Little-Bit’s Tummy is upset

[Binkles]

So, this time I’m SURE it’s gas and not just tummy gurgles. She’s definitely pressing her belly to the ground and is refusing food right now. At first I was concerned that it may be stasis, but then I began to hear her little insides gurgling from about a foot away and I knew it was gas, which I suppose will probably be over in a few hours, right? (Unfortunately she’s refusing simethcone. )

The only thing that’s new in her diet is the Snak Shak that I gave her as a chewing diversion yesterday morning. Binkles loved these, so I figured they might be a good chewing remedy for Little-Bit too.

So I think that has to be the culprit. Because other than this gas episode, she’s been doing very well lately. The only thing I don’t understand is that it’s a VERY hard chew toy, so I don’t suspect that she’s been able to ingest a whole lot of it. Isn’t it that bunnies’ tummies usually only get in a funk when they’re offered a new food without moderation? Or are there some things that bunnies’ tummies just disagree with period? Is there some way I can ‘ease’ her system into getting used to the Snak Shak or should I just drop the idea and move on to another chew toy?

[jerseygirl]

Be interesting to know how long it takes for a suspect veggie or any food to cause gas. Like it could be something she had yesterday but is just affecting her know…??? Maybe her gut is susceptible to these upsets. Is there something available that helps them get a good gut balance? Like the good bacteria we can get from yoghurt? I think pellet formulas have something like this in them but I wwould have thought a live form would be better.

Hope she is coming good (((Calm tummy vibes Little-Bit!)))

[Binkles]

Well, I gave it to her late yesterday morning and she started having tummy upset somewhere between 4:00 and 8:00 tonight. She’s been gnawing on it on and off since then.

She was fine this morning and I heard her doing Bunny 500’s last night, so it looks like it has taken a little over 24 hours for this to disagree with her tummy. Granted, it has been continually going into her in small quantities.

[jerseygirl]

Have you tried offering herbs? Parley or cilantro? You may have to try handfeeding them.  Also a tummy massage if she’ll let you.

[Binkles]

I’ve massaged her tummy a little bit from the side, but she won’t let me for very long. I haven’t tried herbs because I don’t have any on me right now. (I know, I do need to adjust her feeding schedule to include them.) But I have tried hand feeding her simethicone and papaya tablets to no avail.

Ugh, she’s beginning to worry me now. It’s almost been 4 hours.

[Cassi&Charlie]

If you want to give her simethicone you might have to break up the capsule and syringe feed it to her. My buns wont touch the stuff, I have to force feed it down their throats. It works pretty quickly though if it is gas.
Maybe you should call the vet and make an appointment, just in case she doesn’t improve.

[Binkles]

The simethicone I have is the delicious berry suspended kind. Thanks for the tip though!

[jerseygirl]

Was going to ask too, does it come with syringe? Someone said they sit on floor, sitting on your own calves (indian style?) and put bunny between your legs. So they’re sort of hemmed in on both sides. Then put syringe in side of mouth and start to squirt slowly. If she gets taste of the berry, she might take it more easily then. Sorry if you’ve “been there, done this” all before! It might upset her all now, being handled, but once the med takes effect, she be all the better for it.

[Binkles]

I would love to catch her, but Little-Bit is the most finicky bunny EVER when it comes to being handled -it literally takes two people to catch her and even then it can take close to thirty minutes. (And I don’t have two people right now. ._. )

I feel horrible, horrible about leaving her like this, but I really need to get some rest. I pray to God she’s better in the morning, what with it being Sunday and all…no vets.

Please everyone, your vibes/ prayers/ whatever you subscribe to. I love her so much and am so worried..

[jerseygirl]

((Little Bit)) Hope she’s better by morn Sarah. If she wasn’t all hunched up but just doing the belly press, then this’d be her way of managing the gas. Hope you got some sleep!

[Binkles]

Actually she isn’t all haunched up. She is just doing the belly-press and being really lethargic.

