GI dilation or bloat is the excessive accumulation of gas in the rabbits’ stomachs, as neither gases, liquids, nor solids can escape the GI tract from anywhere but the cloaca.
This means that rabbits cannot vomit or eructate to relieve themselves when these issues emerge.
Bloating happens when gas cannot escape the stomach due to a blockage or genetical condition, expanding the stomach where the gases and other content are trapped, and causing the belly to increase in size.
The rabbits’ stomach, that are less elastic than other animals’, not only tends to rupture after some time, but it can cause the blood to stop flowing to the heart.
The enlargement of the stomach may also difficult breathing and moving.
This increase in gases may occur due to a dysbiosis, meaning that the bacteria in the stomach have either changed in amount or changed in function.
If we consider impaction as an incredibly important issue, bloat is doubly so, and if not treated early, rabbits can die within the next day. It is a very time-sensitive matter, especially because there is a point of no return.
Both impaction and bloat will cause GI stasis, which can worsen the bloat because of dysbiosis.
Some home care can be done, although it is not always recommended, like giving baby cyproterone acetate drops that should dilute the gasses, this is though not guaranteed to help, and it will surely not fix the problem.
In post-mortem examination an inflated intestine can be found. The caecum may also be inflated, and will probably contain little to no food.
To discover more about bloat, you can read:
The Unusual Pet Vets’ PDF about bloat.
Buckeye House Rabbit Society’s PDF informing about bloat.
MediRabbit’s Acute Bloat page ¡¡CAREFUL, NECROPSY OF A RABBIT INSIDE!!
Green: Abnormally distended stomach.
Red: Pocket of gas in the small intestine.
Yellow: The kidneys (and other organs) being displaced because of the bloat.
Rabbit diet is based on a mixture of plants, especially hay, safe greens, pellets, and fruits.
It is very well known that at least 75% of a rabbits diet must consist of hay. Hay may vary in taste, smell and appearance based on grass used.
The only hay that is not considered healthy in high amounts is alfalfa hay, but it sometimes is used in extremely thin rabbits because of its fattening features.
The leftover 35% include safe veggies (15-20%), pellets, and treats (5%).
Treats including fruits or other sugary products, but low-in-sugar treats can be home-made and baked.
Pellets in the other hand are of very important matter.
Not all pellets are made equal, and you may find that some pellets targeted for rabbits include foods that could harm the rabbit, such as grain or seeds.
Pellets may also include sugary treats within, that fosters selective feeding behaviour, which ultimately could make them eat less hay and the pellets themselves.
It is thus recommended to acquire plain pellets that serve for your rabbits health needs, including high fibre, teeth filing help, or maybe vitamin support.
Safe veggies are part of every rabbit’s diet, and most of the daily green intake can be foraged if there is knowledge about the surrounding plant life.
If this is not a possibility, you can always buy greens for your pet.
It’s been observed in some shelters that reducing the green quantity to very low amounts is somewhat beneficial.
Hydration is very important too!
Rabbits can get hydrated in two ways:
-By drinking water.
-By eating watery greens.
Truth is, the first is healthier than the second, especially because watery greens tend to need another go at going through the stomach.
There is nothing wrong with rabbits eating their ceacotrophs though, and they’re necessary to prevent certain issues.
Water can be given both in a water bowl or a bottle, although the bowl tends to be recommended, as some bottles can cause damage to the rabbit’s tongue.
Regardless of your method, it is important to keep them clean and keep the water fresh, as rabbits may not drink if the rabbit thinks it stinks or if it is too dirty.
I clean the bowl and change the water daily or even twice a day depending on certain factors.
You can find more information about rabbit diet here:
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s information sheet about hay.
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s information sheet about recommended greens.
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s information sheet about obesity.
Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s information sheet about greens, veggies, and herbs.
The Educated Rabbit’s information sheet about rabbit diet.
The Educated Rabbit’s information sheet about toxic plants.
The Educated Rabbit’s information sheet about treats.
GI stasis is a complete stop of the gastrointestinal movements. It may occur due to many issues that can be found both within and outside the GI tract.
It is not uncommon for this to happen at least once in the rabbits lifetime but as a common occurrence it may indicate bigger issues with your rabbit’s health.
GI stasis is not a disease, but a symptom of an illness or harm. It can emerge as a stress response, pain response, due to a GI issue like impaction (blockage) or bloating, it can surge because a difficulty eating or due to bad eating habits, etc…
There are hundreds of ways a rabbit can develop GI stasis, with varying survival rates.
