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How do you prevent bloat?

faline

Young Bun
falineandmyhands.jpg
On Friday we lost Faline due to her tummy stopping working and bloat. :(
In 2004 we lost Petal also to bloat, her tummy was hard. :angel
1-petalbabydollRIP.jpg

If anyone knows how to prevent bloat as we have now lost a bunny and a guinea pig too it would love to hear it. We NEVER knew bunnies could get bloat, with Petal did bloat kill her or the treatment?
Took her to a so called piggy expert who sedated her and stuck a tube down her thoart, then we paid for her to stay in over night and she was left all alone and passed during the night to a heart attack.
Hoping someone can help me against this silent killer, it may be too late for Faline and Petal but it is handy to knowledge to have. :love:
 
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I'm so sorry you lost Petal and Faline to bloat, it is a nasty illness and frighteningly common sadly. :cry: You must be devastated to have lost your bun on Thursday :cry: so sorry.

Bloat is sadly a sort of run away train of events and can happen so quickly that it is very difficult for us as caregivers to spot the early signs of a problem, not to mention the fact that buns (and piggies) both being prey animals will hide any signs of pain until they can no longer.
The best way to prevent bloat is to reduce the risk by trying to remove as many trigger factors as possible, things like a good diet, high in fibre, keeping stress to a minimum, watching sugar and carbohydrates in the diet to make sure the bacteria in the gut don't get out of balance, plenty of exercise, treating any other health problems as early as possible including pain relief when necessary, watching grass in Spring when it is very gas producing etc, and keeping bun away from any foreign objects that could be eaten or chewed that could cause a blockage, and brushing bun regularly to control fur intake into the gut etc.

But sadly there are often things that happen beyond our control and that even the veterinary profession do not fully understand yet. Some buns can bloat out of nowhere with no one knowing why or being able to find a reason, and sometimes with the best will in the world we can not prevent these occassions, and very sadly sometimes we can not help bunny or piggy to overcome it, despite the best medical intervention.

Buns are the most remarkable creatures but they are sadly also very fragile :cry:
I'm so sorry you lost your bun, sometimes bloat can not be prevented or resolved. :cry:
 
I am so sorry for your losses faline & Dobbin.

I agree totally with pretty lupin's post.
Some bunnies have sensitive tummies. We cannot stop it from happening, but we can try to reduce the risk factors, be aware of the 1st. signs (often very subtle), & get help from a good rabbit specialist vet fast.
If no rabbit specialist vet is available, an ordinary vet can contact certain veterinary referral centers for further advice, but we may have to ask them to do so, & provide a telephone number.

A strict diet, high in fiber, & plenty of excercise, are paramount.
A very old fashioned preventative measure, not mentioned in the books, is a few dried coarse bramble leaves, fed with hay. If the bunny really "goes for them" they are doing good.

Bloat is one form of gastroinestinal stasis, in which the gut slows & the contents ferment producing a lot of gas. There are some excellent sites both on RU & on "Google" explaining the basics. eg.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=ra...ntestinal+stasis&gs_rfai=&fp=3aa7b5ddeb415f6e

It is important for the vet to exclude an underlying dental issue, pain from illness elsewhere in the bunny eg urinary bladder sludge/infection anywhere/ sore hocks.

Perhaps you would like to read & come back to us wih further questions.
 
Hi and so sorry for your tragic losses :(
i agree entirely with everything said above. The only other thing i would add is that with my bun timmy who has had bloat before, i avoid "gassy" veggies such as cabbage and broccolli and keep carbs and sugar to a minimum.
Sorry again :(
 
I am so sorry for your losses faline & Petal.
A strict diet, high in fiber, & plenty of excercise, are paramount.
A very old fashioned preventative measure, not mentioned in the books, is a few dried coarse bramble leaves, fed with hay. If the bunny really "goes for them" they are doing good.
QUOTE]

