Bun with succeeding gi problems??

Hi there I'm in a bit of a panic right now and in desperate need of advice. My bunny, Mothball, a 3-4 month old possibly new Zealand rabbit I've had for about three weeks now has recently gone through mucoid enteropathy and GI stasis. I brought him to the vet immediately, was prescribed something called LC-Scour, which is a motility drug, and Dextrolyte, a powder with dextrose and electrolytes to mix in his water.

After an arduous four days, he seemed to recover alright, going back to a normal diet, regular poops and all around playful. The problem though was due to how much stress he was under while we had to administer his medication by syringe feeding it directly to his mouth it was difficult to clean him off so I waited until I was certain he was feeling better to give him a bum wash. It didn't go too well, he doesn't seem outwardly physically hurt but I know he didn't like the experience.

After cleaning his hutch and making sure he was dry I returned him into his hutch to rest for a bit, but as I checked him before I went to bed I noticed he had very very tiny poops, almost 3/4s the regular size. I was alarmed as I knew it could be a sign of him starting up gi stasis again, but then about an hour later I saw pools of runny poop in his hutch. I cleaned up his hutch best I could but he's practically leaking the runny poop at the moment.

I put him back on the electrolyte powder in his waterbowl and I tried contacting my vet for advice but he is not available for the week. I'm afraid there is No possible way for me to be able to go back to the vet any time soon because of financial restraints as well. I'd hate to make excuses but where I live there are no vets offering any pay later plans and I desperately cannot afford a visit right now, not to mention within the city and the neighboring ones, there are only four practicing rabbit savvy vets (including the unavailable one who I've been to before) and taking him to a new one will increase his stress immensely as it is twice as far as the old one and I will be using public transport to get there.

Please help, I do not have access to anything like Oxbow critical care, or most herbs or over the counter medicines often mentioned in articles as I live in the Philippines. I'm afraid he might not recover this time, I'm really really scared for him.

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I am by no means an expert on this kind of stuff, however I know it may be helpful for people who are when they find this thread to know what you mean when you say 'normal diet' and how you did the 'bum wash'. How did you dry him? Have you got pictures you could upload of the diarrheoa pools you could upload?

Hello. Sorry to hear your rabbit is not doing well. Is your rabbit eating? If not then you need to syringe feed him. You don't need any Critical Care. You could mix his pellets with some warm water and add a bit of organic baby food. Then use a larger syringe to feed him. Also make sure he's getting enough water. What do you usually feed him?
Is he only producing liquid poops or some harder ones as well?
It would be best if you could take him to a rabbit savvy vet.

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I am sorry to read your bunny is having a relapse. It is difficult to know if the stress of the bath caused his relapse. Keeping him eating and hydrated is very important. He also may need some pain relief.

If he is not eating you can tempt him with some rabbit appropriate greens. You can also make a mash with his own pellets and water (or low sugar baby food) and syringe it into his mouth. I grind pellets in a small inexpensive coffee/spice grinder and then add water. Some people will put the pellets in water (or with baby food) and let it sit before putting it into a blender. I would be careful not to give him anything that is too high in sugar content.

Keep your bunny warm and calm. Some bunnies feel safer when they have a cardboard box they can use to hide.

When you washed him did you use any soaps or shampoos he may have ingested during his bath or as he groomed himself later?

I have given a lot of butt baths over the years and I generally opt for warm water, a little soak, and then gentle message of the soiled area with my fingers or a soft cotton. It may take me more than one session to get the soiled area clean.

TD86 said:

I am by no means an expert on this kind of stuff, however I know it may be helpful for people who are when they find this thread to know what you mean when you say 'normal diet' and how you did the 'bum wash'. How did you dry him? Have you got pictures you could upload of the diarrheoa pools you could upload?

Click to expand...

For his diet theres unlimited hay and a small dish of pellets. He doesn't like greens, or at least he doesn't like the greens I've given him so far so I just don't give him any.

I had a small basin of warm water filled to about 2 inches, no shampoo as I didn't have anything to use, settled him down in it and tried to be firm but he kept trying to hop out so after about 20 minutes of fussing I had to stop. I dried him by placing him in a box with a towel and just massaging his fur with it for a while.

Here'sa photo I got of a pool that was slightly drying up.

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bunny momma said:

I am sorry to read your bunny is having a relapse. It is difficult to know if the stress of the bath caused his relapse. Keeping him eating and hydrated is very important. He also may need some pain relief.

If he is not eating you can tempt him with some rabbit appropriate greens. You can also make a mash with his own pellets and water (or low sugar baby food) and syringe it into his mouth. I grind pellets in a small inexpensive coffee/spice grinder and then add water. Some people will put the pellets in water (or with baby food) and let it sit before putting it into a blender. I would be careful not to give him anything that is too high in sugar content.

Keep your bunny warm and calm. Some bunnies feel safer when they have a cardboard box they can use to hide.

When you washed him did you use any soaps or shampoos he may have ingested during his bath or as he groomed himself later?

I have given a lot of butt baths over the years and I generally opt for warm water, a little soak, and then gentle message of the soiled area with my fingers or a soft cotton. It may take me more than one session to get the soiled area clean.

Click to expand...

I'm real sad he's not feeling better, I'm pretty certain it must be the stress as mere hours before the bath he was doing alright but I'm saving up to see the vet again when my vet is available.

He's not fond of greens, at least not the ones I've been trying to get him to eat, which is just some lettuce so far, but I'll try to push more at him to see if he bites. I'll keep the mashed up pellets in mind though thank you.

Keeping him warm with a towel and some words of encouragement, I love this little guy so much.

I didn't use any soaps as I didn't have any, I just thought the warm water would help soften the stools on him, he was pretty dirty.

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Linuxete said:

Hello. Sorry to hear your rabbit is not doing well. Is your rabbit eating? If not then you need to syringe feed him. You don't need any Critical Care. You could mix his pellets with some warm water and add a bit of organic baby food. Then use a larger syringe to feed him. Also make sure he's getting enough water. What do you usually feed him?
Is he only producing liquid poops or some harder ones as well?
It would be best if you could take him to a rabbit savvy vet.

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Click to expand...

I haven't seen him eat, but he is currently drinking water. I'll be doing the pellet mash and syringe feeding him as soon as I get home from uni, his diet is mostly composed of a lot of hay and a dish of pellets, he isn't fond of any greens, but I try to give him some every once in a while to see if he bites, he usually just ignores it.

I saw some solid poops last night but upon inspection this morning there weren't any around. He seems lethargic though, I'm really worried.

I'll be trying to bring him to a vet soon, at the moment it's just really not possible but the second I get an opening I'm rushing him there.

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Lettuce is not always good for rabbits, have you any grass there and is he eating his hay? Have you got a man around who can hold him while you give him a wash? It's difficult with a big rabbit. Hope your bunny gets better soon.

tonibun said:

Lettuce is not always good for rabbits, have you any grass there and is he eating his hay? Have you got a man around who can hold him while you give him a wash? It's difficult with a big rabbit. Hope your bunny gets better soon.

Click to expand...

No grass in my area, I live in a high rise, he's eating a lot of hay though, I've seen him have solid food after a while so I'm hoping he's doing a little better. I'll be asking my partner to help me out next time he needs a wash, though at the moment he's still a very small bun.

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Eating hay is always a positive.
How if your bunny doing today?