Anyway, at around 5:00 this morning, I heard digging nearby. She was in her hutch on the top floor of her condo right next to my pillow -a VERY strange place for her to be…and it scared the crap out of me that she was there instead of on the floor. It was a hard decision because I knew that she came to her hutch because she was comfortable in putting her trust in me there, but I used this chance as an opportunity to capture her.

So I did. Now she’s captured and on the sofa downstairs with my mom and I. We’re about to force some simethicone into her, I’ll start out with 2cc an hour for the first three hours as per Dana Krempels’ article.

[Binkles]

Well gosh, guys. What can I say. I wish I had caught her and done this last night. An hour later and she’s acting a good 40% better. Most of the hour was uneventful, filled with belly-pressing and lethargy, and I massaged her tummy a little as much as she would let me. Then at about exactly an hour past her dosage, I heard a few discrete gurgles and the life came back into her. She ate a few wood chips and (thank God) GULPED down some water. She suddenly became exploratory and bright-eyed.

She’s showing some interest in hay, but hasn’t actually eaten any yet -just bitten it in half and such. So I just got through giving her another 2cc’s and she’s sitting in her litterbox grooming herself. We’ll see what the next hour holds.

(And there she goes gulping down some more water…YAY! )

[Binkles]

Now we have hay-nibbleage. And…

…POOP! 8D

The mal-formed kind that say “I’ve been having tummy troubles” but POOP nonetheless!

[kralspace]

Yea Little Bit! I know it was a long night for all three of you.

[KatnipCrzy]

I wonder if the Snack Shack was just to rich and sugary for her….it is made with alfalfa hay and honey.

http://www.petdiscounters.com/Ecotrition-Snak-Shak-Natural-Activity-Log-p6423.html

[Binkles]

Yes I was thinking that too. I never ever give her any really rich sugary things. The only treats I ever give her are papaya tablets and the odd grape or apple slice. I think it’s safe to say that Little-Bit has a sensitive tummy, at least to sugary foods. Sure am glad I know that now!

Does that say something about her? That she doesn’t take rich, sugary foods well?

Btw, she’s almost 100% better now. Running around and wolfing down her hay like a bunny! Poops are pretty much at normal size again too. I have to say that I have never put ALL that much faith in simethicone since it hasn’t been ‘medically proven’ to help with bunny gas. I’ve always just given it as a precautionary thing. But now, gosh, I’m going to have to say that I swear by it. That stuff REALLY works!!

[jerseygirl]

Yay! Well maybe she’ll have a memory for that “yummy smithecone” in case you ever have to administer it again!

[KatnipCrzy]

Out of my 3 bunnies- Cotton seems to be the most sensitive.  She can get mushy poos from too many treats given at one time- they need to be given throughout the day.  And she is the only one that I have ever suspected of having gas….she was quieter and did not eat her salad or pellets- so twice I have given her Simethicone.  Schroeder and Penny seem to have more “cast iron” stomachs- But I have owned Cotton longer- over a year- and Penny about 4-5 months and Schroeder a little over a month.  I do think I notice a difference though.

[KatnipCrzy]

If you are hesitant about medicating her- you could “practice” when she is well- use the syringe or dropper and either give water- or flavored water pedialyte or apple juice added) just enough to entice and make it a positive experience.  Obviously you don’t want to giver her a sugary “fake” medicine that will cause an upset tummy.  But you could dilute Pedialyte or apple juice with water and show her the end of the dropper and see if she will willing try to like the syringe to get the yummy water out.  If you train her to think the syringe or dropper means yummy things it should be easier for when you have to give meds.

[Binkles]

Oh, I’ve never been hesitant about giving simethicone. It’s my understanding that Simethicone can’t really do any harm, so I give it pretty readily if I suspect she may be having gas. Normally she loves it and takes it like a treat straight from the eyedropper, but this time she felt so bad, she just didn’t want to eat anything.

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