- especially the younger kits
I hope they are alright!

 

[Zass]

True bloat is incredibly painful and nearly always fatal.

It's not something you can second guess.
You will recognize it with 100% confidence if you ever see it.

I've had it happen only once. The bun was euthanized, and immediate autopsy was preformed to provide this pic.

Every part of the intestines were inflated to their maximum capacity.

Beyond the ability to recover.



Here is what medirabbit has to say:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_disease ... /bloat.htm

Bloat is a dreaded condition in rabbits, with poor prognosis, causing excruciating pain. Most rabbit savvy vets often opt to humanely put the rabbit to sleep, to spare it more suffering.

Bloat is caused by an abnormal accumulation of gas that leads to an extreme distension of the stomach. The stomach feels hard and the rabbit looks like a “balloon”. The rabbit shows signs of terrible pain and may have difficulties to breath properly. When bloat reaches a certain point in rabbits, it becomes irreversible. This is due to the facts that the stomach wall of rabbits is not as elastic as in many other animals. The distended stomach (its volume can double) will, furthermore, compress the main blood vessels that lead blood to and from the heart, causing secondary cardiovascular collapse and heart failure. Blood electrolyte imbalance lead to convulsions. At this stage, the condition is fatal.

Causes of bloat remain unknown. It may related to overeating, exercising immediately after eating are suspected in most animals, lack of fiber in the diet, change of diet, excessive drinking or stress, or result from a pyloric blockage, gastric ulcers or other digestive problems.

 

[Petlover500]

Even tho I'm not the OP, thanks for the image and info Zass! I always learn from your posts!

 

[FourRingCircus]

Well, the bellies are still pretty round, but not at all hard. Pretty squishy. So either they have been like that I just didn't notice until I was somewhat looking for it, or there's some gas that's in there, but not actual bloat (hopefully). Still eating and drinking (at least I saw a couple of them eat and drink while I was checking on them this morning). I massaged again. No evidence of diarrhea or anything. They have had the blackberry canes before, but I usually trim off the new growth from the top, this was further toward the bottom. I wonder if it was tougher, woodier thus making it a bit harder to digest?