Shmo…wool block again :(

[Rippy]

It seems my dear Shmoo has a blockage again. For the past week he has been sheading quite a bit and I groomed groom him for over 90 minutes each day, using my hand to get a lot of the loose fur off and then a brush. I vacuum his cage every day, I vacuum the carpet every day to try to grab as much loose fur as I can so there wont be any problems. He is even eating more hay and greens now but still .

So at 5pm I let him out for his play time, gave him a batch of greens to much on when he was done with that he ate some hay, pooped and then I played with him and groomed him. At 6:30pm I noticed a problem and then tested his appetite with greens and a bit of banana… he ate nothing .

Called the vet and made an appointment tomorrow, for now I gave him 1CC of paraffin oil and I will repeat in two hours. He seems “ok” at the moment but I see that he is in pain and might be going into shock slowly. There might be a mild gas build up in the rear part of his GI tract but what worries me more is that the blockage might be near his stomach as I can feel that he is quite hard just below the ribs. I will keep monitoring him but I really hope this starts moving really soon.

Is there anything I can do today except make sure he stays warm if he goes in to shock ?

 

[Barbie]

Oh no!!! ((((((VIBES for SHMOO!!!)))))

How scary. Sounds like you know what you’re dealing with though. I’m not sure about the paraffin oil though. Never heard of using that to treat blockages, though maybe that will help lubricate things and get it to come out… I’m not sure though if that’s the route to go… it might make the hairball stick together, when really you want to break it up so the bunny can expel it as soon as possible. Someone with more experience with GI stasis can weigh in on this – and of course, your bunny vet will know.

I would recommend massaging his belly, which can help get things moving again. Also, if he’s up for it, try to keep him moving. Like with colic-y horses, the movement can help the intestines pass a blockage or gas. Is your vet open? Some vets are open on a Saturday, or is there an emergency vet in your area that you can call and ask for advice?

[Rippy]

Yes I “know” what I’m dealing with because he just gained his weight back from his last (and first) blockage which was only a few months ago . It took him almost two weeks before his eating was normal and did not eat for 7-8 days apart from forced baby food.

Anyway I don’t want to be too optimistic at the moment but he is pulling back. Blockage seems to have moved and his belly almost feels like normal. He regained his appetite and is now eating hay and some weeping willow leafs and branches I got him. He ate a few dandelion leafs as well which I “lubricated” with a small amount of oil. Signs of shock are gone, blood is back in his ears and he is quite happy which makes me happy as well.  It would help if he would stop grooming himself.
 

I know paraffin oil is not the best choice in such conditions because it prevents hydration of stool and the blockage…especially when its dehydrated and hard (I have some synthetic sugar left which is used in this case). But he just had a meal of fresh greens not more then two hours ago after I gave him oil so this might be the best case scenario for it (my vet recommended oil as well). I just hope it is the right choice.

 

[jerseygirl]

I’m glad to hear of your update. It’s frustrating when they get like this. Are you certain it was wool block? Rabbits can get hair blockages but sometimes this is a result of a gut slowdown for some other reason – not the cause in it’s self. When I fear gut slow downs I do massage and give simethecone in case they have gas pain first. It sometimes works! Would there be any greens that Schmoo is sensitive too?

I’ve read varying things on paraffin oil…..many people swear by it and use it when their vet recommends it. I have some “just in case” though I think I’d use it if nothing else was working. i.e. fluids & motility drugs. The main precaution to take with the oil is to ensure the rabbit is hydrated first.
I wonder if there is a trigger for these episodes? The main thing is you have got him thru it and this must be a relief!

[Rippy]

He seems fine this morning as well, just happy I caught it quickly. Well I don’t know what else it could be…he is a Lionhead with quite dense and long fur, he likes to groom himself for hours (he really can’t stop licking himself) and not a huge fan of hay. When he molts I think I can get enough fluffy stuff off him to probably make a pair of mittens every other day .

