The rabbit's stomach is swollen - what to do? Causes of bloating in a rabbit

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

One of the most terrible and widespread diseases of rabbits is associated with the work of their gastrointestinal tract. Namely, bloating due to the cessation of bowel function. Gastrointestinal stasis - this is the name of the disease in veterinary medicine. If a rabbit has a swollen belly, what should I do?

Regular control

The result of the course of the disease will be rather deplorable. A day ago, the rabbit was active, played, had a good appetite. And now he is already on his last legs, experiencing severe pain with a huge swollen tummy. At the same time, the rest of the pets live a rich and he althy life. In some cases, a large number of animals suffer from the disease at once. This arrangement leads to huge losses. What should be done to ensure that bloating in rabbits does not threaten the life of pets?

Signs of bloating

You can recognize the disease by the following signs. The resulting gases burst the walls of the stomach,at the same time, pains are felt in the abdomen that depress the pet. The rabbit refuses food, water, physical activity stops. After a while, he will lie with bulging eyes. Refusal of food entails weakness and cessation of resistance to the disease. Trembling occurs due to a decrease in body temperature. Every breeder should know why rabbits have bloated bellies.

Several hours of torment lead to a complete deprivation of strength and the ability to resist the disease. Against this background, liver problems are often observed, which only worsen well-being. A competent owner can independently diagnose intestinal stasis in pets by the following signs:

• No bowel discharge for ten to twelve hours.
• The animal hides and becomes lethargic.
• Refused food.
• Belly becomes spherical.
• The temperature drops below 37 degrees.
• Easy breathing.
• Teeth begin to grind.

If a rabbit has a swollen belly, not every breeder knows what to do.

Doctor's actions

A veterinarian can find out the localization of blockage, gas formation on the appropriate devices and recommend treatment. For treatment, enemas, drugs, massage and a catheter are used. If treatment is started in a timely manner, then the likelihood of a cure will be noticeably higher.

Distinguish between blisters that are caused by parasites and bacteria, such as coccidia. Such diseases are also quitecommon, so it would be useful to ask about the signs of coccidosis.

Causes of disease

The digestive system of rabbits has its own nuances that have arisen as a result of evolutionary development. The walls of the stomach are devoid of muscle tissue capable of contracting and pushing food. Food moves through the gastrointestinal tract under the pressure of a new portion of food eaten. Therefore, any obstacle to this process or the resulting spasm can cause the cessation of digestion (stasis). Translated from the Greek "stasis" - "cessation of movement", in this case, the contents inside the tubular organ. This is the main reason why a rabbit has a swollen belly. Real eared lovers know how to treat this unpleasant disease.

All diseases are from nerves

One of the reasons for the development of gastrointestinal stasis is stress in a rabbit. This term refers to various changes in the environment. Stress can be caused by a move to a new location, a change in diet or weather, a frightened animal, or long distance transportation.

Food

More is worth dwelling on the first reason. The disease often occurs in young rabbits that have just stopped feeding on mother's milk. Many factors contribute to this:

1. Changing the type of food. Milk replaced with dry food.
2. Stomach acid is still quite low.
3. Wool from the nest accumulates in the stomach. It often forms a ball, which canlead to blockage of the intestinal lumen.

It is important to provide competent assistance in a timely manner if a small rabbit has a swollen stomach.

Feeding advice

Often stasis occurs as a result of feeding errors or poor quality feed. For example, in nature, rabbits like to gnaw on the ends of young shoots, and the rough and thick sections are used to sharpen their teeth. Rabbits that live in captivity cannot choose their own food, they have to be content with the provided ration. The result of this is a high load on the stomach and intestines, especially in growing individuals, gas formation and stagnation of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract. If the rabbit's stomach is swollen because of this, what to do in this case?

A similar effect will occur with a sharp transition to fresh vegetation in the spring, as well as when feeding grass after dew or rain. With a favorable outcome, the animals will have loose stools, and with a worse outcome, bloating. It is important to keep the grass free of species that can harm the rabbit. Still, bloating in rabbits is a serious disease.

