Tinkie A.D.

A bridge between the hands and the heart…

Ever since our very first rabbit years ago, we have had these episodes of “Hairballs”. You see the problem is that unlike a cat, rabbits cannot vomit up the hair that ends up being built up in their gut from all their grooming. Shedding season can become a dangerous time for rabbits and it seems that rabbits can shed several times a year. A buildup of hair if not treated will develope to a full out case of stasis and will threaten the life of your bunny. Whether short haired or long haired every rabbit is at risk and needs to be monitored and assisted during this time. A lot has been learned since those years about what is going on and how to handle it. In the old days we were told by our vet to syringe mineral oil into their mouths several times a day, but we have since learned that the oil coats any hair or food build up in the rabbit’s gut and actual hastens the problem instead of making the mass easier to pass as previously believed.

Fibre is our Friend~

Prevention is totally the way to go with this problem. First thing there is no amount of hay which can be too much. The more good quality grass type hay like Timothy and Orchard grass a rabbits eats, the better. I would go as far as to say that pellets should in most cases be only offered in very small quantities. At our house the young buns get pellets only to a point where they have the adequate body weight and conditioning and then pellets are weaned off over time to ensure the bun is eating lots of hay and  fresh greens.

Grooming~

Two of our rabbits have been pellet free for a few years now and have always eaten copious amounts of hay and have only had a few instances of what I would call “hairballs”.  Even with eating lots of hay everyday and their portion of fresh greens during the heavier sheds they can fall victim to too much hair build up in their gut. The first sign is the stringy poops, where the individual pooh balls are strung together with hair. Regular grooming is really a practise that helps avoid these kinds of events as well has help to socialize your bun and have him comfortable with being handled.

To be completely honest our two mixed breed buns Gracie and Puds really only get groomed during their sheds. But I find that they will need daily grooming over  a period of a few weeks until they are finished shedding. I use a flee comb and I also have a Furminator, but I mostly prefer to wet down the bun with water on my hands and give them a good massage all over, this helps to loosen any fur and sticks to my hand so I can then rub it off. Then I start with the flea comb gently taking out the loosest of the wool. Sadly these sessions can frequently become a bit over zealous and its not uncommon for a bun to have some bald spots when we are done. The key is to not take too much giving them bald patches with sore spots. The hair does grow back and I find during the most severe of shed this tends to happen.

Funny that I find rabbits only seem to go through these severe shed sporatically. There doesn’t seem to be a rythm or reason for these. I’ve had a few buns go years inbetween these major shedding events. For the most part I find bunnies tend to have ligher sheddings that last a few weeks.

~Long haired breeds like Fuzzies, Jersey Woollies and Angora absolutely require regular  grooming. I find with my Jersey Woolly, combing her out really well once a week allows for a light mid week fluff up. So far she has gone through one shed as we’ve only had her 5 months, but we got through it without any major mishap.  

When your Bunny stops eating~ The onset of Stasis

So your bunny didn’t eat any dinner or isn’t taking any of his favorite treats. This is a serious situation. Bunnies need to pretty much continually eat so that food matter continues to ove throughout their gut system. If this slows down it is the onset of stasis (a must read article by Dana Krempels MD) which untreated is life threatening. First thing I do is look for poop. I make sure I clean the littler pan and their hutch so I can make sure what is new and what is not. But I also look to see if I see any of those stringy poops.  I also take note if there is excess hair around their bedding as a sign of shedding I have neglected to detect.

There are few tell tale signs of hair build up in the gut. The stringy poohs, small mishappen poohs, the lack of poohs and a bunny that is figity and unable to get comfortable. Commonly a bun will stetch out funny and keep shuffling their postion because pockets of gas build up in the gut causing pain and discomfort. I’ve also noticed increased drinking during this condition. At this time a bun will also sit with eyes closed and grind their teeth, a sure sign of pain.

At our house we get on this quickly. If a bun is a big pellet eater we take them away for the time being and make sure there is lots of really tasty fresh hay,  the choicest of fresh greens well sprinkled with water and of course fresh water. I clean up their hutch for any hair and stray poops and put in a fresh litter box so it’s easier to monitor. We then get to the fun stuff.

