Hello & Thanks, Kokaneeandkahlua.,

I will try this.

MC

Another concern has come forward for me regarding my bunny girl’s symptoms with GI Stasis.

Last night she resumed pooping (thank god) and they are now normal looking.

However, I still often need to  hand feed her  her veges and hay  (which normally she eats with gusto).

Her appetite is not back to normal and it appears that she is continuing to go through bouts of pain based upon her body positions and eyes (partially closing at times).

I am assuming this is because she still has gas caught in her stomach….which was seen on her xray on Sat, and is very painful.

I had her on a pain med for 2 days…but once she began to poop, I stopped it. (There is a complication here as to why I am not giving it to her again).  I am still giving her Simethicone.

I am massaging her stomach when I can and she lets me.

For those of you who have been through this, can it take awhile for the gas to leave.  Am I on track to assume it is the gas causing her bouts of pain? I have dealt with GI stasis for cavies in the past, but the vet I used then  would actually insert a needle to break up the gas pockets, so I did not directly contend with this problem.  (This past proceedure was done without my full knowledge. It is something I found out about after the fact and am not sure if I would have approved of it being done as there are high risks ).

Thanks. This has been a very intense few days for us. 

MC

Thanks babybunsmum,

Yes, I will have to do this and hope it makes a difference.. Unfortunately, I have been a softey,. When feeling herself,  she gets so excited for blueberries and the critter berry. She stands up on her hind legs and starts jumping about.  She even knows the exact time as to when to expect such treats. I love seeing such joy from her…but I guess just like all the tastey foods that humans like…what we enjoy isn’t always the best for us. 

I guess I should find a better healthy food to present as a treat and hope that she starts  to identify this as special.

MC

Hi Sarita.  Yes, she has been  on cipro.  Once she began to poop (today) I stopped dosages. I was debating on giving her a half dose, as I know its sometimes recommended to taper off.  But I also fear that it could have the reverse effect ? I had been told this once by a vet.  In addition, just as she  suddenly stopped pooping, rather showing some kind of gradual change, she  now is making completely normal, healthy looking feces, despite the gas pain and hand feeding.

Yes, she was given sub-q’s also (which I find to be a life saver). Again, I have hesitated in giving her one since the pooping began. I was thinking if necessary, maybe  half the normal amount.

As far as the pain med goes, it’s a bit complicated, but the vet has now prescribed Tramadol to me.  I am completely unfamiliar with this drug and have researched since that it is typically used for dogs and cats but rarely with rabbits. I also found on rabbit med that if given the dosage must be much lower then normally prescrribed.  Due to these factors I would need the vet to recalculate the dosage but as I know there are more familar and safer pain meds out there, I would just prefer not to use this med unless in a dire emergency situation.

Thanks for sharing Sarita. I will consider your suggestions of continuing one, or some of these methods if I see we are not moving forward.

As of now, I plan to ‘rabbit’ nap tonight near her pen, so as to moniter her status over night.

Regards,

MC

Just want to add that due to sudden severe GI stasis, we needed to do an emergency vet visit, and I was unable to see my regular exotic vet/s.  The vet I saw is experienced with rabbits, but  more so with dogs and cats.  This is where some of the complications over getting my bun a proper pain med came about.

I believe her breed is American.  I adopted her from Animal Control.

I tried giving her mint about a month ago, adding it  to her salad mix.  She rejected it. But I will continue to offer it  as well as  give her  the Rosemary as a special treat when her GI tract gets back to normal. 

Thanks BinkyBunny for the suggestions. They are much appreciated..

Regards,
MC

Corrections: re: some of my prior posts;

I mistakenly wrote Cipro as the gut motility drug, which is incorrect and is an antibiotic.

I meant to write Cisapride.  My apologies for this error.

I also spoke to my exotic vet since writing about the pain med Tramadol, of which I have since learned that it is being used more and more for rabbits and other exotics.  There still seems to be some questioning over dosages, but it is being looked upon as a safe alternative pain med. It has no conflilct with an animal that might have underlying kidney or liver problems, of which rimedyl and metacam can have.

Regards,

MC

Glad if the info on Tramadol may be of  help. I found a listing with dosage info on http://www.medirabbit.com, under safe Analgesics.  Please note that the dosage I received from the vet was high, so if I were to use it, I would give her substantially less, but to date I do not have a specific amount. as ot what this would be from the vet.

Thanks for asking about her.  She seems a little bit better today.  Eating a little  on her now, but still not 100%.  I plan on continuing the sub-q injections and cisapride through tomorrow, but will taper the dosages off to half. 

