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Forum DIET & CARE Yogurt good or bad for helping pass gas / possible blockage?

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    • Mr.Bill
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        We have a bun that we’re fostering, Pepe. She was just spayed Feb 25th. This past Thursday she didn’t come out of her pen at all to play and by Friday we knew something was wrong. She was pooping, but not a whole lot and it was small and hard. So we gave her a little mineral oil and planned on taking her in to the vet on Saturday.

        So Saturday morning we got her in to see the vet and she said she didn’t think Pepe had a complete blockage. She didn’t feel anything in her gut and we mentioned that Pepe was eating, though very little, and that she was pooping, though not normal.

        So the vet recommended getting getting some Rabbit Recovery from Pet’s Mart if we were close to one. If not then she recommend some plain yogurt. And also the normal stuff like making sure she had lots of hay and water.

         

        I emailed Jen, who runs Judge’s Park Rescue, who Pepe’s going to be adopted out to about the situation and her reply email said no yogurt what so ever.

        So now I’m not sure what to do.


      • GrumpyBun
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          Is this a trusted, rabbit savvy-vet?

          I don’t believe dairy is suitable for rabbits at all – note this article from Dana Kremples http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.pdf

          I do not wish to tell you to go against a professional’s advice but if it were me I would not give her the yoghurt and call a rabbit-savvy vet for advice/a second consult tomorrow morning. I think the one you have consulted may be out of date in their training.


        • Mr.Bill
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            Thanks for such a quick response grumpy. And thanks for the advice and article. My wife just left to go get some Rabbit Recovery and some Sub-q fluids.


          • Mr.Bill
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              Alright, well that didn’t work out too good.

              Pet’s Mart and Petco didn’t have anything on hand for sick buns. And I found out the fluids recommends had to be prescribed. So tomorrow I’ll call our old vet we use to use before we moved. They use to keep Critical Care on hand so hopefully I can get over there to get something.

              I did just give Pepe a small handful of plain salad mix and she devoured it as quick as I set it down. So I gave her a second handful. I figured that’d help get some fluid in to her.


            • ScooterandAnnette
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                The fact that she’s eating is good. If you’re worried about getting hay or pellets into her you can always make a slurry from hay or pellets by putting in a coffee grinder until finely ground and then mixing with water. You’d likely need a wide syringe to get it into her mouth though, it doesn’t seem to be too appealing to them to eat.
                – Annette


              • Sarita
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                  Yep, Critical Care is the stuff. And unfortunately you do have to get sub-q from a vet. I do think you must find a more rabbit experienced vet as well. It sounds as if Pepe might be getting better if she will eat (I hope anyway). Did this vet not carry Critical Care?

                  What is Rabbit Recovery anyway – I have never heard of this.


                • ScooterandAnnette
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                    I just did a quick search on Rabbit Recovery, all the places I can see that sell it are in the UK.


                    – Annette


                  • LittlePuffyTail
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                      Hi, Mr. Bill

                      Sorry to hear bunny is having problems. I’ve dealt with gas episodes many times and my wonder med is Simethicone. It’s made for babies with colic. I use the brand Ovol but any brand is fine. You can buy it at any drugstore in the digestive medicine section.

                      Give 1 ml every hour and then 1 ml every few hours thereafter. If there is no blockage this should help the gas discomfort.


                    • daniellef
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                        I’m not sure about yogurt as I’ve never heard any rabbit experts recommend it, but I would like to share what I do for my buns when this happens. Gizmo, my little boy, has had many bouts with GI Stasis/Gas since he was a baby. Any little change in his diet throws his whole system off. I’ve found the best defense against GI Stasis is watching your buns closely for any changes in behavior and treating them ASAP. For Gizmo, I’ve gotten the routine down pat and it seems to work pretty good. As soon as I think there’s a problem I give him….

                        0.25 ml Cisapride 2 x per day (this gets the bowels moving again but you can only get it from a vet)
                        0.15 ml Meloxicam 1 x per day (Pain reliever and you can only get this from a vet also)
                        0.3 ml Simethicone every 2 hours until better (available at any drugstore)
                        8-11 ml Critical Care mixed with organic canned pumpkin 2 x per day. (Critical Care’s available at most vet’s and on many bunny websites)
                        *Quick note on canned pumpkin- This stuff’s amazing!!! It’s hydrates their bowels and gets everything moving again. Just make sure not to
                        get pumpkin pie mix. Get pure organic pumpkin. I swear by this stuff!

                        If the above steps don’t work with a few hours, I would do Sub-Q Fluids, and if it still doesn’t, take them to the Vet. I hope this helps! Good luck!


                      • Mr.Bill
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                          Thanks a lot for all the input, guys.

                          Yep, the yogurt is in the garbage. Along with that vet We’re going to go back to our old vet. It’s a long drive (about an hour each way) but after this episode we know it’s the obvious thing to do.

                          We did make a paste out of pellets and water and we were able to feed her some earlier. She was more than happy to eat it. And at this time of typing this post she is poo’in like a horse and eating up a storm. So it appears that the worse is over. I’m still going to see the vet (our old one) tomorrow.

                          I’ve copied and pasted your responses to a text and saved it in my Bunny folder. So much good info. Including the Pumpkin Pie.

                          You guys are the best


                        • RabbitPam
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                            Hi, Mr. Bill,
                            I am glad to read she’s better. Since you have about 9 replies here with the advice you needed, if you don’t mind, I’m going to delete your double post from the Lounge. I just noticed it and there were replies here, not there, so I think you’re in good shape.


                          • KatnipCrzy
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                              Yogurt is more of an “old school” method of treating bunnies.  There are no proven benefits as far as I know that the live cultures found in yogurt are very different than normal bunny gut bacteria/cultures.

                              In my opinion- NO Yogurt!!!  It is very unnatural for a rabbit in my opinion- they get milk as babies and then they are strictly herbivores- so dairy seems very unnatural to me.  So my bunnies would not get dairy and if I bake horse treats I would never add any dairy either.  Just does not seem right for a critter that eats plants.  Unlike a dog or cat- it would be more natural for them and would consider it if I felt it would not hurt and might help.


                            • Mr.Bill
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                                @ RP
                                Yes, please delete the double post. I don’t mind at all. I only double posted because I wanted to draw attention to the emergency.

                                Update about Pepe.
                                She’s back to her usual self now. She’s eating, running, playing, and pooping normally again. She’s eating a TON of grass. Actually it seems like she’s eating more now than she ever did.


                              • GrumpyBun
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                                  Yay! Good to hear it – thanks for the update

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                              Forum DIET & CARE Yogurt good or bad for helping pass gas / possible blockage?