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Zantac

Tenzing

New Kit
My bun is having some tummy issues and has just had a molar filing with GA.
She is taking Zantac - I have been told 0.3ml x2 a day.
She does well on this, but when I stop giving it the problems of bad gas return.
We got to 1 dose a day and she was fine, then a day after stopping there was
more trouble again.
Vet seems happy to keeping giving it.

Wondering if others are treating their buns with Zantac and how long for.
Wondering if she will need to take a small dose always now or if will
settle as she regains health.

Have been advised to give "more natural" diet to help with teeth in future
but adjusting to that slowly. At the moment she is mostly eating chamomile
from the garden and a few other herbs and little dandelions. Just started tucking
into hay again today after ignoring it for a week.

Am just giving little and often to avoid more bloating. So scary when they
flop out with tummy pain.

Thanks for any experiences of this.
 
My bun is having some tummy issues and has just had a molar filing with GA.
She is taking Zantac - I have been told 0.3ml x2 a day.
She does well on this, but when I stop giving it the problems of bad gas return.
We got to 1 dose a day and she was fine, then a day after stopping there was
more trouble again.
Vet seems happy to keeping giving it.

Wondering if others are treating their buns with Zantac and how long for.
Wondering if she will need to take a small dose always now or if will
settle as she regains health.

Have been advised to give "more natural" diet to help with teeth in future
but adjusting to that slowly. At the moment she is mostly eating chamomile
from the garden and a few other herbs and little dandelions. Just started tucking
into hay again today after ignoring it for a week.

Am just giving little and often to avoid more bloating. So scary when they
flop out with tummy pain.

Thanks for any experiences of this.

As I mentioned on your thread in Health, only your Vet can advise you about the Zantac, it is a prescription only medication. It is not 'normal' for a Rabbit to need the medication longterm. It is important to try to find out why the gas problems keep recurring. I do understand that repeated Vet trips can become costly, but just giving a medication longterm without really knowing what the cause of the problem is may do more harm than good. Perhaps you could give the Vet a call and see if he/she can give you some advice over the telephone ?

Zantac does not really address a gas problem, it can, however, increase gut motility which can then reduce the build up of painful gas. But as previously mentioned, you really need the Vet to try to establish why your Rabbit still has a reduced gut motility. The Vet may suggest keeping on with the Zantac for a few more days and the re-assess things.
 
My bun is having some tummy issues and has just had a molar filing with GA.
She is taking Zantac - I have been told 0.3ml x2 a day.
She does well on this, but when I stop giving it the problems of bad gas return.
We got to 1 dose a day and she was fine, then a day after stopping there was
more trouble again.
Vet seems happy to keeping giving it.

Wondering if others are treating their buns with Zantac and how long for.
Wondering if she will need to take a small dose always now or if will
settle as she regains health.

Have been advised to give "more natural" diet to help with teeth in future
but adjusting to that slowly. At the moment she is mostly eating chamomile
from the garden and a few other herbs and little dandelions. Just started tucking
into hay again today after ignoring it for a week.

Am just giving little and often to avoid more bloating. So scary when they
flop out with tummy pain.

Thanks for any experiences of this.

I'm glad your bunny is eating hay now, that's a very good sign and will help with her digestive issues!

I have to say though, that vets usually give Prokinetics (i.e. metaclopromide) when rabbits have stasis issues, which is what I think you are describing.

Can you go back to your vet (or ring up) and ask for some because the problems are not entirely resolved?
 
Still very worried here. Vet said to continue with Zantac and we also gave probiotics. She has made slow progress and I thought was ok, poo normal and looking like herself. Yesterday I gave half a dose of Zantac x 2 (0.15ml) and she seemed fine. When I came down this morning she seemed to be spitting out her poos and was flat and looking so unwell. I gave Zantac 0.3 and she seems a little better already.

