My bun is showing signs of pain

[Allophenic]

My 8 month old rabbit is showing signs of abdominal pain. She will be fine and then she will stop hoping about and grind her teeth and sit either on her side or hunched. Its the second time in a week. The first time she was doing this for about an hour, but then went poop and was perfectly fine. I know that these are signs of gas, but I haven’t changed her diet in quite a while, so I don’t know what’s causing it. She’s drinking water and is still accepting fresh greens, so i’m not too worried for now, but I would like to know whats causing the pain so that I can prevent it.

She also had been having excessive, slightly mushy, cecetrophs which I read could be due to too much pellet food, so I cut back on that two days ago. but the first incident happened before then. I’m not sure if the two things are related, but she hasn’t had mushy poos since I cut back pellets.

right now she’s sitting in her cage in front of her food bowl on her belly, with her feet tucked in, she’s grinding her teeth every once in a while, and every so often I can here a belly gurgle.

So I guess my question is, what is causing the pain, what can I do to prevent it, and what can I do to stop it now?

 

Thanks

[Sarita]

I guess my first inclination is to tell any owner who’s rabbit is having this type of problem is to have a physical exam by a vet. Rabbits should not be getting gas – it’s not normal. Some people might tell you to give simethicone but this does not get to the root of the problem and is way overused – you need to find the root of the problem and the first step is a trip to the vet to check teeth, palpate the stomach, etc….

[Allophenic]

I will definitely make an appointment with my vet, but until I can get her in. is there any advice on how to alleviate her pain? ive been rubbing her belly and keeping her warm.

[jerseygirl]

Massage is definitely useful. I’m getting my bun thru with a lot of massage at the moment.
Long strokes down the belly and sides and also some circular motions. When they have gas pain they usually let you touch the tummy with pressure because it helps give relief. I also stretch them out as much as possible. So leaving front paws on my lap, I put my hand under the hocks for support, then slightly elevate their back end and stretch them out. I then do long strokes of the belly from front to back.

I use simethicone early on and think it does help for mild gas. [edited]

I’m also looking to get one of those massaging neck pillows because I think the vibrations from that would help a lot!
These all things that might help but as Sarita said, it’s important to get to the bottom of why it’s happening.

Is your rabbit a good hay eater?

The mushy poo could certainly be related as it shows her gut was a bit out of balance. With the modified diet you will hopefully see less gas episodes.

right now she’s sitting in her cage in front of her food bowl on her belly, with her feet tucked in, she’s grinding her teeth every once in a while, and every so often I can here a belly gurgle.

She might actually be comfortable at the moment. They can do tooth noises when content too. When my rabbits are uncomfortable they tend to press the belly down as get up to reposition themselves a lot.

ETA: I edited out part about pepto-bismol as there seems to be a lot of conflicting information about it.

[Allophenic]

she is a very good hay eater. She seems to be fine now. She does have the hiccups though
I’m making her a vet appointment tomorrow, just to see if there isn’t a deeper problem, and until then hopefully the modified diet helps.
Thank you so much!

[jerseygirl]

Just curious; does she drink from a bottle or bowl? Maybe she gulps down air when she drinks???

She’s a pretty looking little bun judging from your avatar.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad your bunny is fine now.

I agree with Sarita, that Simethicone is not a cure-all and gas/tummy pain should be investigated to find the cause of the problem, but it can offer relief of pain while waiting to get to the vet.

[Isabelle]

If she is shedding it may be a cause, Dutchess has had three hair impactions, once she was in quite a lot of tummy pain. I try to really keep her groomed and keep the hay going in, maybe try giving your bunny a few good brushings a week, even with your hands, to loosen up hair so she doesn’t ingest as much while she grooms herself.

[Allophenic]

she drinks from a bowl, she only gets hiccups occasionally, and they are pretty adorable.
She does seem to be shedding, though I noticed that she’ll shed more when she’s stressed, even if the stress is only for a minute.
unfortunately, by vet wont be in until Monday.
do you think I should wait that long or find someone where else?
I live in rodeo, 4H, kind of town and there are a lot of good bunny vets around.

[BinkyBunny]

That’s great that she is fine now and it seems as if the urgency has passed, but it is good that you are planning to call the vet tomorrow to set up an appointment to find out of there is some underlying culprit to prevent future episodes if possible.

It’s good that she is a “good hay eater” as that will help with moving hair along. Bunnies definitely shed when they are stressed too. Even a vet visit can get the fur flying. My vet once told me this is their bodies way to protect them. In the wild if they are under stress it is usually do to a predator and when their body loosens their fur, it helps to prevent a predator from catching them as the fur as it easily comes out and they then can escape.Mother nature’s way of helping them out.

Keep us updated with her situation. Your avatar photo is adorable!

[Allophenic]

Thanks BB, yours it cute too! Thank you to everyone for responding and for helping! I took her to the vet today and she said that it wasn’t stomach pains, but back pain! She must have hurt her back last Saturday when I wasn’t home and then just wasn’t feeling right as it was healing. She should be fine soon! Though now she’s mad at me for taking her to the vet, at least I know she’s okay.

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