I just went through a very scary situation with my rabbit. He stopped eating, drinking, and pooping and I knew it was an emergency. The vet gave him intravenous fluids, pain meds, and did x-rays, and showed me how to syringe-feed him with critical care.
But here is what I learned from YouTube that really changed things for us: belly massage! When your rabbit is lying down, put your hands underneath and gently massage the abdomen. You will actually here the stomach start to gurgle. Within 5 minutes he jumped into his litter box and went to the bathroom. We all cheered! Do this every half hour as part of treatment.
I think I could have saved myself $500. My vet did not mention massage at all...."
Posted By Heather (Welland, Ontario) on 08/25/2016
"The only trouble with this is, some bunnies are very shy about being restrained at all. If I put both hands on either side of bun, she jumps away immediately. It must be something form her past---she is a rescue, and I shudder to think what she went through before we adopted her.
If it is something you can do however, I'm certain it would be very comforting and helpful for your rabbit."
Posted By Mel (Rochester, Ny) on 09/06/2017
"Thank you SO much for this advice! I think it may well have saved my bunnies life!"Posted By Sandra (Florida) on 09/23/2018
"I have learned with my bunny when he needs a tummy rub to put my hand under him and rub his tummy with him relaxed and he approves by licking my hand to continue rubbing. No picking him up, only working with him the way he thinks is best."Posted By Audra (Beaverton, OR) on 01/18/2021
"Giving 3 ml of Baby Gasx (liquid Simethicone) will also really help make it easier on them to break up the gas bubbles if you are lucky and catch this early on, but don't wait too long. If bunnys bloated tummy doesn't feel softer and they don't perk up and start eating and pooping they probably need the fluids, pain and gut motility drugs. They usually hide their problem so long that but he time it's noticeable you need vet help. You can styringe some water or the gasx and try to see if their tongue and mouth look normal pink. If they are looking pale with almost a blue tint you should get to a vet asap. They are dehydrated and need subq fluid and immediate help! The sooner they get treatment the quicker they recover.
I've been part of rabbit rescue and fostering for over 15 years and unfortunately have been through quite a bit of this. Some bunnies seem more prone to it. Especially ones that aren't very good hay eaters."
