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Just got back from the vet.
Of course Smokey had to seem like I was a liar because she was fine haha, but they did believe me. The vet said she’s had this happen with 2 other rabbits before, and that since Smokey is going through a big shed right now, the combination of the hair plus the kale may have given her the gas.
She did feel her belly really thoroughly and checked her teeth and she said there wasn’t a lot of gas and no lumps, which is good. Her teeth are perfect as are her gums. She said she’s a really healthy rabbit, so she’s not worried about it now. She DID give her 10cc of fluid under her skin since she didn’t eat/drink for that extended period of time last night into this morning.
She told me that if it happens again, they’ll give me some fruit-flavored medicine to give Smokey that will act as sort of a laxative to push everything out.
Smokey jumped around the livingroom for awhile and now she’s back in her condo, happily munching away on her hay and romaine, back to her normal self
Which is a HUGE relief to me! -
No because she said since she was eating/peeing/pooping normally again, that she wasn’t going to order an x-ray. Had she still been the same way she was last night today, the vet said she would have immediately ordered an x-ray to see what was going on. They were both happy to just see her healthy and eating and whatnot, even though a nurse had to wrap her up and hold her so the vet could check her teeth, as Smokey fought her. My little 3 pounds bunny haha
But yeah, I’m just going to cut kale completely out of her greens and just stick to Romaine. I’ll go shopping soon and pick up some other greens she gave me a list of which are :
carrot tops, beet tops, dandelion greens + flowers, collard greens, escarole, romaine, parsley, clover, cabbage, broccoli + leaves, carrot, brussel sprouts, basil, peppermint leaves, raddichio, bok choy and spinach.In the Spring/Summer months, Smokey LOVES dandelions. She can’t get enough of them. And her Pre-Kers pick them in the playground just to give them to her ( my school does no pesticides, no worries! ). But as it’s winter now, there are none around
I’m just hoping that if I buy her something from this list, she’ll eat it! And now I’m always going to worry about her getting gas again -
Smokey is going through a shed right now?
Has she ever had oat hay? I recommend it.. I’ve been giving it to my bunny because she has been shedding like mad. Lol. I highly recommend it for shedding bunnies. I mix it with orchard and meadow. Here is what oat looks like:
It helps push hair through the stomach. Rabbits will ingest their hair.. and they can’t throw up hair balls
hence the stringy poops! -
I think kale is one of the veggies that has a high oxalic acid content, and probably too much vitamin A for bunnies to have it more than once a week at most. I stopped feeding it to mine because it seemed to upset their stomachs too much. Red leaf lettuce is a no-no for mine as well. And iceberg lettuce of any kind is not good for anybun. I also found my mini-rex cannot eat romaine lettuce. Something about it makes him extremely gassy. I rushed him to the vet one night due to how uncomfortable it made him. Taking your rabbit’s sensitivities into account is a good thing.
(BTW, what breed of bunny is Smokey?)
I only feed dandelions from my home yard that I can see well from my window. We don’t use fertilizers or pesticides either, but a public area where dogs could come and wee/poo on the dandies can transmit disease to a bunny.The best way to keep a rabbit’s tummy happy….hay, hay, and more hay! Be aware of it’s freshness and don’t feed any that appears moldy. It should be the staple of their diet. Some bunnies do well with greens every day, others need less.
One more thing, I found my bunnies had a lot less tummy trouble without pellets. If you can find a high quality one that’s mostly hay and little or no filler, that’s better, but there’s just something about them that slows my bunnies’ tummies way down. It was hard to wean them off them, but they’ve been a whole year without them and are just as happy.Well, that was a lot of words…but, just wanted to finish by saying I am also glad that Smokey is well! ^_^ I was worried too! Good for you for being cautious and taking her in to see the vet! Give her a snuggle for me!
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The vet said that kale is really high in calcium, too, so to give it to her sparingly. I’m just going to cut her off it entirely and try other things from the list. Maybe I’ll try carrots again, with the leafy tops. I’m hoping she’ll like them or something else on the list.
