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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A HELP! My bunny ate gum

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    • Slyfox747
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        Hello fellow bunny owners,

        My bunny Charles is a 9 month old lop ear, and last Tuesday he went into my bag and ate a packet of gum. I suspect that he ate around 10 sticks of gum. The brand of the gum was peppermint 5 gum in case anyone was wondering. Anyways, I took him to a vet that day and they gave him some fluids and told me to look out for any out of the ordinary behavior and to see if he stops eating or going to the bathroom. Later that evening, Charles stopped moving all together and his breathing became very shallow, he did not want to eat his dinner or any treats I offered him and I became extremely concerned. I took him to a exotic pet hospital where he stayed the night and he came home the next day in critical condition. I’ve had him on a critical care formula, and the vet gave him some medicine for the pH of his stomach to take every 12 hours. It’s been a week since he’s eaten the gum and he has been on a slow upward trend of recovery (eating more solid food, going to the bathroom, energy level increasing), however he is not 100% better (still not eating hay and sleeping more than usual) and I called the vet and asked about when should Charles be feeling like himself again and the vet told me that Charles could possibly have a blockage in his system caused by the gum clumping together inside him. I could get him an x-ray or an ultra sound to try to see if that is the case, both of which are pretty pricy and after his overnight stay at the vet (and the other appointment during the day) I’m not sure how many more vet bills I can afford at this point. I was hoping for some advice on what I should do for my Charles, as I’ve become so attached to him and I would feel terrible if I didn’t do everything that I could for him. If it is the case that he does have a blockage then he might have to get surgery, in which case do many bunnies survive intestinal surgery? I’d imagine it’s very invasive and traumatizing, and in his sick condition would he be able to pull through the surgery? I’m not even sure if I could afford the surgery and so would it be better not to get an x-ray or ultra sound at all and try to wait it out and see if Charles can fully recover at all? I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has to offer me, I’m sorry my story is so long, I’m just at a loss of what to, and what’s best for Charles.

        Sincerely,

        A very concerned bunny owner


      • BinkyBunny
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          I am so sorry! Our bunnies sure know how to get in trouble and scare the beejeebeez out of us! Rabbits can go through surgery (with a rabbit-savvy vet and it sounds like you have one). I have had bunnies go through spays, jaw surgery, bladder stone removals and they all dd just fine. With that said, surgery to remove a blockage is a bit different and survival rates are lower from what I have read in the past, but maybe some things have changed as vet care advances. I do know it is something that as considered as the last resort. Most likely because a bunny is in weakened state by the time the surgery is performed. This would be something you could talk frankly with your vet about. Also, hopefully other members, who have had their bunny go through this kind of surgery will be able to share — good or bad, so we can learn more.

          Regarding the funds — talk to you vet about making payments. When we were at our tightest and our cat had a serious emergency, I didn’t have $1400 to just hand over! Thankfully they just set up a payment plan with us. I have been able to do this with a my regular vet as well, when I had a bunny with an ongoing illness that was draining funds.

          I do know there have been members who have had bunnies that ate gum, and it ended up passing through – I just don’t know how much gum was eaten. On the bright side — it doesn’t sound like a full blockage if he is beginning to eat and drink more, and he’s going poo, so that’s a good sign. In my opinion, and I’m NOT a vet, again, surgery would be the last resort. Even if Xrays showed a blockage, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t move through slowly, just not sure about how that much gum moves through and the vet would be better at knowing this. And maybe the xrays could show where the blockage exactly, if there is one, and give the vet the info needed to know how to proceed with treatment.

          I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed and sending healing vibes for your bunny. Keep us updated!


        • Q8bunny
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            I’m awfully sorry that little Charles managed mischief of this magnitude.

            As BB said, his eating and pooping again a bit gives me hope, since it means that matter is moving all the way through him.

            Here’s some good news: gum nowadays is made to biodegrade eventually, so it’s probably slowly breaking down as I type this.

            To be honest, I would try feeding him fresh pineapple or fresh pineapple juice (the juice in small quantities, due to sugar content). The enzymes in pineapple help break down blockages in bunnies, and while I know that gum is not protein-based hair, it might help. Also, banana helps to lubricate the gut in bunnies, which might help Charles pass some of the gum – my bunny-savvy vet swears by it in conjunction with pineapple for incomplete blockages.


          • Bam
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              I’m very sorry, first of all.

              I have very little to add except that it can take time for a bunny to recover completely from GI stasis. A week is really rather a short time.
              This is an old-ish article (revised 2005) by Dana Krempels, a very well-renowned bunny vet. Scroll down to V.The Road To Recovery. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

              The article emphasizes that the road to recovery is slow, sometimes “maddeningly gradual”. (This article is one that we often link to and one that I’ve personally have found very useful when dealing with GI problems in my bunnies. The part about GI surgery and survival rate can be outdated though – it might be that techniques and outcome are better nowadays since it’s been a while since this article was written, so just skip that part – it any case, as BB says, big surgery like that is of course the very last resort).