I’m not certain if there are any greens that would cause him problems but I think he handles them well. After his neuter when he did not eat anything for 3 days I introduced them slowly and gave him a few leafs of lettuce because it was the only thing I found he would eat. Then during his last blockage when he started eating again I found that every other day he would prefer just one type and apart from smelly urine when he ate too much Endive which I usually give leaf as a treat (not 15 in a day like he had) he was ok. His main green diet is plenty of dandelions, some red leaf radicchio and then depending on what I have (a leaf or two as a treat) Endive, Soft lettuce, Dark leaf lettuce. I wash the dandelions and put them in a bag wet, then before I give it to them I wipe them so they are not so wet. So especially Shmoo who gets a bit more greens is well hydrated from them.

I did some reading and some “sources” claim that motility drugs can be just as problematic in certain cases because they can cause cramps etc. Then you have Lactulose based syrups that will pull water out of the blood and into the gut to hydrate and break up the blockage if its dry but can be dangerous if the rabbit is already dehydrated so oral and sub q fluids are recommended. Shmoo was on Lactulose last time but It was a few days before the vets figured out it was indeed a blockage so it was the correct course. Now paraffin oil will help gut contents and the blockage slip and move faster but it will prevent or reduce hydration of the matter. So everything has its drawbacks and there is no “magic” cure . Even with simethicone some people say that there is no benefit but others swear by it. In my experience it did nothing or very little last time when the block caused the gas. The problem was somewhere in his small intestine and since no food was moving his cecum was like a balloon. Once the block started moving the gas cleared up.

I’m just glad I saw there was a problem and reacted fast. It lasted about 3-4 hours but it just shocked me how he vent from good to very bad so fast. One hour before he was happy and eating and then discomfort, loss of appetite followed by extreme pain, gas build up, shock and onset of hypothermia. I’m happy it did not last 2 weeks like last time but if the best cure is prevention I’m just scratching my head here because I have been trying so hard to make sure this would not happen again and it did.

[BinkyBunny]

Whew! and I am glad you were very observant as it is not uncommon for rabbits to go downhill as quickly as you have described!  Great job and I am so glad he’s feeling better!

I think that one of the first things you had mentioned, “he likes to groom himself for hours (he really can’t stop licking himself) and not a huge fan of hay” , may be part of the problem. You might want to try different kinds of hay (if you haven’t already). My bunnies are much bigger fans of Orchard, than any other kind of hay. Though they do like the very leafy soft 2nd cut timothy. That has less fiber so I mix it in with the Orchard. But they eat tons of that and I would rather them eat tons of hay rather than stick to a higher fiber hay like 1st cut Timothy and only have them nibble on it.

[jerseygirl]

I wondered if lactulose was what you had when you mentioned synthetic sugar in your other post. One of the forum leaders, Katnip Crzy, gives her lop a daily dose of this for possible “cow poop syndrome”. He had a long gi episode some time ago. I’ve also considered using it for Jersey. Did you find it helped last time? Did you notice if Shmoo poop got a bit smaller before this or it completely came out of the blue?

[Rippy]

Posted By jerseygirl on 08/22/2010 12:55 AM
I wondered if lactulose was what you had when you mentioned synthetic sugar in your other post. Did you find it helped last time? Did you notice if Shmoo poop got a bit smaller before this or it completely came out of the blue?

 

Yes that’s it, last time he was getting it when he was in stasis and it probably helped him out but after he was eating and pooping again we stopped. Well ever since he started shedding a week ago I noticed that his first poops of the day where very very tiny but followed by larger ones that are normal for him. Yesterday he had a bit more fur in his poop’s as there where a few strings other then that it was normal size. One thing I notice that he left some of his greens “for later” yesterday and is doing the same today. He left less then half of them and ate them an two hours later. A similar thing was going on before his first stasis. But that might depend on where he takes his afternoon nap.

 

Well the second problem with hay is that I have trouble getting good quality hay from the store and sometimes they don’t even have the brand they like plus there is very little to choose from. I will try to get in touch with a farmer and see if I can buy hay from him if they would like that better.
 