Am wondering how long she will need to keep going on the Zantac - it seems to work for her but do I just keep on with it? Will review again today and speak to the vet but would appreciate others experiences of how long their buns have taken to recover.
Thanks x
 
Still very worried here. Vet said to continue with Zantac and we also gave probiotics. She has made slow progress and I thought was ok, poo normal and looking like herself. Yesterday I gave half a dose of Zantac x 2 (0.15ml) and she seemed fine. When I came down this morning she seemed to be spitting out her poos and was flat and looking so unwell. I gave Zantac 0.3 and she seems a little better already.

Am wondering how long she will need to keep going on the Zantac - it seems to work for her but do I just keep on with it? Will review again today and speak to the vet but would appreciate others experiences of how long their buns have taken to recover.
Thanks x

Personally I would want the Vet to consider running some diagnostics at this stage. It is certainly not normal for a Rabbit to need to remain on Zantac longterm and if they do have to it is important to try to establish why. So I would make an appointment with the Vet so that he/she can re-examine your Rabbit and you can also discuss what more could be done to try to establish the cause of her GI tract problems.
 
Yes thanks. I have read on old posts about people giving their buns "maintenance" dose, so it was this I was hoping to learn more about. Thanks.
 
Doughnut is on zantac long term and I give her infracol for her gas as it doesn't address the gas issue. Infracol doesn't go into the blood stream so it's very safe to use. I give her 0.7ml twice a day she's only small 1.3kg but most give 1ml and you can give that amount again in an hour if the gas hasn't gone. It seems to help most bunnies.

Doughnut's dose is 0.3ml twice a day of zantac but she is also on metoclopramide too, both long term but I would go back to the vets to find out the root of your bunnies problem. Mine suffers from acid reflux which is really unusual in bunnies and the medicine prevents it.
 
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Still very worried here. Vet said to continue with Zantac and we also gave probiotics. She has made slow progress and I thought was ok, poo normal and looking like herself. Yesterday I gave half a dose of Zantac x 2 (0.15ml) and she seemed fine. When I came down this morning she seemed to be spitting out her poos and was flat and looking so unwell. I gave Zantac 0.3 and she seems a little better already.

Am wondering how long she will need to keep going on the Zantac - it seems to work for her but do I just keep on with it? Will review again today and speak to the vet but would appreciate others experiences of how long their buns have taken to recover.
Thanks x

Zantac is fine to give to rabbits over a period of time, but if there's no improvement, why will your vet not consider Metaclopromide?

Probiotics are all very well, but both probiotics and prebiotics do absolutely no good at all according to exotics specialists. They do no harm but will not help your bunny get better.
 
Just to let you know my exotic specialist recommends metaclopromide over zantac for GA problems, sometimes both are prescribed.
 
She had 3 sachets of probiotics in her water (1 a day). Rather expensive at £10 for the three I thought. Vet said they can help and would do no harm. I was keen to give anything that might help get her hopping about again. Can't really say if they have helped possibly not.
 
It seems to have all been a knock on from dental problem and I think now she is recovering from the GA. She is doing well today. She has had a sensitive tum for a while. We are going for a more natural diet now on vet advise.
 
She had 3 sachets of probiotics in her water (1 a day). Rather expensive at £10 for the three I thought. Vet said they can help and would do no harm. I was keen to give anything that might help get her hopping about again. Can't really say if they have helped possibly not.

I have just posted this on another thread - there's a lot of 'mystery' behind the use of probiotics and prebiotics. Exotic specialists now believe that the rabbit's stomach acid destroys both of these, and you shouldn't rely on them as a means of getting your rabbit well again. Also, be aware that there is no evidence that they help when you spend lots of money on them :shock:

From Frances Harcourt-Brown's Owners Day this year:

Pre-biotics and probiotics were mentioned. It has been shown that they may increase the rate at which commercial rabbits can be grown, there is no evidence to support any medical benefit to rabbits or if they can help rebalance gut flora in poorly rabbits.
 
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