GI stasis is one of the parent symptoms in my general sickness symptoms list, showing as lack of appetite and especially stopped stool production.
As the stool stops production, you may be able to see the size of poop decrease.
Regardless of the cause it is always a good idea to obtain veterinary help as soon as possible, as the cause may be unknown and it could kill your pet very rapidly.
If a vet is not available there are though some relief methods that can be administered, but most have to be administered only if the cause of the issue is mostly known.
This is because some of these techniques may aggravate the issue further and kill your pet.
This is most notable with impaction.
REFRAIN FROM USING THIS AS A GUIDE TO TREAT YOUR RABBIT.
IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO TAKE THEM TO THE VET.
Rabbit carers sometimes provide rabbits with GI stasis with low-grammage simethicone (baby-grade) to reduce the amount of gas built up in the guts.
This may be helpful in most situations except with impaction. This is because when rabbits lack food in their intestines dysbiosis occurs.
Dysbiosis are the change in numbers of bacteria, changes in bacterial metabolic functions, or changes in bacterial distribution.
In the case of rabbits, this dysbiosis causes one or some of the many bacteria in their guts to generate gases that build up in the GI tract and stomach.
Another tip rabbit owners give is always having Metacam/Meloxicam that has been prescribed by a vet. Meloxicam is a pain reliever and will help in most situations.
Be still mindful when administering this to a rabbit that may be impacted.
Vets and rabbit owners will also recommend buying Critical Care or an alternative that allows for syringe feeding the rabbit once there is a clear cause of why the GI stasis has occurred. Forcefully feeding the rabbit can be an arduous task, but it can quickly solve certain issues.
Products like these also provide other things like minerals and vitamins that the rabbits may need in case of disease.
There are massage techniques that can alleviate the symptoms regardless of cause. These are based on doing circular or linear motions from the rabbit’s stomach to the butt.
Any of these will help alleviate the GI stasis but they ultimately cannot address the underlying issue.
If you are interested in GI stasis, its causes, or how to alleviate it or the issues that may develop it you can see:
The Educated Rabbit’s guide on GI stasis in rabbits.
The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s information sheet about gut slowdown.
The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s information about Meloxicam.
Total Pet Training’s video on a GI stasis massage.
Zooh Corner’s guide on GI stasis including information about simethicone.
If you are interested in dysbiosis, you can find more information here:
The National Library of Medicine’s manuscript about dysbiosis.
Kelly M.’s abstract about the microbiota of rabbit GI tracts.
Impaction is the blockage of any part of the GI tract due to a clump of food or indigestible material.
This blockage is dangerous if more material is added into the clump, and as it grows, the bigger the damage done.
Impaction can occur in many animals, it is common in hamsters for example, and the only fast way of fixing it is with surgery, although there are alternatives based on how advanced the issue is.
This is because at the beginning stages, the mass is doughy and easy to manipulate, but it hardens as time progresses.
An impacted GI tract in rabbits can cause bloating, damage in the tract, rupture of the tissue, and the general sickness symptoms of a sick rabbit, like depression, unusual behaviour, lack of appetite etc…
Due to the chance of bloating and tissue rupture, the rabbit is also in danger of dying.
It is common for the rabbits to suffer from impaction when the moulting season arrives, thus we can understand that breeds with more volume of hair (like rex) or longer hair (like angora) are at a bigger risk.
Palpating the rabbit and carrying on x-rays will be of use when diagnosing impaction.
If you want to learn more about impaction you can read:
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association’s about Stomach Impaction in Rabbits.
Vetlexicon’s PDF about Impaction through Forest Vets.
Megacolon is a sublethal progressive disease affecting the shape of the caecum and formation of poop.
It is thought to be genetic and especially affecting rabbits with certain colouration and body markings.
Rabbits of white colour with spotted markings and reduced colouration (10% of total colour), with either one, two, or three colours, are known to be prone to the disease.
This includes English Spots, Swiss tricolours, Czech Spotted, Rhinelander, Dalmatian tricolour, and Giant Swiss chequered rabbits, amongst others.
There is reduced risk if the rabbit has partial butterfly, meaning that the colouration in one side is different from the other side. This may mean that they have a different number of spots, the markings in the head are different, etc.
The main visible symptom of megacolon are misshapen and soft faecal pellets covered with some sort of mucus. These shapes may be bigger, smaller, longer, shorter, or all at the same time within the pellets.
