PLEASE HELP. Rabbit possibly having trouble pooping?

[claudia]

Okay, theres a long back story with Coal. Coals turning 4 this Feb, ever since i got him his health has been perfect. Recently, I’m going to say early December he’s been doing a lot of wet poop. He did his normal poop all fine and dandy in his literbox ( and LOTS of it ) but there’d be this wet smeared poop all over him and his cage that wasn’t normal at all. Though, he was eating, drinking, happy playful, i just decieded to wait it out to see if it was just a phase his body went through. Anyways, it didn’t clear up to last Friday we brought him to the vet. He was tested to parasites and came out negative. The vet was sure it was just his diet (although it never changed for the past 4 years) and he said ONLY give him his Timothy hay. Now Coal’s main source of food came from his bunny kibble and i thought this was a prretty harsh change, but the vet insisted if i just don’t give it to him whatsoever he’ll be forced to eat the hay. Well i did that, and honestly the wet poop stopped immediately. But the past 3 days or so, i’ve realized Coal isn’t pooping as much as he’s supposed to.. and it’s very noticable. The first day i noticed this, i started giving him small scoops of hs regular food, as i felt the diet change caused him a lot of stress. Just now I heard him making little grunting noises, usually the sounds they make when they’re cleaning themselves, but he was just sititng in his liter box continuously making these noises, and moving around a little uncomfortably. Also, today i went down to pet him in his literbox and he snapped up to bite me. He’s NEVER done this before to me. He’s been eating, drinking i believe, just not pooping properly. I’m worried and don’t know what to do.

I’d love to bring him to a vet again ASAP, but my mother is the one that drives me everywhere and makes the call and she’s pretty fed up with this already. Coal is my literal best friend and i just really want some opinions here.

Thank you. 

[Sr. Melangell]

I am sorry but this IS an emergency, he is sat in his litter box because he knows he has to go but he can’t, speak to mum, offer her some money for the car fuel, (Gas) say you know she isn’t a taxi, offer her breakfast in bed for a week, mums like that, I’m a Mum myself, offer to do some housework so she can relax, another thing Mums like is a box of chocolates, bunny needs help and NOW!
Can you take him in a box to the vet on the bus if Mum says no? Can you ring for a taxi? The safest way for a taxi is to ring the company so it is logged for your safety, your protection, because if anything should happen like an accident you are not covered, can a neighbour your family knows well take you if you give them some money?

[Sr. Melangell]

It sounds like GSI, is Bam online? She knows about GSI, has bunny got hay?

[tobyluv]

It sounds like Coal is going into GI stasis and needs to see a vet right away. If he is eating, but not pooping, he almost certainly needs a motility drug to get the food (poops) out of him. GI stasis is very serious and it needs to be treated as soon as possible, otherwise there can be dire consequences. Hopefully you can impress on your mother how serious the situation is, or you will be able to find someone else to get you to the vet. If a neighbor is willing to help you, but you don’t have any money to give them, you could always offer to do some yardwork or housework or pet care for them. I hope that Coal will be okay.

[Sr. Melangell]

Yes tobyluv, Olly had this and nearly died and I got him to the vet just in time, I hope Claudia finds the help she needs.

[Bam]

Dear Claudia, this is serious as everybody is saying. It is most likely gastro intestinal stasis, basically his intestines stop moving so food doesn’t move through as it should. Your bun needs a lot of water, if you can make him drink water with a bit of fruit-juice in it, that’d be great. If you can entice him to eat wet leafy greens, that’s good too.

I hope your mum will agree to take you to the vet. You should call them and make an apt right away, because things like these are an emergency since it’s been going on for 3 days.

Coal most likely needs a motility drug to start up his gut again, subcutaneous fluids, perhaps a pain-killer and he needs to be kept warm, sick bunnies become cold quickly, and that’s very dangerous.

If he gets treatment now, he’s chances are good, but GI stasis is a deadly condition if left untreated. Here’s some info from the very well-renowned vet and bunny expert Dana Krempels. It’s rather a lot of t ext but it has lots of valuable info. If your mum doesn’t quite understand how serious this is for Coal,you can ask her if she wants to read it too:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

[Bam]

Please keep us posted, Claudia. If your mother absolutely refuses to take Coal to the vet, there are a few things you can do at home, but it’s 1000 times better if he gets vet care, of course.

It is true that hay is the best remedy for the condition Coal has been suffering from, intermittent soft cecotropes (ISC), but not all bunnies will eat enough hay or drink enough water with their hay if you take away all other food.

ISC is due to a change in the gut microbiota – all the microorganisms like bacteria that both we and our bunnies need in order to absorb and benefit from the nutrients we get in our food. Changes to the gut microbiota can happen without a change in diet. It changes as we age, it changes with exercise habits and in bunnies, any kind of stress changes it. Molting can change it, that’s common.

[claudia]

Okay, thank you so much guys. My mom should be home any minute I’ll literally just show her your posts. He’s doing the same thing looks like he’s drank a bit of water. I can tell he’s in a lot of pain now he’s making it quite obvious. My mom loves Coal as much as I do, I’m sure she’ll let me bring him. Thank yo9u so much, I’ll keep updates

[claudia]

Alright, my mom knows. We called the vet, unfortunately the vet isn’t in ATM, we’re expecting a call from him tomorrow. He’s the only one who is well educated in rabbit health in my city so he’s my only option. It looked like coal pooped a little more, they’re very dark though, and even peed a bit. He drank a little and now he’s just resting. Hopefully they call me back ASAP, and i can bring him in tomorrow.

[Bam]

I hope so too! You can try massaging Coals tummy a little bit, but very gently. It’s a bit of a special technique, here’s an instructive video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuxGLa2reg

(You of course have to adjust the method to suit your bun, not all buns are as compliant as the bun in the video).
If you can entice him to move about a bit, that’s good too. Exercise helps the intestines move. Sometimes there’s gas that needs to come out, and oftentimes a bit of exercise (basically just moving around some, not running laps or anything) helps with that too. Gas can be very painful for a bun.

I’m so glad he’s drinking. That’s so important, to hydrate the contents of the gut so it can move through.

[claudia]

Yup, I did a lot of massaging yesterday and today. Looks like today he still hasn’t pooped much. Still making sounds of discomfort. I’m getting really antsy with the vet calling us back because it’s all i can do now for him, besides be there.

[Bam]

If he has gas, you can relieve it some with baby gas drops (simethicone). There’s no hard scientific evidence that it helps a bunny, but it doesn’t harm, so you can give it on suspicion according to Medirabbit. You give 0.5-1 ml, first every hour, then every third hour. Baby gas drops are OTC and sold in food stores like Wallmart (USA) or Tesco(UK) or in pharmacies. I always give mine simethicone at signs of gas, many bunny-owners do.

[Sr. Melangell]

Any news? How is Coal today?

[Author]

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