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Constipated rabbit - please help!

B

Benjiandbarney

Warren Scout
Hi everyone,
I have noticed for the last couple days that my bun Barney is not being himself. He is just hunched up in a corner most of the time. Also noticed that he only eats a tiny bit a day and I thnk he may be constipated. When he tried to go nothing comes out :eek:( He has not poo-ed for 2-3 days. We are taking him to the vet tomorrow, but is there something I can do in the mean time??
Manythanks, Claire
 
Do a search on GI statis hun, there will be loads of info on there for you.

If possible I would not hold out until tomorrow, buns can go downhill very rapidly and its possible that your bun will need a gut stimulant to get things moving again.

In the meantime, try some fresh pineapple juice that might help things to get moving.

Also people have suggested INFACOL in the past to help things if it is statis - this was taken from a past post (by alisonA)

Well I've done a search and discovered that the usual dose is 2ml and then 1ml hourly thereafter if necessary
Click to expand...

Good luck with your bun, but I'd really try to get to the vet ASAP.
 
Hello! Yes I'd agree that he really needs to see a vet today. I don't want to scare you unnecessarily but tomorrow could well be too late.

If his guts have stopped moving (which if he hasn't pood for a couple of days, it sounds as if they have) this can cause a build up of toxic bacteria in the intestines which will poison your bunny :cry: Being hunched in a corner also indicates that he is in pain. I think it's too late for infacol to help your bunny, he really does need to see a vet today. I know it will be expensive for a weekend call out but honestly it sounds as if your bunny is in pain and needs pain relief and a gut stimulant. Please let us know how you get on.
 
If it is constipation and not a stasis problem, I have found lettuce helped with my buns in the past, it's the only time I will give it to them along with dandelion.
 
I have to agree with the others. The sooner he gets to the vets the better as they can put him on gut stimulents and also pain relief intravenously.
Hope all goes well and let us know how you get on.
 
I would force feed w/ syringe on baby food. Baby food are liquid in general, so even if Barney is constipated, the poos would be building up as much.

An easy way to fix constipation is to eat something soft, like orange, ripe pear, water melon etc. But note that orange and pear are not meant for long term solution, meaning, Barney can't eat them everyday.

If he won't eat the orange, try force feed some freshly squeeze orange juice. Note that orange is acidic, so this is just a temp. solution to fix until you see a vet.

If you force feed freshly squeeze watermelon juice, orange juice, or even mango juice. Well, that really would fix any constipation.
 
Please get your Rabbit to a Vet TODAY
The symptoms you describe are of a life threatening nature
Sorry to be blunt, but I dont want you to loose your Rabbit to a TREATABLE condition

I would NOT force feed your Rabbit at this Stage as he may well have a partial GI OBSTRUCTION and force feeding would be VERY DANGEROUS.

Janex
 
Hi everyone and thank you your comments.

We did call the vet this morning, who said that if we try and feed him pineapple juice, this may help the problem, if not then we must get him checked out. 2 hours later he has started to eat a lot, also is poo-ing finally !!! :p I will monitor him, see how he goes this afternoon.

Claire
 
Bad news - Barney died this morning at the vets :? He was just about to go for a tummy scan but never made it :? I cannot believe that he has gone, will not be the same without him, will miss him soooo much. He was only 1 yr old so very young. The vets are not sure what happened, he used to be very overweight last year, we managed to get him to loose some but the last couple of weeks he became very skinny, he will still eating though a lot so were told not to worry. Just burying him in the garden now with his favourite food and toy . RIP Barney xxx
 
So sad to hear that Barney is gone. Quite possibly has somehting to do with the weight loss in the past few weeks. It seems a sharp drop in weight for a short period of time. But knowing the vet already said no need to worry, there isn't much you can do in any case.

I like the idea of the burial in the garden, it's his playground and the place he grew up on, so it's nice to rest in the same place when he passed away.

Please get a rehome rabbit to fill up the emptyness around the house.
 
Hi all,
Feeling a bit better today (apart from red, puffy eyes!!) and i have managed to stop crying!! House isn't the same without Barney :cry:
We still have 1 rabbit Benji, at the moment we are not thinking of getting another rabbit to replace Barney. In the next couple of yrs we will defiently get a pair of rescue buns. My question is, will it be unfair to keep Benji on his own, is it cruel?? He seems fine, still running around, eating and being completly hyper and we give him lots of love and attention.
Claire
 
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