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Regular gas issues for Dwarf bun

Mervinius said:
So another update. I am certain we are on the right track now. Yesterday bunny mum (me) accidentally unevenly split their morning and evening pellet ration.
Their dinner potion was much larger :oops:
With in a hr of dinner both looked fed up and we're huddled in their toilet with sad faces! Pip was fidgeting too.

I made them get up and I think this helped because pip soon pooped and then started eating a dandelion leaf. They slowly starting eating their hay and are back to normal this morning....

So I think the greedy little buns just eat whatever I put in front of them and then it must swell in their tummy and make them feel full/gassy. Bit like I feel after a huge Chinese takeaway!

So thankyou for all your help. I feel like we are finally getting somewhere. Pellet ration today is 40g and will be decreasing to 25g... not sure how quick to make this decrease. Any ideas?
Thanks again x
Click to expand...

You know what, my rabbits fill themselves up on constantly - in addition to hay? It's fresh, free grass and forage picked by yours truly! It's time consuming, but gives them loads of fibrous goodies.

Have you thought about it?

There's a good book called 'Foraging for rabbits' by Twigs Way (who is parsnipbun on here)

Also these links:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/foraging

Pellets can then pale into the background as a lovely hand fed snack :D
 
Hi to you both.
Well they are both full of beans again tonight and sprinting around the lounge at full speed!
Do you mean 25g is too much for them to share tonibun? I think it will work out as a tablespoon each. Which I thought would be about right? Thankyou for all your advice me and the buns really appreciate.

Especially as my vet said it was nothing to do with diet and it was stress or behaviour issues.
And yes definitely keen on a more natural diet. They love their dried forage so far and i think this will be much better for them. They are certainly pooping more!
My other half keeps finding my staring in the litter tray and admiring poop. Haha
I haven't given them any fresh forage yet, because of all the gas issues before so we have been really slowly introducing new things.
 
Mervinius said:
Hi to you both.
Well they are both full of beans again tonight and sprinting around the lounge at full speed!
Do you mean 25g is too much for them to share tonibun? I think it will work out as a tablespoon each. Which I thought would be about right? Thankyou for all your advice me and the buns really appreciate.

Especially as my vet said it was nothing to do with diet and it was stress or behaviour issues.
And yes definitely keen on a more natural diet. They love their dried forage so far and i think this will be much better for them. They are certainly pooping more!
My other half keeps finding my staring in the litter tray and admiring poop. Haha
I haven't given them any fresh forage yet, because of all the gas issues before so we have been really slowly introducing new things.
Click to expand...


Brambles are a fairly safe bet to begin with ... though I bet there will be someone who's bun has a problem with them :lol:

I love your user name - Mervinius :) It sounds like the name of a rabbit. Really original :)
 
Yes I think they will love brambles. They love dandelion roots which we gave them last year but have yet to re introduce them. Kept them occupied for ages.

Mervin aka Mervinius is our sock monkey which I made for my other half because he loves monkeys. :lol:

Oh and I hope you can help your overweight bun. :cry:
 
Last edited:
Mervinius said:
Yes I think they will love brambles. They love dandelion roots which we gave them last year but have yet to re introduce them. Kept them occupied for ages.

Mervin aka Mervinius is our sock monkey which I made for my other half because he loves monkeys. :lol:

Oh and I hope you can help your overweight bun. :cry:
Click to expand...

I didn't know I had one! :lol:
 
Thank you, we are just going slowly and hopefully we will get there. A good way, if the rabbits don't mind, is to weigh them once a week as this will give you a good idea as to what is happening. I think 25g between them per day should be fine. You won't need many of those pieces will you?
 
I am sure you will be able to help your new bun with all your experience.

Our little troubles are not fond of weighing. I've tried a few times but they just won't sit still! They are fine at the vets, but at home there's just too much fun to be had.
I've been checking to see if they feel any different, I know it's not as accurate as weighing but it's the best I can do without stressing them too much.
Nope won't need many pieces at all, and they can't eat them too quickly.
 
Mervinius said:
I am sure you will be able to help your new bun with all your experience.

Our little troubles are not fond of weighing. I've tried a few times but they just won't sit still! They are fine at the vets, but at home there's just too much fun to be had.
I've been checking to see if they feel any different, I know it's not as accurate as weighing but it's the best I can do without stressing them too much.
Nope won't need many pieces at all, and they can't eat them too quickly.
Click to expand...

