# Can bunnies burp??!



## bagginslover (Dec 3, 2009)

My bun sounds like she is burping!! 

She had a 'spay' on Monday, and is only just getting back to normal today (not a porper spay as there was no uterus to remove, but she has a 3 inch incision and had 45 mins of internal rummaging!!)

she was suffering from intestinal stasis, but had an injection last night, and now is eating and pooping again. Her poops are mucus covered, but I figure that better than no poops!! Her belly is feeling more normal too, like she has been eating, and I can feel more poops in there waiting to come out 

could she be burping? She is doing it as she runs about, would it be gas from the stasis working out?

I'm not too worried as she is so much better than yesterday, she is definatly recovering, i'm just curious as to what the noise is


----------



## Flashy (Dec 3, 2009)

Can you describe the noise more? Does she do it at a particular time? Also, is she on pain medication?


----------



## bagginslover (Dec 3, 2009)

No pain meds since the op, the vet was concerned that they would add to her stasis problems (no idea what she was given, it was a long acting one given after her op, before she came home). 

It sounds like somthing between a cough and a burp in people, could it be a fart??! She seems to do it mostly while sitting still, but after having a run around. She seems to tense a little to make the noise too, as if she is pushing it out. I am sure it's not a cough though, one of my pervious rabbits used to cough ans sneeze when I first had him (he had sniffles) and it's not like that.


----------



## tonyshuman (Dec 3, 2009)

I think pain meds would be good for her. Some bunnies do hiccup. They also can fart, although that doesn't usually happen many times in a row--just one. I think a bit of gas medicine (simethicone for babies) could help.


----------



## bagginslover (Dec 3, 2009)

I have been giving her infacol, though not today as I was concerned about overdose with whatshe was given yesterday. I'll give her some now though  thanks for the advice


----------



## tonyshuman (Dec 3, 2009)

Infacol/simethicone is not really possible to overdose on--it's not actually absorbed by the body. It stays in the food/stuff inside the intestines. The only overdose side effect I've seen is diarrhea, which would be a really bad thing anyway. We usually say they can have 1mL/hr for 3 hrs in a row, then 1mL every 3 hrs after that.


----------



## ra7751 (Dec 3, 2009)

Umm....was the injection something like Metaclopramide or Reglan? If so, those are gut motility drugs. I don't know of any rabbit savvy vet that will use them. They cause severe contractions in certain parts of the GI. What you see as a burp is most likely one of these painful and possibly dangerous contractions. Your next problem is the mucus on the poop. That is an indication of irritation in the GI and the mucus is the body's attempt to protect itself. It also is an indication of a harmful bacteria known as Clostridium. And as far as pain meds with a slow gut....it's like the chicken or the egg....what first? If the gut isn't moving and the rabbit is in pain, it will be tough to move things along. In the many times we have been faced with that decision, we used pain meds. It's all in understandinghow arabbit works. Unfortunately, while most vets are very knowledgable with cats and dogs, they are not so much on the inner workings of rabbits.

I would use pain meds...period. After major surgery, we use narcotics for up to 5 days. And you have to get control of the harmful bacteria in the gut. Metronidazole is a drug we often use....and more recently a product called BioSponge.

And keep a close eye on her.

Randy


----------



## bagginslover (Dec 4, 2009)

The vet did tell me what it was, but in rather broken English, heavily accented with Italian! It may have been metaclopromide, I'm just not sure. I'll see how she is doing today, she is much more herself already. 
The vet I saw this time isn't typical of that surgery, all the others have been very good, and rabbit savvy. I go there even though it's the most expensive in the area for that reason.


----------