[jerseygirl]

With greens, I suggest washing them only before you give them to him. I find  greens stored too wet will deterioate more rapidly (and possibly harbour bacteria). I’m often annoyed my grocery stored sprays the greens or has them sitting in puddles of water. It may appear a fresh look in the store but it really does not do any favours for the longevity of the vegetables. I hope you don’t find I am being picky! I’m just looking at anything that might make him more sensitive.

 

Well ever since he started shedding a week ago I noticed that his first poops of the day where very very tiny but followed by larger ones that are normal for him.

Do you mean large compared to Pikas or other rabbits or is his normal a sort of smaller then average poop? Since you have lactulose, maybe talk to the vet about using it more. Say when you notice his poop is decreasing in size.

[Rippy]

Well with the dandelions I pick fresh ones every day, wash them and put them in a plastic bag which goes in the refrigerator. Before they get it I soak up any extra moisture with a towel but the plants cells are full of it. So they are never stored wet for more then 20h and the next day they get a fresh batch. Now the main bulk of there greens diet are dandelions because a lot of them grow in my yard and I know they are “organic “. I know that stores can be quite annoying with the spraying but I never buy anything that does not look good and I’m even more picky with what they get then when I’m making salad for dinner.

Pika has very large poop from all the hay she eats…I would say that hers are above average in size. Normal for Shmoo would be somewhat smaller then what would be “normal”. Currently he is eating very little hay which is very bad but he does like weeping willow leafs and twigs quite a bit so at least that is something. When he does eat hay it looks like he is ignoring the grass and is searching for other bits . There where no more incidents since 3 days ago but he sometimes gets me worried.

[MimzMum]

Pip is my lionhead cross. To keep her poos healthy and normal size, I have to feed her things like young or mature oat hay. It’s the only type that will keep her insides clear.
I find if I feed too many greens, Mimzy, my lop, will not eat enough hay to make decent poos. Then I start seeing strands of pearls which worry me no end and he looks uncomfortable.

Also, they don’t get as much exercise these days as they really need, so I can imagine that slows down the digestive process.

Vibes to dear Shmoo…he is such a sweet little guy. (((((((((((((((healthy bunny vibes))))))))))))))))

[Rippy]

He got a block again yesterday…that would be the third since this first one. He almost fully recovered his appetite and now it is really bad again. Got him going with oil and he did poop quite a lot after a few hours but he was in a really bad state. He did eat some hay which is nice but seems to somewhat ignore greens. Willow leafs and twigs is what he likes but that is not much and I don’t want to feed too much of it. I am worried about hydration as well since he generally does not drink much but gets the liquid from greens.

I try to do everything I can but it is not enough and as soon as he sheds some more it slows or blocks him up. I ordered Oxbow Alfalfa and Orchard hay and with luck I will have it tomorrow. Will offer him Orchard first but at this point if he would prefer Alfalfa and ignore the first it is “ok” as well because he really needs to get much more fibre then he does now to stay healthy at least till he stops shedding.

One thing I’m beginning to notice is that sometimes he will “scrape” his teeth together when he eats. It is not a grinding sound but it is high pitch like nails to a whiteboard. So he might have problems with his teeth as well but I don’t think this is a problem yet.

[Sarita]

I would not rule out the teeth. I would have the vet check them…teeth can cause more problems than you know.

Did you ever do bloodwork on him?

[Rippy]

I told the vet to check his teeth a few months ago when he was under for his neuter. She said that his teeth where in great condition. Now I know that from then till now enough time has passed for the problem to develop but he really did not eat that much more hay back then. The only reason he might have ate more is because he was on a pellet-hay diet with no fresh greens.

He never had blood work done.

I did some research and found the “reason” he likes Willow so much at the moment. It seems that willow leafs and barks where used even back in ancient Egypt to reduce pain and fever. It contains salicylic acid which Aspirin was made from. So it is natural pain relief but now I’m worried that I’m giving too much of it to him.

Another common but interesting plant is Chamomile which has antiseptic and antibiotic properties.

[Sarita]

I think since he seems to be having frequent episodes of stasis that you should do bloodwork, x-rays, and have the vet looks at his teeth. Rabbits should not have stasis this frequently without cause.

