We had our first gas scare!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 19sd replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 10 months ago by wendyzski.

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- 01/26/2008 at 11:12 AM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  Pepper – she of the cast-iron tummy, has finally met her match.
  
  Apparently she got a free sample packet of Citrucel (sweetened and flavored fiber supplement) out of the trash- I found orange powder scattered around the hallway carpet when I got home from work in the evening.
  
  She didn’t come running for her greens as usual, and when I went looking for her she didn’t come out. She stayed hunched up in the corner, and wouldn’t take cilantro when I shoved it in front of her nose. I picked her up and her poor tummy was all blowed up like a furry little balloon!
  
  Luckily, I had put together a basic bunny-kit when I first adopted her so I had simethecome and a dropper on hand. I dosed her and rubbed her tummy for while. She didn’t fight me, so I KNEW she was feeling poorly. She wiggled loose after about 5 minutes, and went back to the corner. I went ahead and went to an appointment I had, and was back in 3 hours.
  
  By that point her tummy was close to normal, though she still looked uncomfy. So she got another dose of simethecone and 2 syringes of water because she didn’t seem to have drunk. And she even nibbled a tiny bit of green pepper!(And chewed a hole in my pants out of irritation)
  
  I went to bed but set an alarm for 1:30 AM- by then she had eaten most of her veggies. At 4:30 AM she had eaten about half her pellets, so she got 2 more syringes of water, and by 9AM both pellet-bowl and greens-plate were empty and she was lounging on the windowsill with feet outstretched.
  
  She’s fine. Her Mommy on the other hand could do with a bit of a nap…
- 01/26/2008 at 11:20 AM
  JK
  Participant
  2223 posts
  OMG! What’s next? At least you knew what to do! And this just reminds me I still have not put together an emergency kit! So glad bun is better! Great job mom.
- 01/26/2008 at 1:11 PM
  Scarlet_Rose
  Participant
  4293 posts
  Great job Wendyzki but I am thinking it was partially gas and the fiber blowing up in her stomach. The Citrucel expands like crazy and is not good if not taken with enough water so I am glad you gave her all that water to help pass it through. However, you talked about her tummy not being so blown up, but what about her poop, is that O.K.? Is she going at all?
- 01/26/2008 at 3:28 PM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  Well, now that I’ve had a nap…
  
  I’ve seen her sitting in the litterbox as usual – not looking like she’s straining or anything, and I just cleaned out the cage and dumped the box so I should be sure shortly. Dinner is being pigged on as usual, and bunny-zooms in the kitchen seem normal, so I think she’s out of the woods.
  
  But I thought about what if I had to go hunt down syringes and meds at 10PM on a Friday, and decided to post this EVERYWHERE to get people thinking about checking/updating/making a bunny kit.
  
  UPDATE – there is poop!
- 01/26/2008 at 3:33 PM
  osprey
  Participant
  2065 posts
  Nice save, Wendyz. It sounds like you knew all of the things to do to get her on her feet quickly. Good job!
- 01/26/2008 at 4:30 PM
  JK
  Participant
  2223 posts
  You got me thinking about what the heck I would do in that situation and I would be very ill prepared! I’m definitely going to get started on that kit!
- 01/26/2008 at 7:55 PM
  babybunsmum
  Participant
  3896 posts
  phew! what a relief to see poop. great news! nicely done wendyzski what a little stinker to get into the garbage huh?
- 01/27/2008 at 1:18 PM
  Scarlet_Rose
  Participant
  4293 posts
  Houston, we have poop! : ) LOL I ‘ve always wanted top say that. That’s great Wendyzki!
- 01/27/2008 at 3:59 PM
  LillyBear
  Participant
  223 posts
  Wow Wendy, nice job!! How much simethicone do you give your rabbits?? Its the baby simethicone I know, but do you give the standard baby amount? Half? etc… thank you! I am going to buy some to keep on hand, just in case.. although I doubt Id ever use it before taking them to the vet.. but you NEVER know!! The last time my Lilly got sick, I didn’t have a car yet, and bf was on his way home from work–stuck in some major traffic!! It took him 3hrs to get home that day.. and although I have a car now, Id like to just keep it on hand! Say, my rabbits are 4 and 7lbs.
- 01/27/2008 at 5:08 PM
  Gravehearted
  Participant
  2428 posts
  I’m sure glad she’s ok! it’s just a very fortunate thing that you had emergency supplies on hand and hope it also inspires others to do the same.
  
