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Mr. Ham's Stomach Pains Are Back

Beapig

Mama Doe
Hi everyone,

You may have seen my thread from last Thursday. We had to rush Mr. Ham to the vet unexpectedly - it was a frosty morning and he was freezing cold and not eating. When we got him back from the vet, he mostly just lay there a lot and kept flopping on his belly as if he was in discomfort. He had a literal 'miracle' recovery at around 1.00 in the afternoon when he went from looking like he was on death's door to eating everything and chasing Beatrice around.

This morning when I came outside he did run over to me as usual. Him and Beatrice tucked into the pellets and veggies. Usually Ham will eat slowly for a solid half an hour, but afte 5 minutes today he went upstairs in the hutch and lay down. He looks uncomfortable and is occassionally flopping on his side like he's in pain. I gave him some dandelions though, and he did eat them, unlike last time when he was 100% off his food.

I'm wondering what could be causing this? The first time last week, the stomach aches were happening even though he hadn't had breakfast. I always feed them between 8.00 and 9.00am and then the rest of the day they just have hay to eat. So I can't account last time as something bloating him. This morning, I seriously don't think he even ate enough to cause any bloating. Beatrice has subsequently finished off his leftovers and is fine :roll:

Has anyone else ever experienced this kind of thing? We've given him the snugglesafe and hope it just passes by itself like last time. But is is a worry.
 
Poor Mr Hammy Ham :( Whilst he is nibbling things he fancies I'd try to encourage him with lots of herbs. Its surprising how easy it is to get brambles - you must have a park, lane, overgrown neighbours garden :lol: They are really good for bunnies who are starting to show signs of gut stasis.

Joey used to have mini stasis episodes but would bounce back within the hour. I used to give him infracol & have given him a little metacam twice. If it'd been ongoing (not right after a few hours) he'd have been off to the vet
 
Aboleth has similar episodes to J&B's Joey: hers are very much moult related, because Lopsy's fur is longer it gets stuck easier, but an hour of trying to get comfy and then a long stringy poo usually sort her out (we've never needed to administer anything or take her to the vet, thankfully). We found with Lopsy when he was off his food it was veg-related: there was something up with sprouts which he loved but they were the only common denominator :( I no longer feed veg in Winter except in very small quantities if we happen to have it in: I think the storage of it has an impact and I can't control that before I buy it, and shops may well have more stock in winter leading up to Christmas so some things may get left out for a bit, which might not affect us (especially if it's somethig we normally cook) but may affect the buns :(

Best wishes for Mr. Ham, I hope he bounces back soon!
 
I agree with j&b. Try giving him herbs etc every now and again. I also am a big fan of Bramble leaves for rabbits' tummies. Also check their litter tray to see if their poos all look the same. It's difficult with two of them, but you should be able to see whether some are smaller than others, which would be an indication of gut slow down.

I also know that it's easy when a rabbit doesn't eat their food as you would expect, to look for other signs that there is a problem. Flopping, for example, could be a sign that he just feels like resting, not necessarily a tummyache.

For now, I would continue to encourage him with eating and watch him closely over the next hour or two.
 
Thank you very much everyone for the quick responses and very good advice. We've given him more dandelions and bramble leaves but he's turned his nose up at everything. Last week his honestly seemed on death's door, but after a good three hours of watching him and being worried like crazy he suddenly bounced back like nothing had ever happened.

Keletkezes, please can I ask what it is that you feed your rabbits? Ham and Bea get kale, spinach, broccoli and carrot to go with their pellets and hay every day. I'd say a large handful each. If there are alternatives to this kind of diet then I'd be very up for trying it, especially if there's a chance that the vegetables are linked to the stomach problems.

My doe Beatrice is 100% fine and has always been big on veggies. To me this doesn't seem food related for Ham either, because both times the stomach aches have started before I've fed them. I need to read more about gut stasis, I don't fully understand what causes it or how to prevent it.
 
Thank you very much everyone for the quick responses and very good advice. We've given him more dandelions and bramble leaves but he's turned his nose up at everything. Last week his honestly seemed on death's door, but after a good three hours of watching him and being worried like crazy he suddenly bounced back like nothing had ever happened.

Keletkezes, please can I ask what it is that you feed your rabbits? Ham and Bea get kale, spinach, broccoli and carrot to go with their pellets and hay every day. I'd say a large handful each. If there are alternatives to this kind of diet then I'd be very up for trying it, especially if there's a chance that the vegetables are linked to the stomach problems.

My doe Beatrice is 100% fine and has always been big on veggies. To me this doesn't seem food related for Ham either, because both times the stomach aches have started before I've fed them. I need to read more about gut stasis, I don't fully understand what causes it or how to prevent it.

