does this sound like bloat?

esme has been fine all day - binkying, eating her hay, pellets, veg, demanding nose rubs.

however, i've been in the kitchen tidying up etc for the last hour and she's been totally flopped. didn't cause me any concern as it afternoon and she's usually sleepy at this time but i've noticed that she has wee'd where she was lying. odd as she has been ising her litter tray but i do have 2 guineas in here now too so i wondered if it was their scent:?

a little while ago she seemed to be pressing her front half down to the floor then moving and flopping again. i've changed her litter tray - she didn't try to shove me out of the way. i offered her a pellet - chinned it. fenugreek crunchie - threw it on the floor. banana - ignored it:shock:

i've picked her up and she did her usual digging at me but then hopped off and lay back down.

her belly feels normal but i feel concerned - maybe i'm not usually in here with her at this hour of the day so i'm not sure how long she snoozes for but should i rush to the emergency vets in a flap during this blizzard or leave her snooze for a while and see how she is at her normal tea time?

she's meatloafed now and has (as i said) eaten all of her usual food today.

advice please

Frankie has been chinning pellets and he has had bloat. I'd probably give the emergency vets a call if I was you just to get advice.

hurricanhoney said:

Frankie has been chinning pellets and he has had bloat. I'd probably give the emergency vets a call if I was you just to get advice.

Click to expand...

will do but i don't have much faith in the practise used as the emergency one by my vet

Sounds like gas (especially the pressing her tummy to the floor and not being able to get comfortable). You can sometimes treat at home for gas with metacam, infacol and probiotics...but if it gets to the stage that she's not eating then a trip to the vet is necessary.

Is she drinking normally? If not, try pinching her skin to see if she's dehydrated. A dehydrated bun MUST have fluids...a vet can give subcutaneous fluids, which are more easily absorbed by the body than oral fluids if the bun has a blockage/bloat/etc

it probably a bit of gas, have you given gripe water or infacol and got her to run about to shift it?

this is often how Alvins Stasis starts but hes never gone on to have bloat.

if shes still off in a few hours i think youll need to get her to the vets for pain relief and a good check up to see whats up.

loads of vibes xxxx

thank you.

now trying to find a chemist that may be open as i don't have any infacol or gripe water in. nor metacam

just done the skin pinch test but how would it appear if she is dehydrated? will try find eric to compare his.

should i keep her warm? (she is in a centrally heated house anyway but occasionally she seems to shudder).

poppymoon said:

thank you.

just done the skin pinch test but how would it appear if she is dehydrated? will try find eric to compare his.

should i keep her warm? (she is in a centrally heated house anyway but occasionally she seems to shudder).

Click to expand...

The skin will return to the original position in a healthy rabbit, but will stay 'pinched' in a dehydrated rabbit.

She should be fine in that temperature, you don't want her to overheat. I'd be more inclined to think that the shuddering could possibly be due to pain? Is she grinding her teeth?

Has she poo'd today ?

The 'pinch' test for dehydration is not that reliable in Rabbits. If you do use it its best to check the abdominal skin rather than the scruff/back.

Do her ears feel abnormally cold/warm ?

abbymarysmokey said:

The skin will return to the original position in a healthy rabbit, but will stay 'pinched' in a dehydrated rabbit.

She should be fine in that temperature, you don't want her to overheat. I'd be more inclined to think that the shuddering could possibly be due to pain? Is she grinding her teeth?

Click to expand...

no, she isn't grinding her teeth.

the only odd thing is that she keeps lifting her right leg up and stretching it. she did this once before when she had a tiny bald spot there so i put sudocream on it and it was fine.

Jack's-Jane said:

Has she poo'd today ?

The 'pinch' test for dehydration is not that reliable in Rabbits. If you do use it its best to check the abdominal skin rather than the scruff/back.

Do her ears feel abnormally cold/warm ?

Click to expand...

she has poo'd within the last 20 hours. i first became concerned as i was cleaning out her litter tray and she didn't snatch anything off me.

her ears feel fine.

update

i decided to try the harsh way with essie and annoy her til she moved by sitting on her fleece blanket near to her (she doesn't like her space being invaded unless she wants fuss). she had a good hop around, jumped on me a few times and i gave her a tummy rub. when she seemed pretty lively, i left her to it.

she ate some poop (waste ones not caec but thats normal for her), found the banana and fenugreek crunchie, ate the 3 pellets i'd given her and started looking for more. then i noticed a few really small poops and a splodge of really foul runny poo. only a bit but it must have been bothering her:?

she's demanded nose rubs and is now chomping on hay. i think i'll be keeping a close eye on her in case the poops become too small or too runny.

if it was gas, could the runny bit coming out have eased her discomfort as it seems to have helped?

poppymoon said:

if it was gas, could the runny bit coming out have eased her discomfort as it seems to have helped?

Click to expand...

Yep, you'd expect to see that with gas...hope she continues to improve xx

abbymarysmokey said:

Yep, you'd expect to see that with gas...hope she continues to improve xx

Click to expand...

thank you, i really appreciate the advice. she's snoozing again now but not in an unusual position. fingers crossed