Medicinal Help during Hairballs~

These are the things we always have on hand in our Bunny Medicine cabinet

Gas-x/simethicone~Depending on where you live you will have to look in your pharmacy for what brands to select. Basically its a gas med for babies. I’m currently using Phazyme brand extra strength 125mg softgels. Select a brand that is 100% simethicone.

~Commonly 40 to 60mg is given by mouth every 4 to 6 hours for adult rabbits. (we’ve been using the extra strength 125mg with no adverse effects but smaller doses would be just as effective)

Metacam/meloxicam~I keep a big bottle of Metacam always on hand. Please not this is a drug developed for dogs, it can be used in cats and rabbits, but caution must exercised with cats.* Cats can suffer kidney damange from this drug only use on the advise from you vet.

~Rabbits can have a range of doses from 0.10 mg to 0.30 mg for every kg body weight every 24 hours.*In recent years I have found that Metacam may not always last 24 hours and once a rabbit is back in the pain zone its hard to get them eating and feeling better so its better to keep them pain free. My vet has verified that it can be given every 12 hours, but at the lower dose. So we’ll give 0.10mg twice a day so that the daily dose is still just under their maximum daily allowable of 0.30 mg per kg.     *Again a note of caution with Metacam. It is hard on the stomach so its better to give on a full stomach. When buns aren’t eating this can difficult so I give at a time when I am syringe feeding them or hand feeding some treats. Sometimes a bun will feel better an hour or so after a dose of Metacam and will begin to eat, if not that is when its a good idea to syringe feed a bit.

Multi Enzyme by Natural Factors~ We jokingly refer to this a bunny drano in our house. This is super concentrated full spectrum enzyme that aids in the digestion and breakdown of proteins, carbs and fats, it’s not the same thing as those papaya tabs. Basically papaya tabs are just a treat, there is not enough enzyme in them to have any real clinical effect on a rabbit with build up with hair. We still give them but just one a day as a treat. Giving more papaya tablets is not a good idea as the sugar in them will cause or increase an unhealthy bacteria in the gut causing more gas and pain.

We give the Multi Enzyme to the buns at the first signs of a sluggish appetite or when their poops become stringy. I give one capsule a day sprinkled on my Jersey Woolly’s salad as a preventative but use it therapeutically with the other buns.

~I mix two capsules of the Multi Enzymewith about 1ml of water and mix it together, it then given by mouth via the syringe. Some buns can really struggle but others have come to get used to it and take the syringe with minimal fuss. This dose of enzyme is typically given three times a day when treating for “Hairballs”. I’ll then taper it down to once a day once they seem to be recovering but are still shedding and not producing their normal amount of poops.

*If you can’t get this brand where you live, look for a product with comparable contents and NO sugar.  Each 525 mg capsule contains:
For carbohydrate digestion
Amylase enzyme………….12,600 SKBU…….(Sansted, Kneen, Blish Alpha Amylase Unit)
Cellulase enzyme……………………180 CU……..(Cellulase Unit)
Lactase enzyme ………………….580 ALU…….. (Acid Lactase Unit)
Maltase enzyme………………………60 DP……….(Diastatic Power)
Sucrase…………………………… 40 INVU……… (Inverted Unit)
Hemicellulase……………………….200 XU……….(Xylanase Unit)
For protein digestion
Protease I…………………..44,200 HUTU……… (Hemoglobin Unit on the Tyrosine Basis)
Protease II…………………………4,800 PC………(Proteolytic Activity–Caseins)
Protease III………………………. 60 SAPU…….. (Spectrophotometric Acid Protease Unit)
Peptizyme SPTM…………………200 SPU………(Specialty Peptidase Unit)
Bromelain…………………………..120 MCU……..(Milk Clotting Unit)
Papain………………………………450 USPU……. (United States Pharmacopeia Unit)
For lipid digestion
Lipase…………………………………. 500 LU………(Lipase Unit)

In Conclusion for treating a Hairball event~

Phase ONE

1. Increase Good Quality Hay, fresh greens and water while taking away pellets and any starchy dry treat foods. Concentrate on low sugar/starch foods with high moisture content  like dandelion, romaine, parsley, cilantro, Swiss chard etc.

