Make sure he keeps warm. In my experience, rabbits tend to get cold ears when they’re experiencing tummy trouble. (Cold ears can have other causes, during other circumstances, but they are an indication that the bun is trying to preserve body heat.) You can give him a warm waterbottle to help him keep warm, but dont force it on him.

Gentle (very gentle) tummy massage and elevating the butt can also help the bun to pass gas. Here’s a link to Mary S Cotter’s video on rabbit massage: https://youtu.be/JnuxGLa2reg

It is of course very promising that he pooped quite a bit after the first dose of simethicone.

Keep keeping a close eye. If he doesnt eat anything or poops within the next 6 -12 hours, I think it’s best to contact a vet.

Aw, that’s always so awful! About the simethicone: it’s difficult to get it into their mouths because they struggle so much. Breintje struggles so much that the liquid hangs off his whiskers in gloopy drops, like he’s just fallen into a plate of porridge. Sometimes I’m SO done with that bun that I put a drop on each of his front paws instead. He’ll lick it off and can get his medicine like that.

The washing is a good sign though! And the rabbittude as well, when they feel very awful they are unresponsive. Do you have anything at home which rabbits absolutely love? We use raisins, banana and parsley to check if Breintje is really ill. It doesn’t really matter if they eat treats at this moment, as long as the system is kept moving. The gas pain massage that Bam mentioned is a really good one, I always use it on Breintje as well.

I guess there’s little else you can do, and that’s awfully frustrating. Fingers crossed for poops, we’re rooting for you Dorian!

Sounds like you’re doing everything you can from home, poor little guy. 🙁  Fingers crossed he keeps perking up.

If he pooped, I wouldn’t be worried about a blockage. I am not a vet, but personally I would syringe feed. It doesn’t need to be a ton, but you could do a few mL and see how he responds. Since you said he’s molting he prob just has some excess fur he needs to push through. I would keep up the tummy rubs and do another dose of simethicone.

If you aren’t comfortable with giving actual critical care (or pellet mash), you could also just do some water or hay tea. When Myra gets weird usually fluids alone will perk her up within an hour.

Also for giving oral fluids, I have a much easier time using the 1 mL syringes (thanks for the tip Moonlightbunny).

Can you take his temp?

Good one Dana ^_^ The hay tea recipe is here:

Hay tea – For anybunny who doesn’t drink enough, especially for ill or recovering rabbits

Yes, thanks Ellie! The hay tea queen!

If Dorian has gotten worse and you end up reading this in the middle of the night (which I hope he has improved!), I second that keeping him warm is important. You can place a water bottle wrapped in a towel near him, so he can cuddle it if he needs to. When Bun Jovi was really poorly on a Sunday night a few years ago (he had a low temp and I was just trying to get him through till morning, similar situation with no ER vet) I put a light blanket over him and the bottle, but he was able to move away from it easily.

Any update on Dorian?

Ohhh I so hope he’s feeling better!

Please let us know how he is!

Do you have any updates?

I sure hope he’s feeling better 🙁

Aaw, Dorian – poor baby. When Binkie had tummy trouble, I gave her some good tummy rubs, and syringed her some warm herbal tea and pellet mush. She’s a good girl with syringe feeding most of the time, so I had hardly no trouble getting the mush into her. Please give us an update when Dorian’s feeling better! <3

Yay! 😃

Thank you for the update!

So glad he’s okay. You had me worried sick! 😡  A few Dorian pictures should make up for it though. 😉

Hahaha, exactly! Being ecstatic about poop is an initiation rite into the circle of bunny owners. Bonus points if you sent pictures to friends in the middle of the night. Which, I’m sure, is something none of us has ever done before 😉 Glad to hear he bounced back to health! Getting rabbittude while you’re giving them medication is a very good sign.

Thanks for the update! Glad he’s doing better!

It’s very interesting, he really sounds a lot like Myra! The construction could be stressing him out a bit. When Myra is concerned about something, she will snub food. But then she also can have little episodes where I think she is gassy. She also doesn’t really like soft lettuces like butter leaf in general, but will eat them eventually. Molting also makes buns grumpy, as we’ve talked about before.

Have you noticed this happening at a certain time of day? Like perhaps during a time where he would normally be sleeping?

I tend to have a mental flow chart when a bun snubs food or is acting weird. First I’ll give them a pet and see how they respond. If I get some tooth purrs out of them, that’s reassuring. I’ll offer a handful of fresh hay, a favorite veggie, a treat (usually in that order). My buns have always seemed more inclined to take a strand of hay from my hand only turn it down if they are feeling off. If they eat something, great, I give them more of that thing (unless it’s a treat). A pile of wet greens can be enough to rehydrate a bun that’s feeling a bit crampy.

