My rabbit is bloated and constipated

Question
QUESTION: My rabbit is constipated and bloated after giving her a piece of fresh alfalfa. What should we do?

ANSWER: Hi Gena,

I would be very surprised that one piece of alfalfa is the cause of bloat.  Alfalfa doesn't cause gas or bloat in rabbits.  They are designed to eat alfalfa and other grass hays.  Things that cause bloat are usually veggies such as kale or cliantro (just two examples there are more), or high carb/sugar items like fruits, sugar snacks, cheerios, bread, oats, corn, etc.

Regardless what caused it, if she is teeth crunching hard (ie in pain) get to an emergency vet now.

Has she been going to the bathroom like normal today?  Has her fecal pellets been normal size?  If no, she may have gi stasis or a partial blockage of her gi tract - emergency vet immediately.

If she has been going to the bathroom normal and output is pretty normal, but is just not moving much and not in obvious pain, get to a walgreens and get baby gas drops, and giver her 2-3 full dropper doses - get one that is flavored banana or something to make it easier for her to want to take.  After the doses, hold her in your lap on a pillow and with one hand gently rub her tummy area for about 1/2 hour, to massage the gas drops from her stomach into her cecum (if gas is trapped in the cecum this will help the gas drops work).

If she enjoys the massage keep doing it longer, the massaging itself may help to break up gas bubbles.  You can give a couple extra doses if you choose.  Baby gas drops are extremely safe.

If she doesn't improve in a couple hours get her to an emergency vet.  Call ahead and tell them you have a bunny in gi stasis or bloat.  Make sure her carrier is nicely padded and get her there.

Lee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Okay, so yesterday we thought that she had gas and bloating problems, but today my rabbit has worms coming out of her butt. The worms are white with a dark spot at the end. Its a sunday so we could not take her to a vet, but we called one and he told us to give her cat worming medicine. will she be okay?  

Answer
Hi,

it sounds like tapeworms.  You need to look for a cat de-wormer that says it is safe for kittens.  Usually a kitten dose is 1/2 of a cat dose - the bottle should tell you the proper dose for a kitty (in this case, kitty = rabbit).

You can give her 1 kitten dose.  Make sure you keep a sample in a bottle for the vet to confirm exactly what kind of parasite it is.  Also make sure to write down what treatment you have given your rabbit and give it to the vet when you see them Monday.

Make sure she is drinking enough.

Lee