lola starting with tummy problems

well as some of you may know, Frida has had bouts of GI stasis on and off for months now. we seem to have got this under control with a strict diet.

sadly in november, lola (who is my frenchie - now almost 6) had a bout of GI Stasis. we caught it fast and she had treatment at the vets and returned to normal pretty quickly.

on weds i realised that she wasnt eating properly and hadnt done many droppings during the day. we gave her tummy rubs but by midnight her stomach felt like there was a football in it we took her to the vets at midnight and thankfully our normal vet was the emergency vet that night. she had fluids, painkiller and gut motility injections and seemed to perk up. overnight she did lots of droppings and her appetite came back. she saw the vet again on thursday who said she seemed better. she's on zantac twice daily and maxolon daily. but her stomach is still quite swollen even though her appetite has been good.

but in the past few hours it feels really swollen again and she's looking grumpy. she is eating but doesnt seem right - i think we'll be back at the vets by the end of the night. i've got her in the living room with me at the moment to keep an eye on her - im trying the tummy rubs and have given her her meds.

i cant work out whats causing these bouts - her diet hasnt been changed - she doesnt get many SS pellets or greens anymore - all the bunnies have been cut down since Frida started with GI. she eats tons of hay - in fact she still is eating tons now. the hay is from the normal place and isnt damp or mouldy. i am wondering if its something to do with her age now - she has slowed down a lot in the past 2 mnths - its been noticeable how much she seems to have aged. she sleeps most of the time now whereas she was pretty boisterous before. when rebecca chekced her over she said she was healthy, her teeth are perfect - she is just getting old.

any ideas - and can we have some vibes please.

thanks

Sarah.

Is her abdomen bloated or could it actually be oedema (fluid build up) as a result of a heart condition ?

Has the Vet listened carefully to Lola's heart ?
As Lola is more lethargic than normal that *might* indicated age related heart failure
Is she making greater respiratory effort? ( rib-cage going in and out like a pair of bellows)
Reduced GI motility may be a secondary symptom

Janex

Lots of vibes for her.

My rabbits suffer quite badly with GI Stasis, sometimes I can attribute it to certain things (like Smokey moulting or eating something out of the ordinary) but most of the time, it just seems to happen.

Is she getting enough exercise? I know that as she ages, this gets more difficult but I've found, particularly with Inky, that making him hop around a bit when he has GI Stasis seems to help.

she's got the full access to one floor of the house and does move about when food is involved. i dont want to chase her about (i do with frida when she starts with gi) as she's a big girl, getting old and i dont want to make things worse

at the moment she's lying down but she's just eaten. i must admit that the things that jane said are making sense - she has been kind of "huffing" now and again lately and the swelling is kind of lopsided.

i dont know whether i should take her back tonight to the emergency vets, or take her to rebecca in the morning.

sarahbarnsley said:

she's got the full access to one floor of the house and does move about when food is involved. i dont want to chase her about (i do with frida when she starts with gi) as she's a big girl, getting old and i dont want to make things worse

at the moment she's lying down but she's just eaten. i must admit that the things that jane said are making sense - she has been kind of "huffing" now and again lately and the swelling is kind of lopsided.

i dont know whether i should take her back tonight to the emergency vets, or take her to rebecca in the morning.

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I have replied to your PM

Janex

How is Lola? x

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