I’m on GI watch (updated)

[jerseygirl]

I’m  on GI watch for Jersey….poor Bub not eating or pooping at the mo.  Have been to vet – I took her in because 1) I was worried and 2) I had a bunch of questions I wanted to ask anyway.  Poor Vet!

So…..may we have some “eat and poop” vi-bees please?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

{{{Eat and Poop Vibes}}}

AWw Jers *hugs* keep us posted!!!

[Moonlight_Wolf]

(((Eat and Poop Vibes)))

Hope Jersey feels better soon!

[Sarita]

Vibes to Ms. Jersey – please let us know what the vet says.

[katie, max & penny]

come on, jersey, eat and poo please!!

[Elrohwen]

Good luck! I hope Jersey comes out of it soon.

[BunnyLiz]

(((eat and poop)))
Hope Jersey eats and heads to the litterbox soon!

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

(((gi vibes))) What did the vet say?

[Scooter]

Good Vibes your way! Here’s to a a good poop!

[bunnyluvr]

Any news? Or the better question – Any poop? Fuzzy went through this last week. He never completely stopped eating or pooping but his eating went way back and his poops were teeny tiny. I took him to the vet and got the sub q fluids, the gut-motility meds, some pain meds and some critical care. After 4 days he’s back to normal – eating, pooping and zooming all over the place! Yay Fuzzy!! Here’s hoping the same for Ms Jersey. (((((((((((((((Eat & Poop Vibes!!!))))))))))))))))))))

[jerseygirl]

Thanks you all! Well after more than 24hrs of nothing, she finally used the box 1.30 am. The second she did she was madly trying to eat hay. Ate some hand fed pellets. Tried some greens but just a little. By morning she went for pellets again. Appetite not completely normal and there was some “posturing” after she ate so I think she still has some discomfort.
She passed jelly-like mucous, some hair, then some long poops. Something smelt a bit whiffy too! (Sorry for the detail guys). I think she was really heading for some trouble!

I should have elaborated earlier….. I had already been to the vet. Jersey had metamide injection and dose of baytril – so I was waiting for things to start moving when I had posted. She had an episode over 12 months ago when she was put on baytril. Not quite same symptoms this time but vet said it’s hard to know why this happen and if it becomes more regular occurance, then we’ll test further. She had urinated on floor and soiled herself with it a few times. Also laying in litter box , going frequently and not doing anything…all signs pointing to bladder infection – hence the antibiotics.

I had been debating whether to take her in for a few weeks. Her peeing on the floor had increased & though it appeared very behavior related, I did wonder if there was something else going on. She’d also been drinking alot more water and her pee puddles were often clear. In the last week or so her output had been lots of longer poop chains strung together with HAY (not hair). She does not seem to digest hay very well…which the vet thought was odd. She also thought perhaps the drinking was because she had a mild fever that she was relieving.

Anyway, whether this possible underlying infection lead to GI stasis I’m not sure. The vet said there seemed to be alot of gas. The night before she was disinterested in her greens. I gave simethe and tummy massage a few times. 3 hrs later she passed a longish poo then went for her greens. By morning she had lost her appetite again. I continued with 2 more doses of smithe and lots of massages.  The simethicone did not seem to help but she got much relief from deep massage on the abdomen.  

So while I’m still on watch, I’m much more relieved! Sorry for the longgg post. Thanks for the vibes

[SophieBun]

{{{{{{{Good Vibes}}}}}}}} Hope Jersey is feeling a LOT better!!!

[MimzMum]

Lots of water drinking hm? Could she perhaps be developing diabetes or a UTI or something?
When I think about undigested food it makes me think enzymes aren’t working properly. That would be the job of the pancreas. A little bloodwork is in order, perhaps? How are her teeth? She might not be chewing well enough?
((((((((((((((((((((((((get better jersey vibes!!!!!!!!!))))))))))))))))))))

[katie, max & penny]

ooh MM thats interesting!
i’m glad jers is feeling a little better. [[[[[[[[continued vibes]]]]]]]

[jerseygirl]

Likely the UTI MM. Rumball had suspected UTI just a month ago. Makes me wonder if I should be cleaning more or if they pass on infectious agent between them (assuming that is the cause)…but maybe it’s just coincidence. I agree on the enzyme/digestion theory. That and also that her bowel is irregular. Since having Rumball, it has really shown up the things that are not right in Jersey. I have never seen cecal from her, and she eats normal fecal sometimes. I also think she might have fecal/cecal mixed…sort of like bunnies that have the “cow poop” syndrome. I did talk to the vet about probiotics…she was of same mind as me on these. Benefits not really proven, I wonder if they even survive the acid in the stomach. She didn’t think it hurts to give them while on antibiotics though.
She had her molars checked though vet couldn’t see the back of them. Jersey has lost a tiny bit of weight too (100gms).  Rumball has lost weight too which is good. About 1/2 a pound (250gms) hehe! I thought it’d be more but I guess it’s fat loss and that doesn’t weigh much compared to muscle right?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Heheh I’m glad to hear she’s coming along. Are you doing a whole two week round of baytril? {{Jersey}}
That’s super Rumball has lost some weight!! I made a mental note to ask you for more pics of him-he’s soo cute. So this is me asking

[Sarita]

Have you tried taking her off her pellets? Also can your vet give you some oral reglan to keep at home just in case and some metacam?

I agree that there are no provens for probiotics but I say what the heck, it doesn’t hurt, if you can get benebac they generally like this stuff and will take it easily.

I think I would want to do bloodwork if this weird stuff continues. Is the baytril for a possible UTI? I’m a little confused about what the vet is using that for.

