Rappit threw up poop

[Zeke]

So, i feed my rabbit weekend around 12 in the morning and 12 at night, the last time i feed him was this morning, all day his poop has been normal, he’s been eating and drinking normally but this past hour he’s refused to eat, won’t eat his hay either (i even tried to hand feed him) and is barely drinking any water… he’s also pooped around 5 undigested cecotrops (first time ever he’s done this) and i swear i saw him throw up poop from his mouth twice, it’s like 2 or 3 times the size of his normal poop, soft, a little liquidy and smooth unlike the cecotropes.. i’m very worried and all the vets I’ve called are either closed or charge alottt for emergency care… also he’s been a little inactive like just lounging about but not making any noises as if he were in pain and won’t budge when i nudge him to get him to move, someone please help

[kurottabun]

As you probably already know, it’s an emergency if a rabbit stops eating/drinking/pooping. They don’t necessarily make noises when they are in pain – hunching and refusing to move can be signs of pain as well.

Sometimes bunnies have gas in their tummies and will stop eating due to the discomfort. You can try giving him some belly massages or drop by the pharmacy to get some baby gas drops (Simeticone) – those would help get rid of excess gas if there’s any.

Also you can feed him some critical care (if you have those), or try mashing his pellets with water to see if he would eat them.

What’s his diet like normally?

[Bam]

Rabbits can’t vomit, so the poop you saw him throw up was probably not poop but food that had been lodged somewhere in his esophagus/wind pipe. For some reason it hadn’t reached his stomach (once in the stomach food can only come out the other way). Is he breathing normally? Is he responsive?

Do you hear any weird breathing sounds? Like a faint whistling, a faint crackling? Does he lie with his head rised and his nose pointing up? If you do, he probably has breathed in a bit of food (“aspirated”) and he would need to see a vet, because it can go bad. Swelling of the mucosa can ensue, or he could get aspiration pneumonia.

The undigested cecotropes – how do you mean exactly? That he isn’t reaching to eat them? Or do they look abnormal?

There is the possibility of doing a manouver that is called a bunny Heimlich, but it isn’t a Heimlich like you do in humans. It takes great caution and but its an emergency measure aiming to dislodge any bits of food that might be obstructing his airways.

Here’s some good and useful links, google rabbit Heimlich for more info and pictures before you try this manouver:

http://rabbit.org/the-heimlich-maneuver/

http://www.vgr1.com/choking/

[Sirius&Luna]

I think what Bam means to say is rabbits CANT vomit. Small but important typo

[Bam]

Oooh, Sirius & Luna, thanks for pointing that out! Idiotic typo! Buns Can Not vomit. I’m correcting original post now.

[LBJ10]

The “vomit” could also be chewed up cecotropes that were spit back out.

[Author]

Messages