[Rippy]

The first time he was in a long stasis was the last time he was shedding. This time he is shedding even more, his coat is constantly full of loose wool even shortly after I brush him with 3 combs for 30-60 minutes. And he is a very licky bunny, grooms himself a lot, likes giving kisses to me and Pika. His “realistic” diet is very short on fibre and the only time I can convince him to eat proper hay instead of twigs and things that should not be in quality hay is if I hand pick it and offer it to him and that only works sometimes. So even if he has enough nutrients he does not have enough fibre to keep things moving correctly when he eats too much of his long fur.

Another thing that might be an issue are his litter habits. Pika will go when ever she needs to in her litter box. Shmoo does not like to poop in the litter box in his cage instead most of the time he will hold it till his play time. So 90-95% of his poop is “produced” in the 3h that he is outside of his cage. The only way I can “stimulate” him to go a bit more in his litter box is if I pet him while he is doing his thing.

So in addition to his potentially slow GI situation he will slow things down even more by holding it in. Occasionally when I’m not home to let him out instead of going at 5pm like he usually does he will wait for hours till I let him out. This is one very stubborn but cuddly bunny I have .

[bunnymum16]

i hope he gets better.healing vibes!!

[Rippy]

He started feeling better again yesterday…and when he did he did a super silly binky right off the bed and ended up with a boo boo. He did not break anything but was just in a bit of pain for a minute and ended up scaring Pika.

Anyway I got the hay today (yay!)…it looks like it is superb quality (better be considering how expensive it is compared to the normal stuff). However he does not seem to be attracted to Orchard (did not even try it but Pika likes it). Alfalfa is what he likes and he already ate some…not crazy for it but he is eating it which is great at the moment. His poop is still very tangled up and full of wool but I hope that this will keep things moving and he will feel better.

[Rippy]

I called my vet again and explained the situation but she does not have much idea what could be wrong. And I can’t take him to a better one unless I drive 60 miles each way.

At the moment I have a feeling something will go wrong and everything is so weird that I can’t make heads or tails of it. There are some changes in his behavior that I just don’t understand.

First of all I extended his play time ever since the last block so he can move more and goes to the toilet when ever he feels to and not hold it in. So from roughly 3 hours a day he is out for 6 now. He is eating quite a bit of Alfalfa hay for 3 days now and seems to love it. His relationship with Orchard is the same as grass hay…wont eat it at the moment. But overall the extra fibre seems to help him feel better even if his appetite is not 100%

Now the weird thing…ever since I introduced the Alfalfa he is shifting more to it and away from greens, which is good in the broad picture but now I feel that he is not drinking enough water. Eating less then half fresh greens then he used to but drinking little water. When he eats his greens changing as well. Instead of 11am and 7pm he will usually eat them at 5pm and midnight. Today I let him out at 9am to go to the toilet which he usually would at 5pm (he insisted and did not want to use his in pen litterbox) but after he was very happy, ran and played for 45 minutes. But even if he is eating way more fibre now then he would before…his poop size is pretty much the same. His appetite since the last block is not improving to what it was before.

Then last few days he was resting and flopping in places where I see him sit when something is wrong but he was more or less feeling good at the time.

I love this Bunny so much but I just can’t keep him healthy .

[jerseygirl]

The alfalfa may make him feel full enough that he doesn’t want more food. It’s richer in protein and carbs. Also, some veggies are diuretic (parsley, dandelions..) so they pee out a lot of water. I figure this make them drink more if they’re peeing out more. Could it be that if he’s having less diuretic effect from veggies that he’s not needing as much to drink? Also, if his eating pattern has changed, could he be drinking more at night when you don’t see it?

I haved wondered that there are some greens that Shmoo just doesn’t cope well with… If this current diet (alfalfa hay, less veg) is working for him, personally I’d continue it longer. It’s more like a diet for young rabbits. Main thing with alfalfa is to watch for increase in calcium in his pee.

I do hope for your sake and his that his current wellbeing lasts. I understand how frustrating it can be not knowing what will work best for him You may know that in time but for now, you know how to help him through.

[Author]

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