[Deleted User]

Oh, Jersey, I’m sorry to hear all this. you must have been pretty stressed waiting for over 24 hours for her to use the litterbox. The massages are really a great thing, they help even if they don’t fix the the cause. You had mentioned the undigested hay pieces that Jersey passes already when you just got Rumball. What exactly do they look like in appearance, how long are they?
I wonder if there is a special diet that would keep Jersey feeling her best. Maybe steamed hay? I’m not joking.

[jerseygirl]

Things were still slow most that day. Only by evening she started to go more regular. Petzy, good tip. I have tried soaking in juice to entice, and tried chaff to see if she’d go for that but no. So steaming may be worth a try. Do you literally steam it on the stove then cool and serve or let it dry out again? The undigested hay could be the way she eats it too – she’s a competative eater. So when I put i fresh batch in she jumps in and “pretends” to devour madly. Rumball will actually work his way through it. She really just nibbles, eats leaves and odd bits she favours. So the hay that she passes is just like the long, flat thinner ribbons of grass hay stringing together the fecals. ( I actually have a picture I can post…..hehe. I took it as a record basically.) Sometimes just oblong fecals with peices of hay sticking out.

Sarita, I would say the majority of her diet is greens. I haven’t ever fully omitted pellets…I’m not tough enough. They share such a small amount as it it though. The stasis is what took us to the vet but what brought this on is hard to discern. While there, I reported that water drinking and urinating on floor had worsened past 2 weeks so it’s possible she was harbouring a bladder or tract infection. The baytril is to see if this will help those problems. The other stuff – weird poop etc has been long term and something I just figured is how Jersey is. I had though increased hay would improve things but that just produced weirder outputs.

K&K, I’m to to 2x daily for 5 days but I’ll continue til the med runs out. Oh, and I have added pics of the buns in my profile a few weeks ago if you want to check out Rumball there. Some of them are from when I first brought him home, some more recent. You may be able to notice some subtle differences I hope. I will post on the boards some then&now shots when I can get a decent one for comparison.

[RabbitPam]

Sorry I am only catching up on this now. {{{{{{{{{{{Jersey!}}}}}}}}}}

Does the type of hay matter at all? Because I’m wondering if trying that soft hay that Sarita recommended last week that her bunnies love would be an option. If a softer hay might be easier on her tummy, but still give her what she needs. It’s KMS.

[RachelB]

I agree with the problem possibly being with the hay. Have you tried different kinds?? Maybe your buns tummy is sensitive to a certain one?

[Deleted User]

Posted By jerseygirl on 10/14/2009 03:36 AM
. Petzy, good tip. I have tried soaking in juice to entice, and tried chaff to see if she’d go for that but no. So steaming may be worth a try. Do you literally steam it on the stove then cool and serve or let it dry out again?

I have never done it. I just thought since pelles are made from steamed hay maybe Jersey would like steamed hay also.

I searched and found this on another forum.

As a last resort, steam hay to increase the moisture content, make it tender and intensify the aroma and flavour
To steam hay: bring a pot of 1 inch of water to a boil. Place a handful of hay into a steaming basket, and steam for 10-15 seconds (unsweetened fruit juice can be added to the water for flavour)

In Australia, oaten hay is the best option for our bunnies. Oaten hay is a thicker and more fibrous crop. It should look a slightly green colour and smell fantastic!!

It’s from this place:

forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php

[jerseygirl]

Haha, I found that last night too. (just fyi, that Hay Science article was posted there from Boing Online who has borrowed it from Oxbow.) I guess try a little bit and see. Wouldn’t want to do lots because it’ll go bad quickly I imagine. We’re just coming into the hay season here so should be nice fresh stuff coming on the market. So I will be chasing that down too.

Pam, though i would love to try those other hays (KMS, Oxbow, APD) they’re hard to come by in Australia.  Or pricey. A 15oz bag of oxbow tim hay will cost approx $25 including p&h.  That amount is supposed to last a 5lb rabbit 4 days.

[MimzMum]

I agree with the oat hay suggestion. Whenever I notice Pip is not really making her usual large bb’s, I feed some oat and she’s going great guns the next day. Can you come by any of that, Jerz?
Every bun is different though. Mimzy will not do well with orchard grass, for instance. Only makes his stomach seem to put out smaller contents. He needs to eat a large quantity to get his gut moving well.
Fiver must have timothy. It’s the only thing that settles with him at either end.

[jerseygirl]

Oh yes! Oat hay is the feed hay here. I really want to get some of the fresh stuff. It is stalky and has alot of grain heads though. If it’s sweet smelling, she may go for it. Currently I have older meadow hay and oaten. Rumball eats both but chows down on oaten most. Jersey doesn’t eat the oaten at all just the lucerne leaves out of the meadow hay. I’ve even tried fresh and dried orchard grass that I grew. No luck.  I will really have to try taking out morning pellets perhaps.  History tells me though she’ll just wait until evening and not fill on hay during the day. 

[MimzMum]

It does have a lot of nasty seedheads. I usually pick these out, but then sometimes you don’t have much left to offer.
I am concerned with the binders in most pellets, (and of course, hay cubes too) and what they must do to our bunnies’ digestive systems. I see a lot of bunnies here who go into stasis and they’ve been eating too many (or sometimes their normal amount of) pellets right before. Can’t scientifically prove it, just a hunch.

[Binkles]

Oat hay is Little-Bit’s staple. It’s worked WONDERS in her. Awesome fiber content, and I think the smell/ taste of oat is often more appealing to them.

[Author]

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