Bunny Constipated.

[Lulu Cuteness]

Hi,

So yesterday Theo was acting weird getting up flipping over, over and over again. So we took him to the vet and they said he had some gas and was constipated a bit and that everything was moving slowly so they gave me some meds and told me to stop feeding him pellets! is that right they said people should not be feeding there rabbit pellets! They said it gives the same nutrients that is in hay and pellets were made for meat rabbit to fatten them up and they said that it will make your rabbit constipated more often and he wont digest as well. Is that right? i have to give my rabbit some liquid by syringe  i gave it to him for the first time last night and he LOVES the stuff (Its cherry flavored) I put the thing in his mouth and i cant even give it to him hes chewing on the things trying to get it out! I don’t know what to do because the vet said to put it in his cheek and just let it in real fast but isn’t that for force feeding? so today I spent a good 15-30 min doing that put he will not stop chewing at it! and attacking the syringe  so what i did was angle it to the side on his tongue kinda angled down and let him have it none dripped out and he was making his happy noise that he makes when he eats bananas do you think its okay if i I did it like that?

Thanks

[kirstyol]

When I had to give Bramble medicine the vet told me to put the syringe in the side of his mouth so that its pointing behind his front teeth and squeeze in slowly, you should see him licking it up and swallowing I would do a wee bit then stop till he stopped licking then just repeat the process until the medicine was done. When they thought Bramble was a bit constipated after his surgery they gave him a jag but they didn’t tell me what it was called and I was too upset to remember to ask afterwards. I don’t think you should stop feeding him pellets as long as what you are feeding him is good quality pellets and you are not giving him too much of them.

[Lulu Cuteness]

Yeah i feed him just enough in the morning and night to fill the bottom of his really small bowl i think its 3 in in diameter and i feed him oxbow which I have heard is a good brand! And thanks its just when i put the thing in his mouth he wants his teeth on it so he moves his head and starts chewing

[Flopsie]

I had to feed Flopsie some meds once. I was told they tasted sweet and the Flopster kept biting at the syringe. SO I decided to put it on a very little dish (like the ones you put dipping sauces in, very shallow), and she lapped it up. I’m not sure if this works if it tastes bad…but luckily it didn’t so she ate it quickly lol

[Lulu Cuteness]

Okay! thanks that’s a good idea haha last night I had some trouble he took the syringe and ran! xD but I just got done giving him the stuff so it was all good!

[kirstyol]

If you start to have problems with giving him the medicine you can mash it up with a small piece of banana, if you cut the banana up really small and mix it with the medicine then leave it to sit for a few minutes the banana soaks up the medicine since rabbits generally love bananas they usually eat the banana and therefore take the medicine. This worked for me when Bramble decided he no longer liked his medicine and someone on here (sorry I forgot who it was) suggested this to me.

[litheandgraphic]

Haha, Theodore did the same thing with his Bactrim, which was banana flavored I think. Tried to steal the syringe many times. I did what has been suggested – putting the liquid to the side of the mouth where there aren’t any teeth, or putting the liquid in a dish.

As for the pellets, that’s partially right. Good quality pellets such as Oxbow are made with the longevity of rabbits in mind, not for meat rabbits. But yes, many rabbit pellets are terrible and made with alfalfa meal (not good for adult rabbits), molasses, sugar, grains, etc. which is all bad and can lead to diet related issues. Ceasing pellets is also a common way to deal with gastrointestinal problems, but it should be said that good pellets are packed with nutrients that the bun isn’t getting from hay – they should be getting a lot of stuff from veggies but often need the pellets to supplement. The amount should only be 1/4-1/8 cup though.

[Author]

Messages