  Lily – my bunnies are 5 -7 1/2 pounds and I give 1 cc at the first sign of gas.
  
  this medicine calculator is a bit confusing, but may help you http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html
- 01/27/2008 at 7:21 PM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  1cc is the usual. Since simethecone works by physically holding down the gas bubbles (It’s a variant of the stuff in hair-glossers!) it isn’t actually absorbed so it’s hard to overdose on it. Not that you should pour the bottle down her throat, but I figured closer to 1.5 since some would likely end up ON her rather than IN her.
  
  I don’t have a car – I live very close to public transit, but I suspect I would be too busy freaking out to remember what was still open at 10pm on a friday night! All the syringes have been carefully washed in hot water, dried, and in a ziploc bag to stay clean for when they are needed.
- 01/27/2008 at 7:23 PM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  Posted By babybunsmum on 01/26/2008 7:55 PM
  
  phew! what a relief to see poop. great news! nicely done wendyzski what a little stinker to get into the garbage huh?
  
  The Insatiable Force has finally met the Indigestible Object!
- 01/27/2008 at 9:25 PM
  wabbitlove
  Participant
  54 posts
  this may be a dumb question, but how do you know if your rabbit is gassy and needs help? other than, of course, noticing that he’s just eaten a whole packet of citrucel! will they show obvious signs of distress?
- 01/28/2008 at 9:29 AM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  Buns are prone to all kinds of tummy problems, because their guts are fairly delicately balanced. Too many carbs or an unfamiliar food can give them poopy-butt because it can throw off the balance of bacteria that help them process their high-fiber diet. Or they can get a tummyache from an unfamiliar food or gas. Any of these need immediate treatment because a rabbit MUST keep their digestive systems moving or they can go into what is called "GI Stasis", where they basically stop eating and can die.
  
  I knew she was ill because she was hunched up in the corner, not running around like usual or dancing for her dinner. This has happened before, when she got into a whole bag of throat drops knocked on the floor when my apartment was burgled, but then she DID eat when I shoved food in front of her face. I just made sure that she kept at least nibbling until she felt well enough to come out on her own.
  
  But when she would not eat, even when I shoved a stong-smelling green like cilantro in front of her, then I knew something could be very wrong indeed. I picked her up, and I could tell that her tummy just didn’t feel right. Normally it’s nice and squishy, but now it really DID feel like a furry little balloon. She was grinding her teeth in pain as well, so I knew she was sick.
  
  Some of the people on my other bunny groups suggest always giving simethecone at the first sign of trouble – it can’t hurt and may help. But you do need to keep an eye on them in case it drifts into something more serious, which can happen very quickly. That is why I set my alarm to check on her throughout the night – to make sure that she was starting to eat and poo again, and that she kept hydrated and was more active.
- 01/28/2008 at 10:39 AM
  Gravehearted
  Participant
  2428 posts
  I generally give simethecone whenever a bunny doesn’t look right. How I know they don’t look right? I can’t really explain – but like Wendy said – if they’re hunched over, posturing funny, can’t seem to get comfortable or refuse a treat I know something is wrong.
  
  One things to keep in mind is that since bunnies are prey animals they will try to hide any signs of illness for as long as possible. Generally by the time they’e showing signs of being sick, they REALLY don’t feel good. That’s why it’s so important to keep an eye on what they’re eating and what’s going on in the litterbox. If I see abnormal poops or fur in between poops (aka string of pearls) it’s time to be on alert and ensure to give them lots of fresh hay, water and papaya tablets – plus keep a careful eye for any signof GI slowdown (like stopping eating or much less pooping)
- 01/28/2008 at 11:08 AM
  wabbitlove
  Participant
  54 posts
  Good to know all of the specifics.. it’s always better to know what to do before it actually happens, just to be prepared
- 01/28/2008 at 6:15 PM
  Scarlet_Rose
  Participant
  4293 posts
  Exactly! Also it’s something to write down on a recipe card and put in your box of ailments & remedies everyone for your emergency kit! : )
- 01/28/2008 at 9:00 PM
  babybunsmum
  Participant
  3896 posts
  i could tell my first bun was gassy because he was posturing funny… he was laying with his bum up sorta funny and he didn’t move normally. also his tummy felt distended. like wendyski said… like a furry baloon. that was the first bout. from then on i could tell before he even postured funny because his belly already felt less doughy that normal. poor boy.
- 01/29/2008 at 5:27 PM
  LillyBear
  Participant
  223 posts
  OK I just bought infant simethecone and it says for infants under 24lbs (which a rabbit is under 24lbs!!!) to give it .3mL or .3cc.. why give the rabbit one full mL/cc?? I just really dont want to hurt my bun!
- 01/30/2008 at 9:07 AM
  wendyzski
  Participant
  1312 posts
  well, one guess would be that rabbits have a different kind of digestive system than people – theirs is more fermentation-based, so there is always SOME gas. Maybe that is why the nigher dosage?
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