Bloating in rabbits suggests that the animals suffer from intestinal disease, namely, the amount of gas in the stomach increases. It is worth saying that symptoms occur suddenly. Only an hour ago, the rabbit behaved, as usual, was active and ate with great appetite, and now his stomach has become hard, the animal has become sluggish and prefers not to move.It often happens that the owner does not pay attention to such seemingly not dangerous symptoms, and in vain, because without a timely treatment, the rodent can die.
- What causes bloating
- Stress and stressful situations.
- Young age
- Poor-quality feed
- The rabbit moves too little
- The presence of bezoar or the accumulation of hair in the rabbit’s stomach
- How to suspect bloating
- How to treat a rabbit with swelling and
- Decrease in the process of gas formation
- We reduce pain
- Resumption of normal peristalsis
- Therapeutic massage for the rabbit
- What should be the feeding of a sick animal
- Preventive measures
Bloating in rabbits
Moreover, it also happens that bloating is observed not in one individual, but immediately in the whole population, which can cause you to suffer significant material losses. We will understand what constitutes bloating in rabbits, what may be the reason and treatment, what to do if the rabbit has a swollen stomach.
What causes bloating
If you use the terminology of veterinarians, it is correct to say that this disease is not just bloating in a rabbit, but tympanum or gastrointestinal spasm. This condition is acute, as the disease occurs abruptly and unexpectedly. If the owner does not know how to remove bloating in rabbits and how to treat it often animals simply die in agony. The immediate reason is the fact that the digestive tract of the animal is unusual, which causes him a lot of discomfort. The fact is that in the structure of the rabbit stomach there is no such function as peristalsis, that is, the process of promoting food is much more difficult. Food moves along the esophagus only for the light of mechanical pressure with a new portion of food. If there is a violation in the diet, the likelihood that the feed will not pass and the food simply gets stuck in the intestine increases. It is for this reason that you can watch the rabbit’s stomach swell and become painful. If you don’t know what to do at the same time, you can lose a whole brood.
Why does the rabbit’s stomach swell:
Stress and stressful situations.
Rabbits belong to categories of fearful and stress-sensitive animals, moreover, frequent stresses in themselves can cause the disease and the fact that they die. If the rabbit has experienced a sharp change in habitat, food, or has become a victim of abuse, his digestive system may malfunction, which will cause bloating.If you can’t find out why the rabbit swollen, if there are no problems with care and maintenance, you should check other reasons.
Young age
Another common reason why rabbits swell their stomach is their age. Bloating is often diagnosed in young animals, that is, in rabbits that have only recently been born. The reason for the digestive tract disorder at this age is an untimely or abrupt transition from breastfeeding to a normal diet. Take a look at what a young animal eats, you may have to change its diet.
Poor feeds
Most veterinarians, when asked why farm rabbits swell and die, answer: it’s about their nutrition. A rabbit, like any living creature, needs a good balanced diet. If low-quality food is present in the diet, possibly not fresh, then this will extremely negatively affect the rabbit’s already shaky digestive system. Also, with regard to nutrition, it must be said that seasonal changes in feeding should not be carried out sharply, but gradually. If you feed the rabbit fresh grass, then you need to make sure that the greens are not hard parts of the plant. If you are developing a fluffy diet yourself, then make sure that it does not contain those ingredients that increase the formation of gases – white cabbage, peas, beans, beetwort, legumes.
The rabbit moves too little
A sedentary rabbit can get sick not only with bloating, but also with other more insidious diseases, since most likely he will have a certain stage of obesity and immunity will be far from normal. As for the digestive tract, the digestive function will be reduced due to the fact that the metabolism as a whole is slowed down due to low mobility and excess weight. To get rid of this reason, it is worth giving the rabbit the opportunity to move around, that is, to move it into a more spacious cage or from time to time to walk in free space. Folk methods suggest radical measures if bloating is observed in rabbits and the reason for their lazy lifestyle is to occasionally drive them into the aviary.