If they turn down everything (and this is something I noticed recently, like within a couple hours), I will give simethicone, a tummy rub, and syringe some fluids depending on how they are behaving. If all of this happens around a meal time, I usually will syringe feed a little bit too. I treat things a bit differently if a bun is turning down a full meal vs. acting weird a few hours after a meal.

Usually all of that perks them up within an hour. If still not 100% but improving, I repeat. If not improving or getting worse, then it’s time to call the vet!

And all of this only applies to a bun that’s just acting a little off and being picky about food. If the bun was lethargic, showing pain symptoms, felt cold or unresponsive, we would be off to the vet right away.

My first house bunny, Bunston, was also kind of picky about food sometimes, but I never pinned down what was going on with him (I also knew a lot less about bunnies with him and know I made mistakes). He weirdly didn’t like his veggies wet. So i’d have to rinse them and let them dry, then he would eat them. He would also tend to snub his pellets first if his tummy was feeling weird, but would go for his hay (they sometimes know what they need to feel better). So I would just push extra hay on him. Fresh grass can also be really good in those situations, because it’s the fiber of hay plus water.

If Dorian continues to have these little episodes, it would be good to talk to your vet about it. They might be able to pin down what’s happening. Some vets will also give you metacam to keep at home and give permission to dose it if a bun has certain symptoms (my vet did this for Bun Jovi).

He’s so curious and adorable! I could never get any work done with that little face following me around the house ^_^

Construction and moult both at the same time sounds very stressy to me, poor Dorian! I’m sorry that I can’t help food-wise because Breintje is super food-oriented. He steals sandwiches and he’ll climb onto a stranger’s shoulder to get a piece of banana 🙄 What did help me spot illness was keeping a record of his daily activities. Rabbits are creatures of habit and can be quite precise in their daily rhythm: sleeping from 11 to 4 in the afternoon, starting to beg for dinner around six, etc. If a bunny with a fixed rhythm is behaving differently and you can’t pinpoint why, keep in mind that they may be stressed or ill.

For example: I learned that Breintje is not a flopper, except when he’s been cuddled for hours, while sunbathing or in summer. He does random flops, but only about twice a month. When he has gas pains he tries to pass it off as a flop, but I know that he rarely flops after dinner, so I keep an eye on him. When it’s one of his rare flops he just lies there happily, but when he has gas pains he switches sides every couple of minutes. Also: when he does a real flop he’ll sit upright again when someone comes near. When he has gas pains he stays in the flop position and he freezes. Poor bun!

Doriannn! So comforting to hear he’s doing okay. Love those adorable pics!

Yay, thanks for the pics! How can he be so adorable?? 😀

That all sounds pretty normal to me! Stress + nap time can def do it.

I think it is probably all related to molting, or potentially he’s eating less of the new hay. We also see lots of buns getting tummy issues with the season change at the rescue. There are hormonal changes in spring a long with just acclimating to new temps etc. Unless it progresses to something that doesn’t resolve with a tummy rub and simethicone (or it starts happening a lot more), I probably wouldn’t do anything different at the moment.

Poor guy 🙁

I do think if it happens again I would prob take him to the vet, just to see what they think. They might be able to give you pain meds to have on hand.

Just re-read that you have a teleconference with the vet, it will be good to know what they think!

Molting can be so hard on them. If you use the search function on the forum you will find lots of accounts of GI issues during molting, there might also be some tips in there that help.

Yes, moulting can be very difficult for rabbits. It’s still prudent to check with your vet, considering his latest tummy troubles, but I’m guessing that this is a moult problem.

When Breintje goes into moult he leaves squishy smelly carpet surprises for days before he starts to shed. We are always puzzled by what caused it: wondering if he’s eaten something bad or whether he’s ill, until we see the hair float around a short while later.

During moult there’s a high chance that he’ll get gas pains, or that he gets grumpy and wants to be left alone. It’s probably very itchy and it probably demands a lot of energy. He’s very hungry during moult and more likely to walk away when we try to pet him.

It’s only recently that he started to accept being brushed. In the past we had to pluck him gently to get all the hair out, but you couldn’t pluck him more than once a day. Now I give him a light brushing when he’s on the sofa with me. He gets fewer stomach episodes during moult itself now.