Recurrent gut issues

[MiniC]

I haven't posted here for a while, unfortunately my rabbits have been getting a bit older now (11 and 13) and their health hasn't been great, so I've been off in denial land.

I'm a bit worried about our older bun Billy. He's had recurrent bouts of going off his food, so the vet said we should keep him on emeprid and cisapride long-term. I'd say this was about a year ago. Despite them, he's gone off his food a few times in the last two weeks and has had a horribly bloated stomach each time. I've taken him to the vets twice, he had a shot of buscopan on Wedand was bright and breezy afterwards, but his stomach is back to bloated again today. I can feel his stomach pulsing full with gas, then emptying again, with a lot of loud gurgling. I don't know if there are any home tricks I could use to make him any more comfortable?

The vet's opinion was they he's a very good age, and pinning down the cause may be more stressful than it's worth at his age, so I'm not seeking a cure, I'm just hoping to make him more comfortable than this. I've been offering mint, as I know that's good for wind in humans (mint is often the only thing he'll eat voluntarily when he feels like this), are there any other things that might ease him?

 

[SarahP]

Lovely to see you again.

I think mint tea is amazing stuff on bunny tummies. You could experiment as to whether combining the mint with water as a warm tea helps more or less than the mint you are giving now. I never found my bunnies would take mint tea voluntarily and it had to be syringed in, but it sounds like Billy might.

 

[Shimmer]

It is worth recording what he is eating daily to see if there's any common trigger to a bloat attack. Brassicas are one that springs to mind (ie cabbage, kale, spring greens, sprouts, etc). Carrots and bananas as well - they are sugary and may cause gas. Otherwise, I would suggest cutting back to the basics that he is used to - so mainly or totally hay / grass - and any regular pellets he has, assuming he is maintaining his weight. Definitely cut right down or remove completely any manufactured treat type products and concentrate on more natural alternatives if you must feed something else - but do any new dietary additions very slowly to check he is ok with it.

 

[Omi]

Hello, I'm sorry to hear that your bunnies haven't been great health-wise.

I always think that a lot of recurrent stasis can be helped with diet. I think keeping the bunny well-hydrated either with lots of water and/or fresh food. I would support Shimmer's advice as well, but might also consider reducing any pellets to a minimum or nil. As natural as possible is always a good start.

What does he usually have to eat each day?

 

[SarahP]

I have definitely had some results in the past on gut issues by cutting out pellets altogether without impacting their weight, but you'd reduce them down gradually first and check for improvements.

 

[MiniC]

Hello, I'm sorry to hear that your bunnies haven't been great health-wise.

I always think that a lot of recurrent stasis can be helped with diet. I think keeping the bunny well-hydrated either with lots of water and/or fresh food. I would support Shimmer's advice as well, but might also consider reducing any pellets to a minimum or nil. As natural as possible is always a good start.

What does he usually have to eat each day?

They both have pellets in the morning and evening (an egg cups worth each), hay throughout the day and I tend to stick to dried forage in winter and a mix of dried forage and fresh leaves (apple/raspberry) in the summer. I tend to avoid fresh veggies, as Billy had always been a little prone to gut issues and sometimes fresh stuff would set him off. They also get a bit of baby food with their medicine (emeprid, cisapride, metacam and paracetemol for Billy).

He has been getting more treats than normal, but that's how we gauge how sick he is. If he says no to Nibblots (I know they're awfully processed), he's got to get to the vets pronto. When he starts taking Fenugreek Crunchies, he's starting to get better.

Just now I've stopped forage, as they hadn't long started a new batch when Billy's gut started acting up a couple of weeks ago, and he's being offered pellets every day, even if he's not interested. I'm testing him with nibblots when he's very poorly, and when he's feeling a bit brighter, we test him a few times a day with Rosewood Naturals treats to see how interested he is. He has two types of hay available at all times.

I'll definitely see if he'd be interested in some peppermint tea as well, it can't hurt to try!

