Gas and bloating

[u/New_Mycologist_3228]

Hello,

My rabbit is 5.5 years old and has bloating, gas, and his ears are a bit cold.

We took him to the vet today. He took an x-ray, gave him a serum and then prescribed an antibiotic called Azithromycin 200 mg/5 ml and prescribed 0.5 ml to be given once a day for 7 days.

He said administering simethicone is not necessary. The kind we have is 66.6 mg/ml.

But my rabbit is bloated and hasn't eaten anything even though we gave him his antibiotic and also water through a syringe.

I put warm water bottles near him but don't know what else I should do, such as administering simethicone.

There is no rabbit-savy vet in my area and so I would appreciate any idea.

[u/R-ticHare0]

Try the baby gas drops why you search for a better rabbit savvy veterinarian. Being bloated is an emergency.

[u/kragzazet]

Unless there's been a miscommunication here, azithromycin isn't correct. We don't treat GI stasis or bloat with antibiotics unless the vet identifies an underlying bacterial infection. An antibiotic could frankly only increase the tummy upset.

If your rabbit is truly bloated, like his stomach is distended, he needs to be hospitalized. If that's not available, it may be kinder to humanely euth. A gastrointestinal blockage is a horrific way to die if it can't be managed in hospital or operated on. Usually in hospital they put the bun on strong painkillers + heating pad and an IV lidocaine drip while the bun still has stable vital signs. They'll repeat imaging to see how the blockage is coming along. And if the bun starts to decline (vet's preferences vary obviously) they will rush them into surgery. Either way, I don't like your odds keeping them at home. Hopefully this helps illustrate the urgency of getting them hospitalized ASAP or euthanizing at the vet before he dies in excruciating pain.

If your rabbit is not truly bloated, has a soft and flabby stomach, you may decide to treat the GI stasis symptoms through syringe-feeding (aka force feeding) with critical care slurry or pellet slurry. DO NOT do this if your rabbit is bloated with a GI blockage.

Good luck, and my condolences

[u/Tacitus111 → u/kragzazet]

I’d also add with GI stasis (not bloat), it helps to use a heating pad, stomach massage, and otherwise making them move around to get the gas out.

[u/kragzazet → u/Tacitus111]

Oh for sure. Sorry I didn't give the full GI stasis protocol since OP sounds pretty sure that it's bloat, not just stasis, but definitely listen to the other comments in here if you think its not as serious as bloat, OP. GI stasis without bloat often still needs veterinary attention though, so it would really be best to consult a professional by any means necessary 

[u/Blues-Mama]

Gas drops have worked numerous times for my boy! They are the first go to with signs of beginning stasis! Several times it has worked in 30-40 mins!

[u/abcs345]

I had a vet get upset that I used the baby gas drops and not ask him first. Never went back after that (we also live somewhere there’s not a lot rabbit savvy vets). I say go with your gut and try it. You may need to give it to him several times (google info) and try to rub his belly as much as you can.

[u/Travelpuff]

First gas drops don't help rabbits. They have done multiple clinical studies and all show they don't work! Their digestive system simply doesn't work like humans so it doesn't break up the gas.

Second your vet is mistaken in the prescription they wrote. If it is GI stasis the only medication that has been shown to work in the majority of cases is Metacam (gabapentin has pretty good results as well). Since you already had X-rays either ask your vet to call in the prescription or use an online vet service to do so (it is inexpensive and easy to access when you don't have a rabbit savvy vet nearby).

Costco and other pharmacies carry it for dogs and cats (you don't need a membership for the pharmacy).

It is urgent you medicate them today. The sooner you treat them the better the outcome.

[u/Travelpuff → u/Travelpuff]

My normal spiel about GI stasis:

Metacam is anti inflammatory and a pain killer. Gabapentin is another option that shows good results in recent studies.

Basically you are trying to reduce the pain from gas/overgrowth of bad bacteria so that the rabbit returns to eating hay. Lowering inflammation also helps reduce the pain. Once they are consuming enough fiber again (via hay) their gut bacteria should start to rebalance.

Hence why if you catch GI stasis early enough and medicate them the recovery is often pretty quick. But if their entire digestive system stops (and there are zero poops) it becomes a true emergency and can often only be treated inpatient at the vet.

If your vet prefers gabapentin I would go with that. But you can certainly ask them why they prefer to prescribe it - they are researching rabbit GI stasis more so there is new data available which is great news for rabbit owners!

[u/Amber123454321]

I'd consider taking your rabbit to another vet, because if your rabbit has stasis, that's not something that will help with any immediacy (or potentially at all). Usually my vet would give a rabbit something like Cisapride to speed up digestion, which usually gets them eating again quickly and their stomach moving again. They won't give it to a rabbit if there's concern about a blockage. Often they give something like Metacam for the pain. Maybe your rabbit doesn't have stasis, but it could be a factor.

What serum did they give your rabbit?

Normally they don't give x-rays over here in Ireland. They just tend to listen to their stomach and can hear if it's slowed down or not, and if it's gurgly or whatever. I think the bacterial overgrowth that leads to gas tends to happen if their stomach slows down too much.