The presence of bezoar or accumulation of wool in the rabbit’s stomach
Rabbits like to lick their hair for a long time, as they are quite clean animals. However, few people know that some of the hair remains in the language of the animal, after which it enters the digestive tract and, of course, is not digested there. From the fact that the amount of hair gradually accumulates, bloating and all the symptoms resulting from it will appear. In such a case, even surgery may be necessary in some cases to save the rabbit. For prevention, you need to devote sufficient time to caring for rabbit hair and carefully clean it in cages and aviaries.
How to suspect bloating
To help the rabbit in time, you need to know what symptoms indicate that the animal is suffering from bloating:
- The rabbit refuses both food and water.
- The animal stops moving, sits or lies motionless for a longer time.
- Eyeballs protrude from the orbits.
- Belly clearly increased, hard and painful touch.
- Constipation lasts at least 12 hours.
- The body temperature drops, characteristic chills and general trembling of the body can be noted.
- Breathing becomes frequent and intermittent.
- If you listen, you can hear the rodent rubbing its upper teeth against the lower, that is, in other words, grinding its teeth.
If you checked one or There are several signs of your animal, do not postpone a visit to the veterinarian. Only a doctor will be able to find out the true cause of this condition and take the necessary therapeutic measures, tell what and how to treat rabbits for bloating. If bloating is confirmed, then the veterinarian will try by all possible means to clean the intestines in the place where there was a blockage and resume normal gastrointestinal tract function.
How to treat a rabbit with bloating
If the swelling was confirmed, and its cause was established, then first of all it must be eliminated. Then you need to understand how to properly treat a rodent.As mentioned earlier, a doctor should do this, because self-medication in this case can be fatal for a rabbit. The treatment of bloating in rabbits can be divided into the following stages:
- Reduction of gas formation
- Reduction of pain
- Resumption of normal peristalsis
- Treat with massage
Reduce the process of gas formation
In order to reduce the process of gas formation, you need to use drugs such as Espumisan or Simethicone. Usually they are prescribed for small children who suffer from colic, but judging by the reviews of veterinarians, they are also effective in treating rabbits and little rabbits. If the doctor prescribed Espumisan, then in order to give the drug to the rodent, you will also have to buy a pipette. In order to relieve an acute condition, you need to start with frequent use, namely, give the rabbit 2 ml every 3-4 hours. In this case, it is important not to exceed the permissible daily dosage rate, which is indicated in the instructions.
If the doctor chose Simethicone, then here you can purchase the medicine either in the form of drops or tablets, depending on how convenient it is you. By analogy with Espumisan, the first day you need to give an increased dosage, that is, treat every hour. In this case, at a time you need to give from 1 to 2 ml of Simethicone. When the condition of the animal has improved, the dose can be reduced to 1 ml, but already every three hours.
It also happens that the veterinarian prescribes stronger anti-swelling drugs, such as tympanol. But it is worth noting that the two previous drugs can be used to treat both adults and small daily rabbits. In the case of tympanol, the medicine can be suitable only for adult rabbits, in particular representatives of such a breed as a giant. The medication must be dissolved in water, while observing the proportion of 4 ml of the drug per 16 ml of water, the frequency of treatment per day should not exceed five times a day. Also, do not forget about all the known activated carbon, it also shows sufficient effectiveness in the fight against bloating.
Reduce pain
Since bloating accompanies pain, you should make sure that the animal does not experience pain. In veterinary medicine, No-shpu or any other drugs identical in action with anesthetic effect are used for this. Typically, the drug is administered intramuscularly so that the effect is palpable as quickly as possible. Typically, the calculation is taken from the norm of 0.2 milliliters per kg of animal weight.At the same time, it is strictly forbidden to independently increase this maximum permissible dose, otherwise this can lead to the death of the pet. The fact is that nospa, for example, has an antispasmodic effect, which can negatively affect the already absent peristalsis if the dosage is exceeded.
If the veterinarian determined that the reason that the rabbit’s stomach is swollen, is the presence of pathogenic microflora, that is, an infection, then an antibiotic is prescribed. Most often, rabbits are prescribed Farmazin or Chloramphenicol. It can be bought, both in the form of an injection solution, and in the form of a powder, which is diluted in drinking water. As for the dosage and duration of treatment, these issues are decided by the veterinarian.