2. Groom your bunny, get off all the loose fur and clean their hutch area of all loose fur as well as giving a fresh litter box to monitor what they are passing.

2. Give a dose of Metacam, a dose of Simethicone and a dose of Multi Enzyme. This will ease the pain of cramping and begin to minimize gas and begin tweaking the digestion of what they have built up. Repeat the Simethicone and Enzyme dose every 6 hours, give the Metacam once or twice a day at the most (use low dose)

3. Entice eating by teasing your bunny’s mouth with some nice bits of hay, or fresh greens for a few hours after your

4. If things seems like they are coming along, continue this treatment as needed. I’d recommend continuing with the enzyme for 3 or 4 days along with the Simethicone but  continue to give the metacam only if they appear to be in discomfort. Their eating should be improving, if so you are on your way. If not go to phase 2

Phase Two

Treat as phase one, but if bunny is not nibbling on their own within 12 hours begin syringe feeding in addition to the phase one treatment. Take some of their pellets and pulverize them in the blender (or use Oxbow’s Critical Care if you have on hand)

Take one tablespoon of powdered pellets and three tablespoons of water and add one table spoon of canned pumpkin (not pie filling, pure pumpkin) or unsweetened apple sauce, or baby food( pear, banana, apple) Mix this together and feed with a syringe. I also mix a bit of organic ginger tea with some water and syringe this as well. Extra fluids helps to hydrate the food and hair and move it on its way * see my syring feeding video for suggestions on how to do this if you are a newbie which is in my previous post in this category.

A word of Caution~ If for any reason you suspect your rabbit has ingested something he should not, like carpet, stuffing from pet bed or couch or pillow your bunny may very well have a life threatening blockage and your bunny needs to get to a vet ASAP. Do not syringe feed if you suspect a blockage of this sort. X Rays and a vet exam must rule this out to proceed.

Phase Three

If by 24 hours your bunny has not begun to improve with the first two phases of treatment Bunny will need to go to the vet for sub Q fluids in addition to the current phases of treatment AND a gut stimulant drug Metaclopramide only after any risk of blockage has been rules out. Giving a gut stimulant drug to a bunny with a actual blockage is Lethal. Your bun may require a few days of sub Q fluids and the Metaclopramide along with syringe feeding and the simethicone, Gas X and enzyme in order to completely recover to normal. I have found personally if I get onto the first sign of trouble with phase one I don’t need to go to the vet, but there are times when it doesn’t work as a bigger problem is underlaying. Bunnies can develope a deadly cocktail of bacteria in the gut  from too much sugary and starchy treat food. It is really in the best interest of your pet to feed a good diet of mostly Grass Hay, then green, then a small portion of Timothy based pellets for mature rabbits (if you must, rabbits don’t need to be fed pellets, they do great on just hay and some veg) and treats should NOT be a daily thing. Fruits and or treats should only be a few times a week.

~With some experience you’ll come to know if your bun is getting sluggish and offish on its food due to a routine buildup during shedding. Then proceed with the hairball treatment plan. For Novice bun owners I suggest you use this time to get acquainted with your rabbit savvy vet and rule out any complications.

Always continue with the Enzyme for a few days after your bun seems normal. Commonly a bun with have several pockets of gas and matter build up in the gut and as each passes a bun will appear miraculously better, but may suffer from symptoms again  hours later.

Long Haired Rabbits~

On the recommendation of my vet we keep our Jersey Woolly rabbit Tilly on a daily maintenance dose of the Multi Enzyme (One capsule) sprinkled on her salad to help with the ongoing breakdown of excess hairs. If you’ve owned a Jersey Woolly you’ll know why! They always have the string of pooh pearls in the litter box 

We also groom her twice a week and plan on clipping her down to 1 inch of fur for the summer. When we got her just before Christmas, she put the fear of God into me with all that fuzz. She is really beautiful but the idea of an out and out hair impaction that would require surgery really scares the poop out of me! So I am remaining diligent to prevent this from ever happening. I know all the fur kids will benefit from this diligence too.

Tags: rabbit grooming, rabbit hair balls, rabbit not eating, stasis, stringy poohs

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 10th, 2010 at 6:33 pm and is filed under Rabbit Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.