Probiotics for gas?

[prince dorian the bun]

It’s been a rough couple of months with bunny issues,  mostly Dorian being really gassy. He is having a bad long molt that I blame on our yo-yo weather temperature. I try to stay on top of it, but his fur is so fine & lately the molting is never-ending so it’s a challenge.

I have been lucky as to being able to resolve things at home the last couple of times, but given this tends to mean sleepless nights and unhappy bun I would rather just not go through this.

His blood test when in the worst case basically show inflammation and stressed liver. Which resolve when the gas and such resolve. My theory is his gut bacteria are creating too much gas. He has a good diet, eats lots of hay, leafy greens and a limited amount of pellets and only tiny treat amounts. So my next hope is that a good probiotic might help. Also wondering about laxatone or such as the emergency vet said to use it, but I have seen a lot of conflicting things.

So can someone recommend a probiotic and if there’s particular food that is good for helping the bunny microbiome let me know too! Thanks!

[Bam]

Brewers yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been shown to have some beneficial effects on the bunny gut microbiota, so that’s often included in supplements for rabbits. Enterococcus faecium is a bacterium that’s highly prevalent in the healthy rabbit gut, Benebac contains this.

Lactobacilli are not present in the rabbit gut, except in very young kits. Baby buns have a higher pH in their stomach, ie less acidic, so lactobacilli survive the passage through the stomach.

The pH in the adult rabbit stomach becomes temporarily higher when cecal-eating time. When in the day that time is varies between individuals, but if you know around what time Dorian eats his cecals or if yiu happen to notice when he eats one, that would be a good time to give a probiotic. A slightly higher pH makes it more likely that the probiotics will survive and reach the intestines. (My vet says some time between noon and 3 pm, but that isn’t true for all rabbits).

 

[LBJ10]

Bam has some good tips. I also wanted to mention that there are digestive support supplements available for rabbits. Not probiotics, but they contain ingredients that support healthy gut bacteria and motility. Oxbow makes one and Sherwood makes one.

[prince dorian the bun]

Maybe I will look at the digestive support as well! I have a feeling that may be easier to pick up.

And Bam thanks for all the info! Dorian tends to snack on cecotropes in the evening, mostly they both nap from noon to 3pm. I will look where I can find benebac.

[Bam]

In a webbinar in Feb, the rabbit vet that scientific support for probiotics for GI problems isn’t great. The studies I’ve read have been designed to help figure out ways to improve survival and weight gain in baby buns that are not pets. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has shown promise in that respect. It is a component in two supplements that I’ve used for poorly buns, but the brand is British (Protexin) and it doesn’t seem available in the USA.

Prebiotics are good though, the rabbit vet said. Prebiotics is food for good gut  microorganisms. Hay is obviously the best prebiotic, but not all buns eat as much hay as we’d want them too, so digestive support tablets also contain prebiotics.

An old member here was recently  prescribed SAMe pet for her elderbun who needs to get his liver in shape for planned dental surgery. It seemed to help almost immediately. (Rabbits that present with acute GI stasis “always” have elevated liver enzymes, bc fasting is, for rabbits (not for  humans or dogs), very hard on the liver. Once the stasis is resolved and the bun is back to eating normally again, the liver perks up again. Dorian’s should too if his liver values were only high because of his not eating properly. The elderbun I mentioned didn’t have acute GI stasis. He did have “poopy butt”, which resolved).

[DanaNM]

I wonder if doing an elimination diet could be a good idea? To see if there is an ingredient in the pellets or a specific veggie that could be triggering him? I know some members have had issues with one specific thing causing gas (like one slightly brown mint leaf). Some buns also don’t seem to tolerate veggies well. And of course others just get gassy for no apparent reason 🙁

I also had one past vet that really recommended feeding more than 1 variety of hay. I have never been able to achieve this, but she was telling me that they were seeing huge improvements in gut issues by feeding a combo of timothy, bermuda grass, and one other grass hay… maybe oat? I remember bermuda specifically because it tends to be a cheaper “low quality” hay, but apparently it is good for bunny digestion. Perhaps you could try going hay only, and then incorporate in another variety or two of hay?

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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