Distended belly but eating/acting normally

[MeggoWaffle]

I originally posted this in the behavior forum but now I wonder if it might fit better here (sorry, I’m new). In any case, sorry for the double post.

 

One of my rabbits, Nona, refused pellets and veggies Tuesday morning. She had definitely eaten her veggies the night before, so I caught her decreased appetite early. Despite refusing pellets and veggies, she was VERY eager for dried papaya so I was not freaking out yet. I also got her to eat some parsley in the afternoon.

She wasn’t drinking water either. I keep giving fresh water in the water bottle, a crock of water mixed with apple juice, and a crock of water mixed with pedialyte, but she wouldn’t take the bait. So my roommate (a vet tech) gave her subQ fluids that night. (Roommate’s bunny had stopped eating the week previous so we had supplies.) She ate a bit more parsley when I shoved it in her face, so I was hopeful.

Wednesday was a little better. She was acting more alert (although she never showed any signs of pain the day before, she just was acting a bit weird) and was more willing to take more parsley, mint, and banana. She also had some critical care. Even though she seemed to be improving I made an appointment with the vet for the next day. The only rabbit vet in town is only in her office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We also gave her more fluids Wednesday night. She put up a huge fight, which I took as a good sign.

Thursday morning rolls around. She voluntarily goes to the bowl of parsley and mint and eats some! Still no interest in her normal greens, but the fact that I don’t have to shove them in her face seems promising. She also munched some hay.

Off to the vet we go late Thursday morning. The vet says her stomach is ‘doughy’ right below the rib cage. Vet prescribes Reglan and more fluids. I should also mention that she has been passing poops. They aren’t perfect but at least she is passing them. They were a little smaller than usual and sometimes comma-shaped instead of the normal shape.

Home we go. She seems fine (aside from still not drinking water) and gobbles more Critical Care. By the end of the evening she is eating normal greens instead of the special fragrant ones I bought her.

Later on that night, we went to give more subQ fluids and another dose of Reglan. I try to feel her stomach again, but this time it feels hard instead of doughy. My roommate the vet tech doesn’t seem concerned. In the middle of the night I hear some gurgles. She doesn’t show any pain but I get paranoid and go buy simethicone and give her some of that.

This morning: her appetite seems to be completely returned. She still isn’t drinking much water, but she is munching hay, all the normal greens, and broccoli. She had a large handful of almost normal-looking poops overnight. There were only a couple misshapen ones and they were almost the size they usually are.

Given all of this, it would seem that she is fully recovered, right? Normal appetite, almost normal poops, alert, showing no pain (she is even luxuriously stretched out to her sister right now).

BUT her stomach now seems swollen. I can feel it – it’s not super hard to the touch, and it kind of jiggles around when she hops. It is not right below the rib cage, but is also not far down enough to be in the abdominal area.

So, I’m kind of freaking out. I feel like I’m reading conflicting things all over the internet. Could the swollenness be bloat even if she is still passing poops? And what about her returned appetite and perky behavior? I am trying to find hope in the fact that she is acting completely normal and back to eating normally, and never even stopped pooping, but I am really worried about this swollen stomach, so worried that I am nauseous. To be honest, I don’t trust any other vet in the area. My roommate knows the rabbit vet well because they work at the local shelter together, and is going to ask if we can come by her house this evening, but that is like eight hours from now (I’m on Pacific time).

Anybody have any experience with this? Normal appetite and behavior but swollen stomach?

Thanks,

Megan

[Sarita]

I’ll delete the behavior post.

If it was bloat she would be in terrific pain. Are you certain you are feeling her stomach when you mention she “feels” bloated?

[Sarita]

I deleted your other 2 posts – I think it’s appropriate in this section.

[MeggoWaffle]

Thanks for deleting my other posts. Didn’t mean to flood the forums, just a little frantic for answers…

She isn’t showing any signs of pain, so I guess it isn’t actual bloat. I also don’t know if I am feeling her actual stomach. The vet yesterday was probing deep, right below her rib cage, but this swollen part seems to be just slightly lower. It is also visibly swollen. It doesn’t quite drag when she moves around but it is noticeably bigger than usual.

[Sarita]

Has she been given fluids recently? I noticed when I give my rabbits sub-q fluids they look bloated until the fluids actually “sink” in.

[MeggoWaffle]

She got some last night, but I can still see her fluid hump so I think they are separate. My roommate/vet tech also felt it before she left for work and said it doesn’t feel like a fluid hump. I’m also wondering if this softer swell I’m feeling this morning is related to the hard swell I felt last night.

[Sarita]

You might have your roommate double check it tonight if it’s still there. I guess I would just watch for any changes in it and if she’s eating, pooping/peeing, and running around as normal, she sounds okay.

Did the vet ever say why he felt she stopped eating?

[MeggoWaffle]

She wasn’t sure but thought it might be the heat (they haven’t been shedding or anything), especially since my roommate’s rabbit stopped eating last week. We usually keep our thermostat in the high 70s to save money but have now turned it down a bit more. This is their second summer in California and they were fine last year, but today I’m going to buy some ceramic tiles and tube socks for frozen water bottles etc. I hope it is something as simple as the heat, since we are willing to pay to turn up the A/C.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Something else you can do to cool down a warm bunny is spray a little mist from a spray bottle onto the ears or wrap a cool, damp cloth around the ears for a few minutes.

Hope your bunny is feeling better soon.

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