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Help - Rooby has swallowed an elastic band

SerenityS

Young Bun
After a big tidy up yesterday, I failed to notice an elastic band on the carpet. Just now Rooby sneaked upstairs and managed to grab it just before I did. After a frantic attempt to retrieve it from his mouth have failed. I am really worried. I have called the vet and all I can do now is to keep an eye on him, hoping he will pass it within the next 24 hours. Has anyone had the misfortune of this happening to their rabbit?

Thanks

Jo
 
Oh dear :shock:

I would advise you get your Bun to eat as much hay as possible. Try to up his fluid intake by feeding him Veggies that are left wet after washing
Some dandelion leaves would be good for him to have too.

Was the elastc band the old fashioned sort or the new biodegradable ones. If the latter it SHOULD break down in his guts.

Janex
 
Hello Jane

The band appeared to be of the modern type. I am so annoyed with myself for failing to retrieve it from his mouth. He was struggling while I tried to grab it but he was also trying to bite me. I have been on the end if his bites many times and his teeth are like blades.

The vet said it was too early to x-ray him. I have removed every poop that was in sight and now it's that awful waiting game. I am now going to pop him in his cage and will give him some wets greens as you have suggested.

Does anyone have a rough idea of the time it takes for food to pass through a rabbits digestive system? I would have thought pretty quick considering the amount of poops we see every day.

I will let you know how things go.

Jo
 
would a dose of liquid parafin help? i know its often recomended for rabbits with a habit of chewing carpet fibers..not sure about elastic bands though :shock:
 
eeek i would be in a state of sheer panic! hope he is ok soon and poops it out quickly (just watch out for catapulted rabbit poop though :oops: :D )

come on Rooby poop lots for mummy
 
Transit time of food through the stomach is 3-6 hours. It then goes to the colon and is seperated into indigestible fibre which is passed down the colon and eliminated as hard pellet-poos. The rest goes to the caecum where the caecotrophs are 'made'

So indigestible matter is excreted quicker than the matter that goes to the caecum as the caecotrophs are generally held in an area called the gastric fundus for about 8 hours.
Hopefully the band will be passed with the hard faeces. I would certainly take Rooby back to the Vet tomorrow so as Vet can thoroughly examin her GI tract and feel if there are any obvious obstructions. The particular bit to watch is the bottom part of the stomach (upper-mid abdomen just below the ribs) as that is where GI obstruction often occurs (called the cardiac sphincter)

Good luck and hope Rooby will be OK

Janex

Janex
 
We had to wait almost 5 hours to see if Rooby was able to poo last night, then success. Relieved to find Rooby still eating, pooing and his usual self this morning. Going to the Vet for a check up to be on the safe side.

Jo
 
Thank you very much for your support.

I took Roobs to the Vet this morning and upon examination of his abdomen everything was as expected. The Vet said to monitor him for a week and get in touch should he show any signs of discomfort. He is totally oblivious to our worry :roll: He is quietly waiting in the kitchen under the dining table for his 'boyfriend' to come home (my son) from School.

Jo
 
:lol: at the suggestion of stress counselling - stress levels were very high and have eased off a bit now. No signs of an elastic poo, I am spending alot of time looking in the litter tray analyzing little brown balls, just in case, but he is eating and pooing well. There are definitely more hazzards in the house for buns, it was very unfortunate that the band was the same colour as the carpet. Rooby has bitten off several buttons off the remote controls, in particular the ones I use regularly. When Roobs went on holiday to my sister's I warned her not to leave anything on the floor. She later discovered her boots had suddenly acquired a nibbled look around the top edges :shock:
 
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