I agree with Bunny House about trying to limit the Kale and other known veggies that cause gas, even the amount. I have a Netherland dwarf he is 11 years old, over the years he has gone into GI Stasis several times. I made a few changes to diet and lifestyle, that greatly improved his condition, and I will share what I have done with PJ and do daily to prevent this from getting out of control, things including a molting season for bunnies and what signs to really worry about. I would be rushing to the vet and giving him the stimulant drug and pain meds.. I know, it can very very scary and sends a panic through you. So this is what use to happen to PJ about 7 years ago when I first got him, during a seasonal shift and molting cycle mainly the summer to winter (that is his worst molt, everything comes off, not like the summer to winter where like half of it does). I would notice him laying odd, it wasn’t his usual way of laying down, then an hour turned into two hours and he would stop eating and pooping all together and it was a vet trip. I gave him a lot of veggies, and Kale, hay. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong.. Over the years I have cut out a lot of veggies that I know cause gas, PJ cannot tolerate Kale at all, or even large quantities of his veggies at one sitting. I give him a salad twice a day maybe three times depending on how hungry he is but only limited portions, because one time I over fed him veggies not knowing and it triggered GI stasis because he was not going through a molt at the time. I give him Mint maybe 4 leaves, I always give him organic baby spring mix, I take out the spinach a lot of the time, celery leaves only maybe two leaves of dandelion, and two blueberries. The paper plate is not over flowing its sitting nice on the plate and he gets two a day. So that brings me next to the HAY QUALITY. It is veryyyyy important to get quality hay, not even Oxbow can compare to small pet select hay. I noticed the biggest difference when I switched out his Oxbow Hay for Small Pet Select ORCHARD GRASS HAY, PJ does not eat timothy hay no matter what cut it is 1st 2nd 3rd, Oat hay, none of that. I was so happy I tried the ORCHARD GRASS and they have a blend of Orchard grass that has clover and alfalfa, but since he’s older I do not give him alfalfa anymore, It is bad for the adults. OK, so I changed the veggies and smaller portions, I changed the hay. When he molts I have to sit there for at least an hour nightly and comb him, getting clumps of fur off of his body, this is tricky at first but now I know which sections are ready to be brushed off and how much I want off him to call it a night. He can get backed up so easily from this fur, I have to be ever diligent and patient with him. This summer to winter molt has been two months straight of me combing and combing. I keep the fur in a container so I know how close we are coming to the end. He is about done now, but still needs combed out daily till it is completely over. During his molting, I ALWAYS give him an Oxbow digestive support cookie I break it in half and give him half in morning and half at night. He is so small and it might upset his tummy if I do the entire cookie at once, If he doesn’t eat it I just put the pieces on his bed and he will eat it eventually. Only when he is molting do I do this, otherwise he will get very sticky pudding like poops. You don’t want that, too many starches in the diet. I haven’t had an episode in years now, but every now and then he will start going in to the beginning stages and if you catch it early too, at least keep them eating, if I see him being odd not eating, I immediately get a very small amount of Banana (that’s the only thing he will eat at the beginning stages of GI Stasis) and mint leaves, celery leaves, I will try my hardest to keep him eating, handfeeding him hay, just keeping that tummy moving before it is too late. He acts weird, then goes to poop and bam he’s fine. Oh, he has a water bowl not bottle. They tend to drink more out of a bowl, and stay hydrated. I have a heavy small glass Tupperware bowl, I think its a small anchor bay bowl. I can take pictures of all this stuff if you’d like, even the amount of food I give him. Let me know if you’re interested. Hope this helps.
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