I am not sure we have brambles here in Australia, I have never heard of them except in novels.
Faline 8 weeks when we got her, when she got to 5 months old we wanted to have her desexed but our vet then said NO, he would NOT do her.
About 3 months ago, Faline started to drink alot of water, in March we booked her in and got her desexed, she had a mass on her uterus. BUT she recovered excellent from the surgery(NO pain killers).
Here in South Australia animals that are NOT cats, dogs or horses suffer when it comes to vets.
When Petal the guinea pig had bloat in 2004, 3 vets asked me had she thrown up?
Animals like bunnies and piggies vets only learn about these animals as lab animals, and sadly people here feel taking these animals to the vet a waste of money! They find it cheaper to replace that to fix, like bunnies and piggies are usually kids pets, bunny takes sick, BUT bunny is say white, instead of taking bunny to the vet, parents will just get another white bunny, kids never know.
Back in 2006, we bought Jessie the guinea pig for $10.00, in October 2009 Jessie had abscesses in manible(Jaw) since October 2009 we have spent over $3,000.00 at the vet getting Jessie better(still not there) WHY? Because we love our animals, they are our babies and they mean the world to us! The love animals give is precious!
Thanks for the replies I will have a read but brambles, not sure if we have them. :?
 
Oh no thats auwful :( rabbits and piggys are just as valid and cherished companions as dogs and cats are and should be offered the exact same level of care and respect. Its horrible that people could think that way :censored:

thank god that theres lovely animal lovers like you out there. Any bun that ends up with you is very lucky :)
 
I'm so silly faline, I didn't look at where you live.
You don't have brambles in Australia.
There are at least 2 forum members from Australia (I realise it's a very BIG place). I hope they may be able to help.
 
Hi Faline, :wave:

I have recently found out that brambles are blackberries and have been feeding them to our buns ever since. I had always fed the leaves if a bun was a bit off colour but now feed the canes (with the thorns clipped) for extra fibre.
 
I forgot to mention, we fed Faline the same as Jessie the guinea pig, Oaten hay, Timothy hay, Grass, picked fresh daily, spinach, silverbeet, carrott, cucumber, buk choy, parsley or a herb like dill, basil etc, rocket or kale, small amount of brocoli, small amount of celery, apple. As for water after she was desexed Faline hardly drank water.
Blackberries are brambles, we could get blackberries but would have to find a bush to get the canes. Might ask the vet about this for Jessie the piggy. Thanks to all the replies, i am off for more reading. :)
:wave: Lobo are you in Oz too?
 
Hi faline,
Bunnies need the leaves & canes of blackberries for their tummies.
They grow like weeds in this country, spread by birds eating the fruits. It's easy to take cuttings too.

How are you getting on with the reading? The medical jargon can make it tough going unless you're used to it. I hope this diagram in a paper will help. You need to pan down a bit to see it.

www.mekarn.org/prorab/leng.htm

ETA you seem to be doing the right things with diet. I wonder whether sadly Faline had some microscopic spread of her tumour, & this was what caused the final stasis.
 
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I forgot to mention, we fed Faline the same as Jessie the guinea pig, Oaten hay, Timothy hay, Grass, picked fresh daily, spinach, silverbeet, carrott, cucumber, buk choy, parsley or a herb like dill, basil etc, rocket or kale, small amount of brocoli, small amount of celery, apple. As for water after she was desexed Faline hardly drank water.
Blackberries are brambles, we could get blackberries but would have to find a bush to get the canes. Might ask the vet about this for Jessie the piggy. Thanks to all the replies, i am off for more reading. :)
:wave: Lobo are you in Oz too?

I am in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

Blackberries are actually a bit of a problem here, invading all areas and taking over from the native flora. As they are mostly considered noxious weeds, take care if you wild harvest. They could be sprayed with poisons by local authorities.
 
After reading the links maybe thumps_ is right with the tumor or she may have had a blockage due to a hairball. As she was really moulting and no matter how much we brushed her there was just more fur. She was getting her winter coat and fur/hair was just every where.
Many thanks to all who replied to this post, too late for Faline I have learnt something about this disease and the terrible things it does. It sound similar to colic in horses and irratable bowel in people.
Also we cleaned Faline's cage on Thursday, she passed on Friday, we cleaned the cage again on Monday and there were poops in the cage, normal size and texture.
Hoping one day there will be a cure to this and many other diseases! Many thanks to you all! :wave:
 
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