 

[MiniC]

It is worth recording what he is eating daily to see if there's any common trigger to a bloat attack. Brassicas are one that springs to mind (ie cabbage, kale, spring greens, sprouts, etc). Carrots and bananas as well - they are sugary and may cause gas. Otherwise, I would suggest cutting back to the basics that he is used to - so mainly or totally hay / grass - and any regular pellets he has, assuming he is maintaining his weight. Definitely cut right down or remove completely any manufactured treat type products and concentrate on more natural alternatives if you must feed something else - but do any new dietary additions very slowly to check he is ok with it.

Thinking about it, we had been using a bit of banana baby food with his medicine last week, so I will cut that out and keep to apples.

 

[Omi]

I would look at his poos to see if they look dry. It sounds as though during the winter all of his food is dry, which means he has to make up his fluids with drinking. The fresh apple/raspbery leaves in the summer are beneficial. Do you ever find Bramble leaves where you are in the winter? The peppermint in his water might encourage more drinking. Is the fruit baby food with the meds just while they are poorly or is it all the time? The fruit sugars might cause an issue.

 

[MiniC]

I would look at his poos to see if they look dry. It sounds as though during the winter all of his food is dry, which means he has to make up his fluids with drinking. The fresh apple/raspbery leaves in the summer are beneficial. Do you ever find Bramble leaves where you are in the winter? The peppermint in his water might encourage more drinking. Is the fruit baby food with the meds just while they are poorly or is it all the time? The fruit sugars might cause an issue.

The baby food is all the time, as they won't take the medicine without handling otherwise and they don't tolerate handling well at all.

For at least a year, his poos have been all different sizes (tiny and oversized all at the same time). I discussed the possibility of megacolon with the vet, but she said it's not something they develop at this stage in life. It's very similar to the range of sizes a megacolon bunny would produce though.

 

[MiniC]

Billy took a few sips of the tea, so that's good. I gave him a little via syringe too, in the hopes it'll help further.

He is still very bloated, but the tests the vet ran have come back clear (slightly elevated on a couple of them but not unexpected for his age). I'm not sure what his recovery outlook is likely to be. He very briefly brightened up enough to eat some treats but not pellets but he's back to feeling miserable again now.

 

[bunny momma]

I am sorry Billy is having gut issues. It does sound like his gut bacteria are out of balance and resulting in gas from either age or diet. Is it possible he requires higher dosages of his gut meds since he gets them all the time?
Just sending vibes that you and your vet can get the gas under control.

 

[MiniC]

Thank-you bunny momma! I will probably try to wean him back off the treats a bit more, it's just hard while it's the only thing he's willing to eat.

Unfortunately (or maybe a good thing?) he had diarrhea in the night (not watery, just very squidgy unformed cecals), but he was back to eating some pellets again afterwards.

I've to call the vet this morning with an update, so we will see what they want to do.

 

[FireRose]

I’m sorry to read you are going through it with your bunny.

We cut out pellets a while ago for our two and neither have half as much issues now. They have a good mix of herbs twice daily and then forage every other day.

I find with my older bunny (she’s 8) when she’s going through it and her poo’s change that fibreplex helps.

She’s currently going through a lot atm with various health issues, so she’s on pain relief and antibiocs which can affect their tummy flora which is delicate in bunnies.

Have you maybe looked in to that? It’s a pro biotic paste and you give so much according to their weight. We give it twice daily alongside pain relief.

It’s not cheap and the tubes only have 15 doses in (we give 2 per dose so 4 daily) and they’re about £9-£12 a tube.

However I do find it brings the poo’s back after stasis and anti-biotic bouts.

Have you looked at different treats instead? The science selective are better/healthier treats also the fiber first sticks, they’re very good and healthy.

 

[MiniC]

To be fair, our previous two vets always prescribed fibreplex when the bunnies had issues, I had forgotten they used to get that. I will order some, as I can't see it hurting.

We do sometimes get the science selective treats, we just tend to lean more towards wheat-free treats for day-to-day treats because of husband's food allergies.