These pellets may cause impaction, which can develop into GI stasis and other gut issues like bloat.
Other symptoms include episodes of diarrhoea, GI stasis, and abdominal distension.
Rabbits with megacolon have issues absorbing the nutrients, minerals and vitamins in the caecum, which results in underweight rabbits with deficiencies.
This is one reason why rabbits with megacolon tend to have a bigger appetite.
It has also been observed that the hearts and adrenal glands of rabbits with megacolon are bigger than usual, which could lead to other issues in the future.
As stated above, this disease is progressive, meaning that it gets worse with time, and rabbits with megacolon that are not cared for correctly have a lifespan of around 2 years, expanded to around 4 if correct care is given.
There is no clear way of diagnosis, and normally diagnosis is only achieved after other diseases have been ruled out.
Clear diagnosis can only be done post-mortem, where the GI tract walls are seen to be thicker.
Rabbits with megacolon require a special diet that should be discussed and prepared alongside a savvy vet.
If you want to learn more about megacolon you can:
Gruaz, M., et al. paper on Rabbit Megacolon Syndrome distributed by MediRabbit.
Rabbit Happens’ Megacolon page.
WabbitWiki’s entry on Megacolon.
The Rabbit Welfare association and fund also provides a webinar for vets regarding megacolon here.
Rabbit poop is one of the most common things you’ll see when owning a rabbit!
Poop is also very important for understanding your rabbit’s health and if they have any issues.
Normal poop can be from two different types:
-Faecal Pellets: dry, odourless, small and round pellets, from colouring varying from light brown (more hay) to dark brown (more greens) depending on diet.
These pellets break easy when pressed and show bits of chewed up hay within.
You may find these tied by something, especially when the rabbit is moulting, as fur is indigestible, but as long as they keep the characteristics above these should be safe.
You can also find poops merged into each other.
This is generally normal, and it means the GI tract has temporarily slowed down.
If you do start seeing a lot of these though, it may be that your rabbit is starting a process of GI stasis.
Caecotrophs: Usually not seen, caecotrophs are long strands of wet pellets. These are soft, shiny and smelly.
Caecotrophs are a way of re-digesting leftover cellulose, thus rabbits tend to eat these, which is the reason why these are rarely seen.
Many ruminants have a similar process, but due to rabbits not having more than one caecum (or stomach), these have to go the long way around.
Seeing them too often though may mean that there is some issue, either with your rabbit (Arthritis) or with you (diet).
Caecotrophs also contain gut bacteria and other undigested things, like volatile fatty acids, that ultimately better the gut health.
What should alarm you:
Very dark, smelly pellets: this could mean blood in the faeces generated either from the GI tract or somewhere else.
Although this is rare due to rabbits shutting down with pain.
Small pellets: This means that your rabbit is nearing GI stasis, this episode may not occur though.
These normally appear after an episode of stress.
If after some hours of these droppings, the pellets come back to normal, you shouldn’t worry.
If small pellets persist, this may mean that your rabbit is sick or in pain.
Deformed poop: Deformed poop is mostly a bad sign.
Either your rabbit is gravely dehydrated, it isn’t eating enough, there is a blockage in the GI tract, or they have megacolon.
These deformed pellets can be a good sign if your rabbit has gone through GI stasis or any GI issue, as it means that they are finally recovering.
Caecal dysbiosis: This poop emerges when there’s an imbalance of bacteria in the stomach and caecum, and they generally are not as worrisome as diarrhoea.
The main difference between these and diarrhoea is that caecal dysbiosis maintain a certain shape, whilst diarrhoea is just a pool of poop.
The main causes of caecal dysbiosis include high sugar intake, low fibre intake, dental issues, urinary tract issues, upper respiratory infections, and obesity.
Some diseases may cause these too.
We talk about dysbiosis in the GI stasis entry.
Diarrhoea: Rarely seen but very dangerous in adult rabbits, as it may mean they’re could either be infected with a parasite or are poisoned, but other issues may cause it.
Diarrhoea in baby rabbits is more common, especially when given sugars or greens that may be too heavy on their stomachs. regardless of whether it is a baby or an adult rabbit, I recommend giving your vet a visit.
If your rabbit is not making poop, go to the vet immediately!
If you want to learn more about rabbit poop and it’s types, you can visit:
The Bunny Lady’s page on Rabbit Poop.
Buns’ Guide to Bunny Poops with pictures for comparison.
The Educated Rabbit’s information sheet about Rabbit Poop.
The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s page on Digestion.
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