              We’d be very happy for updates.


            • Slyfox747
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                Thank you so much for all of your inputs and well wishes for Charles. I’m going to wait to get him an x-ray, because I don’t want to over stress him by taking him to the vet unless it’s absolutely necessary. Q8bunny I tried to give him a small slice of banana tonight, but he didn’t seem interested in it, he’d never eaten bananas before and he’s a pretty picky eater normally. In other news, Charles is eating more pellets at night, he ate more than a 1/4 of a cup yesterday evening. This morning he seemed a little sensitive to the touch at his haunches, maybe because of his blockage?


              • Bam
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                  Make sure he drinks, water is really important with blockages. I’m glad he’s eating more pellets, it has fiber. It’s not good that he is sensitive to the touch though, you’ll have to monitor him closely. A sign of pain is teeth-chatter/grinding. Is he moving around at all? Moving around is good for intestinal movement (peristalsis).
                  My buns didn’t eat banana either when I tried feeding them that, so that’s not a bad sign, bunnies tend to be reluctant to try new food. Some buns love canned pumpkin (plain, not pie filling), it has good fiber too.

                  If he has a little gas, baby gas drops can help (simethicone). It’s not absorbed by the body but acts locally in the intestine to break up gas bubbles, possibly also to lubricate. It can be given on suspicion of gas and Dana Krempels recommend it in her article on stasis. It’s very commonly used as a first aid for bunnies, I always keep a bottle at home.


                • Slyfox747
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                    Thanks for your continued advice bam! Charles is drinking lots of water, mostly at night, and he ended up eating the banana slices after all. He doesn’t chatter his teeth or grind them when I touch his behind, but he does seem very sensitive in that area and will flinch a bit when I touch him there. He doesn’t move around on his own too much during the day but I can feel that he’s gained his strength back when I pick him up to give him his medicine and he pushes away from me. At night he moves around in his cage a little. How would I know if he has gas?


                  • Bam
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                      I’m glad to hear he’s doing better!

                      Gas is often a suspicion when a bun has tummy-trouble, it’s uncomfortable/painful for them. It can make them shift position often and look unhappy. And sometimes you hear it rumbling or gurgling.


                    • LBJ10
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                        Bunnies with gas often do “pushups” by pressing their tummy to the floor. And, as Bam said, they will often appear restless and unable to get comfortable.

                        I do hopes Charles is doing better.


                      • Slyfox747
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                          Mostly when I see him now he’s laying down, with his feet behind him, but he’s still been very lazy lately. LBJ10, sometimes he does sit in a hunched position and put his front paws in front of him just so his stomach is touching the ground. He seems more comfortable but still flinches when I touch his haunches.


                        • Q8bunny
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                            I’m glad Charles is doing better.
                            Keep in mind that most buns don’t like their haunches touched and prefer that we keep our paws on cheeks and tops of heads/backs and off their sides, behinds, and tums.


                          • BinkyBunny
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                              I am glad to hear there is some improvement. It does sound like he is still a bit uncomfortable at times and recovery can be slow. it might be helpful to give the baby gas drops that Bam suggested. It sort of makes the lining of the tract slippery which may helpful for the gum too. is he still eating, drinking and pooping?


                            • Slyfox747
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                                BB, yes he’s still eating and drinking and pooping. However he still doesn’t seem to want to eat his hay. Tomorrow I’m going to go out and get him a different kind to see if he takes a liking to that instead. Q8bunny, that could be a very likely possibility! Thanks again to everyone for their continued advice!


                              • Bam
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                                  I totally second Q8 about bunnies preferring to be pet on the head/ears/nose. Did Charles like/accept being touched on the haunches before the gum incident?

                                  My buns go crazy for oat hay. If possible, by smaller bags of hay until you know what he prefers. I have so much hay here that my buns have deemed inedible for some bunny-reason.


                                • Slyfox747
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                                    He didn’t love being touched on the haunches before but he didn’t flinch away either like he does now. I bought him a different type of hay today, fingers crossed that he eats some!


                                  • Bam
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                                      Fingers crossed!


                                    • Slyfox747
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                                        Hello Everyone!

                                        I just wanted to let you all know that Charles is almost fully recovered and he’s getting his curious, lovable personality back! I am so thrilled that he is okay, and I wanted to say thanks again for all the advice that you’ve taken the time to write. Hopefully this post will be helpful to any other owners who’s bunnies get into this scale of trouble!


                                      • Bam
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                                          Happy news, yay!!!
                                          Thank you for the update!


                                        • LBJ10
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                                            Thanks for the update! That’s good to hear. So you think the gum eventually broke down then?


                                          • BinkyBunny
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                                              Great News!! I do thinks Charles’s experience will be helpful to others for sure!


                                            • Slyfox747
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                                                LBJ10, I think it must have! He is eating hay again and going to the bathroom normally and now being much more active. All good signs, but I’ll still keep a close watch over him.

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                                            Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A HELP! My bunny ate gum