I dread getting on the scale myself! I am glad Archie and Pip are doing well. You seem to be doing a good job at feeding them enough to maintain their high energy levels while minimizing gas.
 
Haha. Not sure they know it's a scale. They just don't like doing anything mum wants them to do. Quite stubborn!
Pip has decided tonight is digging night and has been "burrowing" into my hoodie for an hour and is now destroying brown paper behind the sofa!
Archie is secretly stuffing hay in his mouth whilst she's not looking. They always have soooo much energy. They don't do much relaxing!
I was worried they wouldn't have enough energy but they actually seem to have more. I guess because their tummies are too stuffed with pellets.
 
Mervinius said:
Haha. Not sure they know it's a scale. They just don't like doing anything mum wants them to do. Quite stubborn!
Pip has decided tonight is digging night and has been "burrowing" into my hoodie for an hour and is now destroying brown paper behind the sofa!
Archie is secretly stuffing hay in his mouth whilst she's not looking. They always have soooo much energy. They don't do much relaxing!
I was worried they wouldn't have enough energy but they actually seem to have more. I guess because their tummies are too stuffed with pellets.
Click to expand...

In my earlier post I mentioned that I had mostly dwarf bunnies over the years. They can be high energy.
 
Yes it's why we wanted them. We knew what we were getting into. We love the monkeys.
Do you still have some buns?
 
Mervinius said:
Haha. Not sure they know it's a scale. They just don't like doing anything mum wants them to do. Quite stubborn!
Pip has decided tonight is digging night and has been "burrowing" into my hoodie for an hour and is now destroying brown paper behind the sofa!
Archie is secretly stuffing hay in his mouth whilst she's not looking. They always have soooo much energy. They don't do much relaxing!
I was worried they wouldn't have enough energy but they actually seem to have more. I guess because their tummies are too stuffed with pellets.
Click to expand...


Yes!! My Nethies have always been stubborn. But extremely wonderful and endearing too :love:
 
Yes I wouldn't want them to be any other way. They have a certain way of looking extra cute after making mischief. :love:
 
How are things going?

I'm afraid I forgot to weigh the pellets :oops: But I think you're doing a great job and hope the issues are under control? :)
 
Hi. That's OK. We have got them down to 35g today, so making progress. Pip did lie down in their litter tray after eating her evening pellet portion (which got me in panic mode she normally only lies in there when shes poorly) but I scooped her up and she soon started eating hay. So I think she was just resting(poor pip). I have noticed they always have a lie down after eating their pellets as if to digest them. Do your buns do this?
I am hoping soon I won't have to be on constant alert, at the moment if she's lies down we start worrying!
Although I think I'm starting to recognise awkward lying and just flopping.
 
Mervinius said:
Hi. That's OK. We have got them down to 35g today, so making progress. Pip did lie down in their litter tray after eating her evening pellet portion (which got me in panic mode she normally only lies in there when shes poorly) but I scooped her up and she soon started eating hay. So I think she was just resting(poor pip). I have noticed they always have a lie down after eating their pellets as if to digest them. Do your buns do this?
I am hoping soon I won't have to be on constant alert, at the moment if she's lies down we start worrying!
Although I think I'm starting to recognise awkward lying and just flopping.
Click to expand...


Yes you will, and you will stop worrying all the time :)

My buns leap about all the time, whether they've had pellets or not. Probably because they want me to give them some more and I won't! But all bunnies behave differently - it does take time to observe what's 'normal' for them :)
 
Yes they are still practising the licking the empty bowl routine here and hopping and sitting next to it whenever we walk past it. Haha. But they do give up sooner now!
Yeah we are slowly learning normal for our buns, but it's been hard with all the gas issues because they change so much.
At least we feel we are on the right track now. They certainly lovvvveeedd their dried blackcurrant leaves last night.
 
Mervinius said:
Yes they are still practising the licking the empty bowl routine here and hopping and sitting next to it whenever we walk past it. Haha. But they do give up sooner now!
Yeah we are slowly learning normal for our buns, but it's been hard with all the gas issues because they change so much.
At least we feel we are on the right track now. They certainly lovvvveeedd their dried blackcurrant leaves last night.
Click to expand...


Yes it's so funny :lol:

I enter a room and they run up to the food bowl, like it's magically filled each time they see me, without me going near it!
 
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