The playgrounds at my school are fenced in
The pellets I give her were recommended by users on here and she gets 1/8 cup a day, and that’s it. I’ve noticed she lost a little bit of the pudge, which is great. It’s a Timothy hay pellet. Oxbow T
I actually wanted to try to give her oat because of the great reviews it has. She LOVES orchard hay, as well. So I’m going to try to go to the store sometime tonight after work and pick some up, although I’m not sure if they carry oat. I’ll probably have to order it offline. That site Drs Foster & Smith is great and have great prices, so I might just be ordering from them
Smokey is a Netherland Dwarf who will be 2 years old on March 19th
And yeah, I’m really glad I took her, too. My vet also doubles as an animal hospital, so the vets there are very experienced and nice. The breeder I purchased Smokey from recommended the vet’s office to me, since she said they’re very experienced with rabbits. Plus if I didn’t take her, I would feel like a terrible pet owner. A couple people kept asking me why I was going to spend $40 to take her when she was acting fine, but I don’t think they understand that bun owners -know- their rabbits ( which is what my vet was saying, she was glad I brought her in, too ) and that when something isn’t right, the best thing is TO take them to the vet.
Oh well, it doesn’t matter what those nay-sayers say! I want my Smokey to always be the happy, healthy, curious, energetic bunny that she is
Thank you all for helping me out and caring, it really helped keep me calm while I had to wait to see the vet!
Edit : I just checked and Petsmart carries Oxbox oat AND orchard. So I’m in luck
There’s also one only 7 minutes away from me 
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Ever since I cut out the kale, Smokey has only gotten romaine and her timothy since and she’s been fine. She’s back to her normal self.
I haven’t gotten to run to get her some oat because all of the stores are closed. I’ll have to call Petsmart and HOPE they’re open D: Yeah, it didn’t bother me that people were saying why bother taking her. The vet said she was glad I did and that she understood that bun owners know their bunnies and that when something is wrong, we can tell. Like moms and their kids. So at least you guys/girls and the vet were on my side : ) I’m just so happy she’s back to her old self!
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Me too! Now, I can plot to steal her … *chuckles*
I haven’t tried kale. My bunny is awfully picky o_o Won’t eat carrots or mint. Just likes her normal romaine, cilantro and the occasional italian parsley. She dislikes parsley, but will eat italian parsley.
I think that petsmart is open. A friend of mine on facebook works at petsmart and mentioned that she is going into work today
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Yeah I got into Petsmart and got her some oat hay, which she devoured!
Smokey HATES carrots. She turns her nose on them in the most disapproving manner and looks at me as if I’m giving her poop to eat! She loves kale, but she’ll just have to deal with having romaine for now until the grocery stores are open and I can get her some mint, which she likes, and maybe some parsley. I’ll have to see what they offer.
And you can’t steal her, she’s my love
Although are two buns would look awfully cute together! -
HEhehe!!
Those nethies are so cute
They are so bossy for such small bunnies! Oh, yes my rabbit has snubbed carrots many times. So, no carrots
She likes mint? It has a strong smell for my bunny, I think. She sniffs it, runs away or foot flicks. Strange, as cilantro has a strong odor to it and she gobbles it right up! -
I’m so glad Smokey is all better! I think it was smart to bring her to the vet just in case.
Both of my bunnies have had one bout of gas each, and one has had a case of full GI stasis. They both acted differently, but they were noticably “off”. Nelli, my girl bunny, was flinging herself around and flopping contstantly, where my boy bunny, Bunbun, acted like Smokey and wanted nothing to do with me. Bunbun needed to be warmed up, since his ears were freezing and he was shivering, but other than that I just rubbed their bellies and stressed out. It was the middle of the night both times- of course. Both bunnies recovered from their gas within a couple hours. When BunBun got GI stasis, he started acting weird at about midnight and I knew it was serious when he still wasn’t better by the morning, so I rushed him to the vet.
I find it hard not to panic when my bunnies act sick- my first impulse is to grab them and zoom them to the emergency vet. But sometimes all they need is to be kept warm and get belly rubs and maybe some simethicone. My rule is if they don’t eat for over 3 hours- vet time. I’m definitely more cautious than many, but that’s OK. I still haven’t figured out what gave my bunnies gas, but I’m much more cautious about any new foods now. I have also cut out kale, collard greens and spinache, due to high calcium and oxalic acid content and potential to upset their tummies. Like Mizmum’s bunnies, mine have been on a pellet free diet since November due to BunBun’s bladder sludge. They’re doing fine with it- I just give them extra greens and I don’t think they missed it after the initial “where’s our pellet bowl??” shock wore off. Anyway, that’s awesome that Smokey’s recovered! And she even got a clean bill ofhealth from the vet- now you can really relax
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and smokeybunnyrobinson, i’ll upload a pic of each.
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