Rabbit Diet

It is necessary to limit the use of feeds that are difficult for rabbits to digest or can cause increased gas formation in the gastrointestinal tract. For example, raw grass, cruciferous, legumes, alfalfa, frozen products, fresh beet tops. It is dangerous to feed pets with grass that has been recently cut, stacked inrolls, and rotting processes began in it. This also applies to silage that has begun to ferment or is prepared in violation of technology. Despite this, not all breeders understand why rabbits die and their stomach swells. Although the reason is obvious - careless catering.

Instant porridges that do not require cooking began to appear on store shelves. They only need to be filled with boiling water for a few minutes. Feeding such dry foods will cause the food to swell in the gastrointestinal tract, which will end in failure.

Congestion is most common in animals with a sedentary lifestyle. On the contrary, an active life and physical activity improve the functioning of the digestive system. In the presence of cages of small size and in case of violation of the norms for keeping animals (number of heads per unit area), it is recommended to walk pets from time to time so that they can actively move around. At the same time, be sure to provide protection from aggressive animals, and also exclude the possibility of eating unwanted food from the site. Most often, the owners complain that the rabbit's stomach is swollen. The pet does not eat anything at the same time. The main thing is to sound the alarm in time.

Space organization

A good solution would be to make a special enclosure in which the rabbits can walk. Sometimes they are kept in a pit if their population is increased. The quality of the feed used should be kept under control. Vegetation that has been treated with chemicals can kill rabbits. If you have doubts about the quality of the feed or are not sure about the absence of pesticides, you should not hesitate to refuse it.

Very often gastrointestinal stasis occurred as a result of eating hay with mold or its spores. Bad hay can be distinguished by the well-known smell emanating from it. And if there are moldy areas, it is immediately excluded from the diet of animals. Otherwise, you may notice that the rabbit's stomach is swollen and diarrhea has appeared.

Treatment of bloating and stasis

If the moment when the intestines stopped working is missed, urgently take action. It is best to call a veterinarian, but this is not always possible. The rabbit may die after a few hours, so you should not delay saving him:

1. Immediately, but with care, remove the rabbit from the common cage and let it run. Provided that he can be active. It is advisable to take him to your home in order to constantly monitor his condition and provide the patient with a comfortable temperature. The use of heaters is unacceptable, as they can increase gas formation.
2. Children's "Espumizan" will help reduce gases, pain and prevent rupture of the intestinal tract. With a pipette or syringe in the mouth, the animal is given two milliliters every 3 hours. In severe cases, the interval is reduced to one hour. Large rabbits can be treated with "Tympanol": five times a day, 0.4 milliliters, diluted four times with water. It is permissible to supplement the medication with severaldrops of vegetable oil.
3. To relieve pain, use "No-shpu". Injections are carried out two to three times a day, 0.2 milliliters per kilogram of animal weight. You can also replace it with other painkillers, for example, Ketonal. It is important not to exceed the dosage.
4. A good addition would be regular massage of the tummy for five to ten minutes with an interval of 1-2 hours. The rabbit is placed on its knees or placed on the table and gently stroked from neck to tail. The force of pressure is controlled judging by the reaction of the animal.
5. You can support your pet's strength with glucose. Make injections of saline 10 ml / kg two to three times a day, mixing with a five percent glucose solution in a 1: 1 ratio.
6. If the swelling is not very strong, then the rabbit is transferred to a strict diet. Keep without food up to 15 hours, give only a little water. Exclude all succulent feed and grain. They feed only very good hay. It is recommended to replace water with chamomile infusion.
7. After successful treatment, the microflora in the digestive system of animals needs to be restored. This can be done with different drugs, which a veterinarian or a specialist in a veterinary pharmacy will help you choose. Giving yogurt to rabbits is contraindicated.

Prevention

You need to constantly monitor your pet, the food must be properly selected. The water must be clean. The change of feed should be gradual, and their quality should be controlled. Animals should be able to exercise. Permanent removal of fluff from the nest is also necessary. worth beingcareful with antibiotics and other drugs. Rabbits should sometimes be given bitter wormwood, dill, chamomile, dandelion (dry or in the form of a decoction). There is no need to panic if the rabbit has a swollen stomach. What to do? Monitor the nutrition of animals and give appropriate drugs.

Bloating in a rabbit can be cured, especially if detected early. If you cannot complete the list of measures to save the rabbit, then at least some of them are worth doing. Often a strict diet, massage, active movements and a spoonful of vegetable oil healed a sick animal. And if Espumisan is at hand, then the chances of recovery will increase.