Back from vets - bloat. Help! UPDATE P25

Long history with my bunny of suddeny refusing to eat or drink and pressing tummy to floor, back to normal within 24 hrs. Sen alot of vets and thankfully I have now found the most bunny savvy of them.

He had his last attack two months ago and vet suggested I be obsessive about his food intake and weigh it all and keep it exact same every day which I have done.

He was totally fine at 4pm today, racing around and crawling up my leg asking for food.

Went out and came back at 5.15 to find what I thought was a dead bunny:shock: He was laid out totally on his side with eyes almost closed until I realised he was shaking tremendously , I touched him and he jumped up and raced around then collapsed again. Cue phone call to vet and told to rush him in. He perked up alot on way but still ill for him. Vet said after exam that he was sure it was to do with stomach emptying and he had bloat. He gave him loxacam and metaclopramide injections and said to see if I could get hm some fresh pineapple as this can help but would need to syringe him as he won't eat or drink at all.
I have got loxacom pain relief for him to have at home but if he is no better in the morning and is still not eating or drinking he is to go back.

I was going to keep him in the house tonight but he would not come out of his carrier and looked very scared so took him out to his enclosure and he straight away came out of carrier and when and laid in his bed in his hutch so put heatpad in with him and left him food and water. I hate thought of him being outside on his own and not well but he is obviously happier in familier surroundings. What would you do with him, keep him inside which is scary for him or leave him in his cage overnight?????

I know I need fresh pineapple and vet said 5ml twice a day, can't get one tonight but will be able to tomorrow, vet said to give it to him for about 4 days even if he is back to normal.

I would be very grateful for any advice from anyone who has experience of frequent episodes of bloat.

Aw, hope he feels better soon. If you can gently get him to move around (but don't stress him) and some gentle tummy rubs. You could also check with your vet if you could give him some infacol or gripe water which can help to disperse gas.

Sending him lots of vibes x

Please bring ya bunny inside so u can watch him overnight keep him warm sending millions of get well vibes x

Bringing him inside would also help if it does not stress him out but do keep him as warm as possible.

Did the Vet not suggest admitting him ?

To be honest it sounds as though he needs intensive care including IV fluids.

If it is his stomach that is bloated I am very surprised that he was given Metoclopromide. I assume the Vet took an abdominal Xray and did a blood glucose test to be as sure as possible that there is not a full obstruction

I would definitely bring him indoors. He sounds to be extremely sick and he wont be able to maintain his body temperature. This could quickly lead to hypothermia.

We are going to bring him inside tonight.

I am not sure exactly what vet said you know how your memory goes. He was talking generally about stomach issues and gut issues in rabbits. Bunny has been like this many many times in the two half years we have had him ( he is seven and half) and he has always recovered totally without any medication within 24 hrs. No other vet has ever even given him any medication and I have taken him to vets every single time. I can only assume from this that he does not have an obstruction or he would not recover compeltely in 24 hrs????? All the vets have thought it was a gas problem.

If he is not 100% tomrorrow morning he will be staight back to vets and I will ask about x rays and bloods etc.

Is ya bunny eating and drinking and moving about now xx

I agree with Jane - I am surprised vet didn't admit him as he sounds very poorly.

By time I got him to vets he had perked up alot although not his normal self and this is what always happens.

I would not expect him to start eating or drinking until tomorrow morning at least if he does his usual thing, the longest he was like this was a full 24 hrs and then he was back to normal.

If he is still not eating or drinking first thing in the moring I will def go straight back and get them to do further tests.

He is now inside. He is in his hay filled litter tray which is huge and he is restless, one minute stretching himself out on his tummy then 10 mins later moving to a different position. This is how he usually is when he is like this.


The painkiller and metaclopramide have had not obvious effects, the vet was wondering if he would improve alot with pain refief.

As I have said he has been like this without food or water for up to 18 hrs in the past before suddenly improving and been totally back to normal within 24 hrs so he is not any worse than he had been in the past.

I have a feeling we will be back at vets in morning. I will keep him in house overnight so he stays warm as he was not on his heatpad when we went to bring him in.

bunkin said:

He is now inside. He is in his hay filled litter tray which is huge and he is restless, one minute stretching himself out on his tummy then 10 mins later moving to a different position. This is how he usually is when he is like this.


The painkiller and metaclopramide have had not obvious effects, the vet was wondering if he would improve alot with pain refief.

As I have said he has been like this without food or water for up to 18 hrs in the past before suddenly improving and been totally back to normal within 24 hrs so he is not any worse than he had been in the past.

I have a feeling we will be back at vets in morning. I will keep him in house overnight so he stays warm as he was not on his heatpad when we went to bring him in.

Click to expand...

Could you call the Vet again and request that he is admitted ? It sounds as though he is still in a lot of pain and most probably needs much stronger analgesia. That is what I would do anyway.

Jane he has just passed some very soft poos which he then stood on and squashed so I have cleaned him up. could the metaclopramide do this as he has never done this before during one of his attacks but this is first time he has had this drug??

bunkin said:

Jane he has just passed some very soft poos which he then stood on and squashed so I have cleaned him up. could the metaclopramide do this as he has never done this before during one of his attacks but this is first time he has had this drug??

Click to expand...

Metoclopromide increases motility in the upper GI tract rather than the cecum. It may be that things have started to move through though.

I am waiting for the emergency vet to ring me back Jane. Doubt it will be a vet from my practise but will see what they say.

Hope vet calls you back soon.

Got a call from a vet from the practise who had all his notes in front of her. She said he had had a large dose of painkiller and if she was to give him anything else she could not be sure if he would survive it given his age and the fact he is not well. She made me an appt for tomorrow morning and said he should have some tests done.

She did say that the nearest rabbit specialist vet is in Edinburgh!!! She said that any scan/xray would rule out a blockage but as he has passed soft poos she is certian he does not have a blockage. She said that only a rabbit specialist vet would have enough knowledge of rabbit digestive system on scan to diagnose anything else which was not encouraging although truthful!

He is in his litter tray in our sitting room in the warm with food and water and a makeshift cage around him for overnight.

Its heartbreaking to see your bunny poorly sick

She did say to ring her overnight if he got worse.

I hope he gets better, it's so awful when you can't do anything x

Hope things improve overnight.
(Think vet could speak to rabbit specialist vet on phone for advice - & fax scan through - if necessary).

I was hoping they could find out who the specialist vet was and ask for advice. This vet said she wasn't sure if she ( specialist) vet was still in Edinburgh. Anyone know who she is talking about in Edinburgh??

My Daisy often has episodes like you describe sometimes she is ok again in half an hour, other times it goes on for much longer. Usually the vet cannot find anything wrong. I personally think she gets gassy which causes her pain, and she keeps shifting position to try and get rid of it. It is very worrying I hope your bunny feels better very soon xxx