Of course this situation suddenly popped up out of the blue over my birthday.  But the best gift I could wish for and have is for my little fur girl to  feel better and be ok.

Regards, MC

Again, I should clarify my prrior post and thank you, Sarita.  Yesterday I had stopped everything but the simethicone.  But after seeing her discomfort and reading your responses, I decided to continue with the gas motility and sub-q’s today.   I then spoke to one of the vets who also felt it normal to continue with these steps despite her ability to poop again. 

I have dealt with GI stasis  in other rabbits and cavies before, but their reactions have been a bit different then hers.  She gave absolutely no warning signs. She went from perfect poops to none within the course of one afternoon.  With the exception of just a few dry ones after a 1 1/2 days of sub-q injections, she has gone back to making perfect poops, even with my hand feeding her and her discomfort.  In other words, there have been  very little to no transitions with her, making me a bit uneasy in how to assess her problem.

MC

Thanks for the replies.  They are much appreciated.

This morning I switched the measuring cup I was using to dole out pellets to a 1/4 cup scooper, so that there would be no errors in the amount given her.  Then I read the post suggesting that she be kept on 1/4 cup!

Over night she began to drink water on her own.  She is not back to her usual consumption of hay, but has also begun to eat some of it on her own now too.  And she is eating her greens, although some greens in her salad bowl she eats more slowing then others.

One of the reasons I have been shakey on the meds is that the emergency  vet did not offer any information regarding how long she should remain on them.  I became apprehensive that once she began to poop, I  should stop.

After the post exchanges yesterday, I offered her long stemmed and leafy organic dandelions as her evening snack/treat.  Although she gets this food in her salads daily, these were nicely chilled and soaked in cold water. I offered them to her like sticks of spaghetti.  She loved it  and seemed satisfied that this was her treat!  So I am aiming to continue this and keep her away from the blueberry treat  while I observe her cecal out put over the weeks to come.

Generally I would say she is continuing to improve, but today she little tired or should I say that she has been through alot?.    I am actually feeling a little extra tired today too. It”s been an intense few days.

Thanks for the warning that she may now be more prone to GI stasis.   My heart goes out to any bun and caretaker who suffers this problem on and off long term.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are continuing to get back to normal.

Thanks again,

MC

Thanks.  Yes, I was doing this with her hay quite a bit.

 I am so thankful that she began to let me hand feed her. The first 2 days, she would not take any food by hand and I had to resort to syringe feeding  which in her case, was truly force feeding her.   She did not deal with this well at all.  She totally stressed out and it was getting to the point where I felt the feedings were beginning to do more harm then good.  She would pant, jump and run with food sitting in her mouth- despite my attempts to burrito her up, etc.  And being that she is a 6+ pound bunny, this requried alot of feedings…I don’t know what I would have done if this did not change.  It’s not like I never syringe fed an animal before. I have over 12 years experience, although mostly with smaller sized herbivores.

It was a pure gift that she began to let me hand feed her. 

MC

Hi MimzMum,

Its too early to know for sure, but now that I have stopped the fruit and I am more careful when measuring out her pellets, she appears to be making less cecals, and if I may be so gross to add, there is no longer an odor.   I will continue to moniter her responses as I keep her on this altered diet. 

As far as your remarks regarding the hay goes, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps because it was a sudden  increased change in her diet, she reacted.  But as far as hays go, they are at the top of the list in good healthy foods to continously offer to  bunnies. The only issue to be concerned about is if there is a high contect of calcium in a hay, such as alfafa, which can lead to bladder problems and stones.

Regards,

MC

Yes, I agree.  And that’s a good point. She might have been rejecting some of these cecals due to a bad bacteria as well as/or in addition to over production (?). 

 Who would think a few blueberries  (that she loved to eat) and slighly over a 1/4 cup of pellets but under 1/2 cup could create such issues.  But if it did, I will be so relieved to have found a way to keep her healthy.

MC

Actually, I gave a couple of blue berries daily  to both my buns. My other tiny male netherland dwarf bunny has had no negative reaction to them at all!.  Typically the  blueberries they would get are more sour then sweet.

MC

Thanks bunnycraze,

And best wishes to you and your new bunny!!

Thanks MimzMum,

I don’t know about Craisins, but some rabbits do like the Oxbow Critter Berries.  (My girl is one of them, my boy  totally dislikes them).  They have cranberries in them, but with alot of ths sugar removed. 

Regards,

MC