My pet rabbit is constipated and we need some advice.?

The vet gave us laxatives for him last year, but it isn't working. Does anyone know any other natural ways to help him? He is really miserable . Please help. NO smart answers please.
Answers:
You can bring this question to the Yahoo group EtherBun and they might be able to help you there are a lot of rabbit owners on there. You can also check this website.

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A safe way to relieve his/her suffering is to open her/his mouth and place vaseline inside. (A dollop on the end of your finger will do)
It's safe and non toxic.
Your rabbit should be regular within hours after consumption.

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well if he will eat natural laxatives it might be better, try increasing his fiber intake. seems to work for humans, i dont see why it wouldnt work for pets. :) also look up what foods affect that kind of stuff the best, or herbs, i know rabits tend to eat leafy greens better, maybe there are some herbs out there with the same potential.

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try infant glycerin suppositories, i know it sounds gross but it works pretty quick

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codliver oil give it a tablespoon or if u have syringe same

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This can be very dangerous. As we've all discussed in our past Q %26A's, a rabbit's digestive system needs to be well monitored. Alot of things could be going on..hairballs.do you give him petromalt or something like it? Intestinal block..do you give him plenty of fiber? This doesn't include lettuce or celery.they have little nutrition.I'm sure answers following are going to give you exact ideas for things like oats %26 hay.most of our rabbit contributors are so well informed. But don't forget this could be serious.see your vet.

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lettuce works alot of times.

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try exlax

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The laxatives that the vet gave you last year have probably expired which would explain why they wouldn't work. Is your bunny eating lots of hay, or has his hay intake dropped at all? This tends to be one of the largest causes for constipation (at least for my bunnies :) ). If he's been eating his hay just fine, I'd try giving him more fresh greens. One thing that you can give him would be just a little bit of cabbage (not even a quarter cup.just a few little pieces to nibble on).cabbage will cause diarreah in a healthy rabbit, because of it's laxative effect, so in a constipated bunny, it usually balances things out quite nicely! Hope it helps.if not, I would try a call to the vet to see if he/she has any other things you could try before coming in for a visit.

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We've had two bunns who often suffered constipation, most usually while they were moulting heavily. Rabbits have very complex digestive systems - in fact, they have the longest digestive system of any mammal. So they're quite prone to digestive upsets and blockages, especially when they're moulting. Is your bunn moulting too? Whenever our six year old indoors Netherland Dwarf, Pookah, has this constipation, we treat him with unsweetened 100% pure pineapple juice - this always works really effectively for us and for other bunns we know too. We've also used catlaxative and paraffin in the past, but we've found that pineapple juice is SO much quicker and more effective, so much so that I've written an article on this at
http://au.geocities.com/leaswebsite/bunn.

Also try offering him all types of fruit and vegies that he's familiar with - apple and pear is usually pretty tempting to bunns. And, of course, hay is very important - try to tempt him with hay by tickling his nose with it until he becomes annoyed at you and grabs and chomps it! Be very careful, however, of lettuce and cabbage - both lettuce and cabbage can actually cause very dangerous bloat.

A related stomach problem - if his stomach's bloated or swollen, this is a sure and bad sign. If you think it's gas or a bloated tummy, you can also gently massage and rub his stomach to help his digestive movement, and treat him with anti-gas medicine for human babies, which contains simethicone, available from any chemist.

Whether he's constipated or bloated, you should gently massage his stomach to help him. And him moving around will also help his digestive system get moving, so allow him out into your house/room as he's accustomed to - if you can get him to move around, this will help his digestive movement.

Very best of luck, and please email me if you need more info - you can find my email address on my website :-)