Resumption of normal motility
To help the rabbit’s body cope with the problem faster, you need to use the old a proven folk remedy – give the rodent a vegetable spoon of any vegetable oil, for example, vegetable or castor oil. In addition to helping mechanically promote food through the esophagus, taking it will help relieve constipation. To help the rabbit with medication, use Metoclopramide in tandem with the second medicine, Ciaspride. With a simultaneous intake, they will make all sections of the intestine work at the same time, and the rabbit will return to normal in the shortest possible time.
Do not forget that the rabbit may suffer from dehydration during bloating, which is most often the direct reason that rodents die. Veterinarians in such cases begin a comprehensive course of treatment with such drugs as: saline, glucose.
Therapeutic massage for the rabbit
In addition, you must follow all the recommendations that the doctor gave You can try to help the rabbit yourself at home. An excellent tool is a tummy massage. At the very beginning, you need to do massage stroking movements once an hour or at least two hours. In this case, all movements should be soft and calm. The rabbit is laid on its back, and its hind legs should be straightened. The pressure you produce with your hand should be minimal so as not to cause even more pain to the rabbit.
In order for the massage to work as quickly as possible, in addition to everything, sick rabbits can be given cleansing enemas. However, you should not take those enema syringes that are sold in pharmacies, a regular non-sterile syringe with a volume of 10 ml without a needle as an enema will suffice. For introduction into the anus, water of temperature as close as possible to the body temperature of the animal, that is, 37 degrees, is suitable. Try to adhere to the norm – 100-120 ml per 1 kg of rodent mass.
What should be feeding a sick animal
Talking about feeding is necessary if the appetite persists and the rabbit eats, that is, at the very beginning of the disease. In this case, the rodent urgently needs to be transferred to diet food. Immediately after you suspect bloating, it is best to let the rabbit starve for the first 10 hours, at which time only a drinker with fresh drinking water should be standing next to it and nothing more. Then offer him selected hay and chamomile broth with the addition of lactic acid. Moreover, the last component should be started with small doses, about 50 ml, then gradually increase the dosage.
If the rabbit remains active, you need to make it move, that is, offer a walk in the fresh air. As mentioned earlier, the movement will help ensure that the intestines work as soon as possible, and bloating will be left behind. However, during the walk it should not be too hot or, conversely, cold, this will negatively affect the overall health of the rabbit or rabbit. As for heat, it is worth saying that the thermal effect during bloating is categorically contraindicated, as it will only increase the fermentation process and aggravate the situation.
As for nutrition, there’s already a recovery phase the point is to enrich the pussys menu with vegetables.Start with chopped carrots, then, if the condition does not worsen, add the usual vegetables and fruits that he ate before the disease. As has been said repeatedly before, a return to normal nutrition should not be done abruptly, otherwise it will become another stress for the rabbit and cause a response from the body. It is strictly forbidden to drink rabbit with vodka, with bloating, this will not only not help the treatment, but will also lead to the fact that the condition will deteriorate sharply due to the presence of alcohol intoxication.
Many breeders recommend adding to their ration on their copyrighted videos rabbits probiotics, as they contribute to the fact that the normal intestinal microflora is restored and the gastrointestinal tract system will work as usual. One of the most effective and optimal drugs today is Vetom.
Preventive measures
In order to prevent the development of flatulence in rabbits, you need to carefully monitor the nutrition of the pet, and also pay enough time to care for him. If the animal is under constant control, it will be easy to notice any deviations from the normal state and take timely measures aimed at treating the rodent.
Based on the above information, the most common causes of the development of bloating are errors in nutrition and compilation diet. You, as the owner, must ensure that the rabbit receives only fresh feed, and feeding is carried out strictly according to the schedule.If you have a need to change your usual diet, do not do it abruptly, replace gradually. It is also important that each rabbit has free access to drinking water, and it, in turn, is clean and fresh.
The rabbit is a fairly mobile animal that needs constant movement. If you put the pussies in a tight cage, then with a high probability in the shortest possible time, his body may fail, for example, this may manifest as bloating. It is also worth mentioning once again about the need to timely remove garbage from the cages, and also to replace the litter with a clean one in time.
Thus, a complex of fairly simple and understandable measures will help you minimize the onset of such a dangerous condition as bloating in rabbits.
