13/02/2025
We were contacted by a lady reporting that her rabbit had passed and she would like to donate his items as she no longer wanted another rabbit.
Even though our bunnies are vaccinated we disinfect any donated toys and avoid opened food, and we always ask the cause of death of said bunny.
The lady mentioned that according to the vet her bunny died from bloating. 💔
As you know bloating is a life-threatening condition in rabbits that occurs when their stomach/cecum become distended with gas.
Even though it can be caused by several factors, such as :
🔺Hairballs - Rabbits groom themselves and often ingest hair, which can form hairball that can block their digestive tract.
🔺Dietary changes: - inappropriate foods can lead to an imbalance in gut bacteria and gas production.
🔺Gastrointestinal stasis: A condition where food doesn’t move through the digestive system, allowing gas to accumulate.
In the case of her bunny the vet believed that the high ingestion of bamboo sticks was the cause of his death. 💔💔😞
The "sweet bamboo" chews found commonly on the internet are actually dried sugar cane stalks rather than true bamboo; as such they are heavier in sugars than a plain wood chew.
Sugar ferments easily and fermentation produces gas. 💔😞
If a rabbit consumes too many easily fermentable sugars and starches, the cecum can become overloaded, leading to excessive fermentation and potentially harmful byproducts leading to gas and bloating, gut stasis, diarrhea or even toxin-producing bacteria leading to illness.
Unfortunately rabbit food is not regulated and just because they have a picture of a bunny in their package doesn’t mean their product is safe.
Please be diligent about what you feed your bunnies.
