House Rabbit Community and Store
What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.
The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
› FORUM › HOUSE RABBIT Q & A › What could be wrong?
Something is not right with my bunny. For awhile now Fluffy’s been sitting in an awkward position with obvious pain in her abdomen. It kind of looks like she has a cramp.. the back part of her body is more raised than the front and her feet are tucked right in under her belly, and her whole body is kind of curved to the side. I have taken her to the vet they took x-rays and everything looks normal, in fact she wasn’t even gassy on the x-ray ! So she’s being treated for stasis. But I’m worried about this uncomfortable position. I’m thinking if it was simple stasis/gas my nurturing care w/ meds, CC, tummy rubs, etc would’ve kicked in. I have had suspicions about whether she has a neurological problem- she doesn’t outright have seizures but sometimes her body will start shaking a bit and she’ll sway towards one side (almost as if shes dozing into asleep). When two months ago she was in an awkward/weird stance we put her on a course of panacur just incase. I’m thinking about whether a neurological problem would contribute to this weird position. I’ve mentioned to the vet already but she says its unlikely since Fluffy shows resistance when her legs/feet are picked up.
Additional info: she doesn’t want to move much and seems to prefer to sit on something soft. She also backs away when I rub her belly. I’ve attached pictures below.

It doesn’t show as good in this picture but I was trying to show that the back portion (butt) is slightly more elevated than the front portion of her body. Also you can see the curve of her leg. Her feet were tucked tightly underneath and shes sitting very uncomfortably.
This photo is from about 2 months ago when she was in another really awkward position, and running back and forth along the room. Which made me think she has a neurological problem.
It’s normal for a bunny’s hind quarter to arch up like that in many breeds. Here, I googled a chart.

Your bunny seems to have the commercial body type.
It’s also perfectly normal for a rabbit to not want its belly rubbed. Flopping over sideways is something rabbits do when they are very relaxed and comfortable.
Are there other symptoms? Is your rabbit still eating and pooping?
No she has stopped eating/pooping for a while now so she’s being treated for stasis. She doesn’t seem to be improving at all which is why I was concerned that there might be a primary underlying problem. I’m going to contact the vet again and tell them she’s not improving :/
Has the vet palpated her abdomen? For lumps and stuff?
I hope the stasis-treatment helps. Has she been through any particular illnesses in her life?
It is normal for a bunny to not want her tummy touched by a human, but if they have tummy trouble, they will often let you, if you sit the bun in your knee.
Bam- yes they have palpated her abdomen and she’s had X-rays too.
She actually has had many illnesses in the past, she gets sick all the time and has test after tests but we haven’t been able to figure it out. We do know she has urinary incontinence and dental issues though, but as of right now her teeth are perfect. I don’t think its causing the current stasis.
We’re going to the vet again and I was wondering what tests I should ask them to go ahead and do. I’m thinking bloodwork & fecal (this did start after she had come from playing outside). Any ideas what I should ask them to look for?
Question: the only thing she’ll eat right now is apple. Should I let her have as many as she wants? Will it worsen the stasis in any way, because its literally the only thing shes eating
{{{Fluffy!}}}
She can probably have more then usual but not whole apples. That seems too much.
Is she on pain meds at the moment?
Was the X-ray just of her abdomen?
I wonder if worthwhile to X-ray her hind end to look for any changes on her spine. Or ultrasound of bladder & abdomen in case she developed surgical adhesions. (Did her bouts of stasis and incontinence increase soon after her spay?). She didn’t have a typical spay either, is that right? I’m trying to remember if it was more complicated because of the problems she had with her uterus.
Cystitis is another consideration and is painful, so could cause a rabbit to not want to eat.
If you have access to pesticide-free apples you can give her more peel than apple flesh, the peel has less sugar and more fiber and lots of antioxidants.
It may seem wasteful to just use the peel, but you can make apple-pie for yourself with the left-over apple flesh =)
Jersey has some great suggestions.
Jersey- she’s on metacam 2x a day right now. The X-ray was of her whole body and showed some normal arthritic changes that the vet didn’t seem too concerned about. She’s actually had an ultrasound back in March this year before her second surgery, which was how we found out she had urine pooling in her vaginal vault (which may have been caused by the way her uterine stump was tied off after spay). After the second surgery to correct this, she definitely started going thru more stasis. So I think you may be right about the surgical adhesions. Although it has been 5 months so would there still be adhesions? And what could they do if she did have them? With the spay, she never really had stasis but became very incontinent.
Thanks guys. The vet said if Fluffy doesn’t get better over the weekend she will need to be hospitalized ![]()
Adhesions don’t go away with time. They are basically mistakes in the healing process. They form when wounds heal against each other and create connective tissue that locks the wounds together. It is basically the same process that allows the edges of a deep cut to fuse together even if there is a piece of skin missing from in between the edges. Normally it is a good thing that the body can fuse itself back together, and is only a problem when parts that should not be connected are both wounded and held together during healing.
Eepster is right. If adhesions occurred, then they will not just go away.
Poor Fluffy. I know you have been through so much with her. ![]()
So then if a rabbit had adhesions they would have them for lifetime and constantly keep going through stasis? :/
I’m so very sorry to hear your bun is unwell and want to offer ((((Healing Vibes))) to Fluffy and (((Hugs)))
The tissue actually becomes fused together with scar tissue. Like Eepster said, organs can become fused together or fused to the abdominal cavity wall. Depending on what is fused together, where, and how then, yes, it can cause gi stasis.
This is from vetstream:
Introduction
Rabbits are well known for their propensity to form adhesions after surgery in the coelomic cavity.
They are widely used as animal models for research on intra-abdominal adhesions.
Cause : inflammation of tissues within abdominal cavity.
Signs : abdominal discomfort, lethargy, reduced appetite/anorexia, reduced fecal output/diarrhea.
Diagnosis : clinical assessment, radiography, ultrasound, abdominal fluid, surgery or endoscopy.
Treatment : surgical resection.
Prognosis : depends on the location of the adhesions.Presenting signs
May be acute or chronic in onset.
Reduced appetite.
Lethargy.
Reduced fecal output (gastrointestinal stasis).
Chronic diarrhea.
Abdominal discomfort.
Bruxism.Acute presentation
Anorexia.
Gastrointestinal stasis with cessation of fecal output.
Abdominal distension.
Abdominal pain.
Bruxism.
if they performed the surgery wrong in the first place you could take her to see a specialised.
sometimes normal vets get it wrong. I’ve found that the hard way.
rabbits do shake and fall to the side a little when they are asleep
my rabbit runs back and forth when happy.
I suppose you will know your bun and know when something is wrong.
I know how they sit uncomfortably and did you say she didn’t always set like that.
I think with your bun having gi stasis that she will sit uncomfortably.
pain killers should help.
I would ask if there is a necessity to hospitalised because more stress won’t be good for bun.
is there something they can do that you can’t do when she’s at home?
I just wanted to update that she started feeling better and didn’t need to be hospitalized
if this comes up again, however, I’ll be sure to mention the surgical adhesions to my vet.
I’m so glad she’s doing better! Continued healing-vibes for her!
So happy to hear this!!!! Thanks for the update its very kind of you
I’m glad to hear Fluffy is feeling better. Hoping for more good days than bad from now on.
› FORUM › HOUSE RABBIT Q & A › What could be wrong?
