Rabbit ate rubber and rubber-made items

Question
My 1.5 yo rabbit managed to get to mu office supplies 5 days ago. From my assessment, it looks like she ate rubber bands (I'm thinking a lot. She did it through the night), bits of a rubber hair band and part of a measuring tape holder. I believe it's made of plastic or rubber.  It's been 5 days. While she still has appetite and is pooping just fine, I did notice changes:
-whereas before she could finish her meals quickly, now she only finishes half, goes away to rest and then returns for the other half at a later time
-her poop is not as much as before. Theyre still solid and good shape but seemed bit smaller
-she does not eat as much hay. She still eats but now has become quite picky.

I've read in one of your answers that if after 72 hours, rabbit is eating and pooping normally, she'll be ok. It's way past that but these changes worry me. I lost her sister a few months ago and can't bear to lose her now. Oh, I should mention that she's currently moulting.  I give a small amount of fresh pineapple every two days to help with the hair...

I hope you can enlighten and help me on this. I just hope her appetite for hay will come back.

Answer
Dear Cat,

Yikes.  This is not a great situation.  But what's done is done.  

In a case like this, I might recommend something I don't ordinarily suggest:  a little bit (maybe 1cc) of mineral oil once a day.  Depending on what the rubber bands are made of (they are not always rubber these days), the mineral oil can help soften them and allow them to be easier to pass out of the stomach, where they might now be "dwelling".

I would also get her to a good rabbit vet for radiographs to see if there is an abnormal mass in her stomach.  Since rubber bands are probably radio-translucent, the vet might want to do this with barium.

Lots of fresh, wet greens could also help, and be sure she has a full, fresh water bowl all the time.  The biggest enemy is desiccation of stomach contents, which will make them more likely to form a big, dry, impossible-to-pass bolus that could cause serious problems.

I hope she will be fine.  But radiographs will tell you a bit more about what you might be facing.

It's possible the rubber bands have already passed, and her change in appetite is due to something completely unrelated.  But only a visit to a good rabbit vet will shed light on everything that might be going on.


I hope this helps.

Dana