These links may be useful

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROWinter10p7.pdf

http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROWinter10p7.pdf

Monitoring poo output is as important as monitoring eating habits. Small hard dry poo may be evident in the early stages of GI tract stasis, even if the Rabbit is still eating. Absence of poo and reduced appetite/anorexia almost always merits a consultation with a Vet.

I hope that Ham feels better soon xx
 
Keletkezes, please can I ask what it is that you feed your rabbits? Ham and Bea get kale, spinach, broccoli and carrot to go with their pellets and hay every day. I'd say a large handful each. If there are alternatives to this kind of diet then I'd be very up for trying it, especially if there's a chance that the vegetables are linked to the stomach problems.
The OH has a tendency to bring large bits of trees home in Summer so we're well-stocked with dried willow and hawthorn for now. Fresh, they're currently on brambles (the whole thing), tree mallow (we have a ginormous bush of it!), small amounts of rose, and lavender and rosemary. We have ginormous bushes of the latter two so they get at least a sprig every day. They're fed forage by having it poked through the top of the run so they have to work for it, making it last longer: we feed them the brambles overight, laid cross the top of the run with the leaves poked through so they have to work really hard! We're really lucky with our run: if they reach right up on tiptoe they can just reach the bars with their noses. Lopsy used to have kale (he went mental for it) but Aboleth seemed a bit chalky with her wee so I've never fed them it since we got her. They only get carrot peelings in Summer (when I have carrots in). Usually by the time we're out of dried forage they have to survive on just ropey old brambles for a while! That does mean they need more pellets though: I change their pellet amounts depending on condition, i.e. if I notice they're getting skinny, they get more, if I can't feel their spines as easily as I should, they get less :thumb: We're pretty harsh rabbit owners ;P

I do agree though, it's unlikely to just be food-related given what you're feeding them.
 
The OH has a tendency to bring large bits of trees home in Summer so we're well-stocked with dried willow and hawthorn for now. Fresh, they're currently on brambles (the whole thing), tree mallow (we have a ginormous bush of it!), small amounts of rose, and lavender and rosemary. We have ginormous bushes of the latter two so they get at least a sprig every day. They're fed forage by having it poked through the top of the run so they have to work for it, making it last longer: we feed them the brambles overight, laid cross the top of the run with the leaves poked through so they have to work really hard! We're really lucky with our run: if they reach right up on tiptoe they can just reach the bars with their noses. Lopsy used to have kale (he went mental for it) but Aboleth seemed a bit chalky with her wee so I've never fed them it since we got her. They only get carrot peelings in Summer (when I have carrots in). Usually by the time we're out of dried forage they have to survive on just ropey old brambles for a while! That does mean they need more pellets though: I change their pellet amounts depending on condition, i.e. if I notice they're getting skinny, they get more, if I can't feel their spines as easily as I should, they get less :thumb: We're pretty harsh rabbit owners ;P

I do agree though, it's unlikely to just be food-related given what you're feeding them.

Thanks so much for your long responses Keletkezes, you've given me so many great ideas for foraging. I'm going to try and find stuff later today :)

So I've been worried sick all morning about Ham, crying and getting no work done...all of a sudden he is eating and bombing around the run like nothing happened. :roll::lol::cry: (feeling many emotions right now haha)
 
Thanks so much for your long responses Keletkezes, you've given me so many great ideas for foraging. I'm going to try and find stuff later today :)

So I've been worried sick all morning about Ham, crying and getting no work done...all of a sudden he is eating and bombing around the run like nothing happened. :roll::lol::cry: (feeling many emotions right now haha)


They certainly are mysterious creatures, these bunnies!

For good info on stasis, I like these articles:

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROWinter10p7.pdf

http://www.bunnylu.org/bloat.php

http://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer-2/

http://www.melbournerabbitclinic.com/melbournerabbi/stasis.html
 
Thank you so much everyone. We'll be keeping a close eye on him, but it seems that when he gets these stomach pains they pass in a few hours. We're cutting back on the veggies just incase the two are linked, and they seem to be eating hay more as a result, which is great :)
 
My rabbit frequently decides to do something similar, I think it's just to try and give me a heart attack!

He goes mad for his nuggets, he has them split into two meals, but some mornings he just decides he doesn't want to eat them, I generally leave him until 12 noon and if he's not eating by then we go to the vet.

We did find it linked to feeding him brambles, and his tummy has also gone slightly funny(poos looked funny and decreased) when I fed him readigrass

He's on a really bland diet now of pellets and hay
 
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