I think teeth was a biggy I didn’t mention, she does have spurs but from current info it’s just the spurs she has always had and no irritation caused by them, checked regularly as my boy bun does have bad teeth so we get paranoid about all things dental

Thank you for the replies ..I honestly don’t know, I’m aware bunnies tummies and digestions are funny things so I’m quite strict and have altered as I have thought something might be an issue.

I have two buns, they are both on the same diet, have the same treats on the rare occasion treats are had, anything new they may have is given in the tiniest amounts and they may get a bit more for vet trips for being good or to bribe into carrier.

They have the same hay (at one point I thought a hay change was the problem) they have broccoli sometimes cauli and today have had carrot (carrot is a rarity and she hasn’t been unwell with it before ) they have this twice a day as close to 8am/8pm as possible (I work shifts so at times it gets out of synch)

It’s just so random. Today for example. This morning I did feed them at 8am, she was fine, she was fine before I left for work at 10am eating and drinking and pooping, my partner said he came in to check on them around 5 and she was eating then, he went out came to pick me up from work at 8pm I come home to feed them and notice slush is waiting for his food and she is in the corner of her cage not answering me or moving…

I knew she wasn’t ok. Give her a quick once over, put food in front of her ..zero interest in anything , sweets treats carrots and all.

Unfortunately when she is like this I have to chase her out of the cage to examine her properly but noticing all those little signs that tells me she’s in pain I react and grab a blanket and go about preparing some gut stimulation I have from last time (it was only a couple of weeks and the vet gave me a full bottle ) I grab her give her it and less than 5 hours later she’s running around and ..not eating a ton but picking at her hay and eaten a few pellets (pellets are a treat thing for them as slush seems to do better without them, I started giving Luna some on occasion to see if she needed them from her diet but she still gets it)

Things we have thought

– temperature changes (havn’t really been any)

-ingesting fur (she is moulting and she mounts boy bunny and on occasion takes fur out – he is fine I keep an eye on them he is absolutely in love with her he is adorable when she’s poorly, stays by her side and thumps at me as if to say please help her)

-urine infection (working on getting a pee sample to send off for verification – this happening more frequently is making me think a strong maybe)

-dirty cages (they used to be ok being cleaned out every few days but I have noticed an increase in necessity for cleaning so I try to meet this, just sometimes on a late shift I make them wait til the morning – could this be it!?) I did clean them out tonight with this thought in mind and it’s certainly no biggy to make a bigger effort if it means my baby girl will be ok

Besides all of this, and I am sorry for the lengthy post, could it just be that this is one of the things she goes through in life? Is she at risk of an early death or complications in a younger age because she gets this so often?

I do know gi stasis can kill if untreated but is the gut stimulant on a regular basis going to do more harm than good?

I have tried to research all of this and I am just finding the same info I already know .. I’ve told the vets all of this and they reassure me I’m doing a good job but I’m obviously missing something

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and your advise 🙂 myself, Luna and slush appreciate it

I have thought about going hay only for a while but I don’t think they will be happy with me for it. They thump at feeding time to get me lol 😂 they have parsley, they had sprouts but I cut that out because I know it can cause issues …they have tons of foraging stuff that I know has dandelions and other stuff in and she loves them ..

My vets have never told me this about broccoli and such and I have always been under the impression that buns need veggies!

I’ve read tons of stuff even about buns that won’t eat hay but never a diet without veggies.

So if I cut out veggies and just gave them more foraging stuff for a while and see if there are any changes ?

I can’t believe I have gone through so much and the issue could be the veggies

Ah ok, thank you so much. They usually have parsley so I’ll keep that on their diet. They used to have romaine but my vets advised me to stop because lettuce is basically nutritionally irrelevant? But they do love it so I can always reintroduce it. Well slush loves it Luna has never had lettuce.

But yeah for the time being I’ll just give parsley and other foraging stuff and give it a few months if I notice she is fine then I will know it was the veggies

Thank you so much ❤️ you have put a bunnymummy’s mind at somewhat rest really appreciate it and I will post an update  when I know more but I think this is definitely my next step for now 🙂

Also she is completely fine this morning so that meds really helped her shift what was causing her discomfort ..my poor little baby.its just so hard and heartbreaking to watch her knowing she is in so much pain and not being able to do anything for her. I’m just glad she’s feeling better and hopefully this is the root and this is the last time! Fingers crossed!

Thank you for this info I will definitely check out that list, she doesn’t seem phased that she isn’t having veg so that makes it a little easier

I will make notes of some of these and try them slowly once I am confident she is okay

Hello everyone I just wanted to pop in and let you know Luna is doing so well since coming off veggies. Looks like that may have been the cause after all- I don’t want to say too much because before this it was every 3 months this happened so we still have a ways to go to be sure but she is like a different rabbit.

She has more energy, she’s more playful,.more crazy it’s like she’s come to life so I am confident the veggies were the issue

I am giving her parsley still every other day, she had a tiny amount of broccoli yesterday but when I do give her veggies it’s stuff I know she likes and I’m keeping it leafy ..broccoli was just a treat and it was the smallest piece but for the most part it’s just hay and foliage types of foods but there is a huge difference  in her and I can’t thank you all enough for your help 🙂 I will post again in a few months and let you know how she is or if it happens again

Hello guys ..I am back 🙁

So I really am pulling my hair out now. My boyfriend came to get me from work last night saying “she’s doing it again” but when we got home she was fine. She has been fine all day today, playing and running around eating and everything as normal.

I have been giving her some veggies, parsley and some leafy stuff in a mixed pack of leaves basically and she’s been fine. I gave her them in small doses at first to introduce her to them and kept her on foraging stuff for the most part. But got home from work tonight and she’s.. doing it again. Only moving if we go to touch her, not interested in food or drink. She had her food at feeding time though.

I just don’t know what to do. The vets don’t have answers so I don’t want to take her in just to get more meds and the same info they always give me when I have meds at home but at the same time I don’t want to just give her meds and hope she’s okay in the morning.

My boyfriend’s solution is take her to the vets and make them keep her til she is better ..

My opinion is this is just her and something she is going to go through .. .. the temperature has changed quite a bit this time and could actually be the cause this time ..I’ve given her an extra blanket and I’ve tried to get her moving but she just keeps going back in the cage in the corner.

Do I give her meds and hope for the best? Do I leave her be and not stress her out for now and get her to the vets in the morning? Do I sit with her and just watch her go through this knowing there’s not really anything I can do for her?

It’s a long post again and I’m sorry. Help and advise as always appreciated from myself, slush and luna

That’s the thing she never was off them I just came to the conclusion it must have been that because anything else then she would have been unwell before now but she has been fine.

I took her off them completely for maybe a week and stuck with foraging .. spent a week getting her back on them and she has been on them properly this week but kept her off broccoli altogether

My boyfriend also said she went behind the cage and tried turning herself around and got “stuck” I was at work so I don’t know how extreme this situation was but he had to move the cage to get her out so I am guessing she has stressed herself out and she’s a very scaredy cat kind of bunny. I

got some meds down her now, I tried giving her cuddles and massaging her belly and back end but she just isn’t having any of it. I’ve tried getting her moving and she isn’t having that either.

Everything I do just stresses her out more so now that she’s had meds I’m gonna get them both back in their cages let the meds do their thing and see how they are in the morning .. she usually bounces back so I’m hoping it’s the same especially if it was “just stress” this time. I’ll take her back off veggies again as well and keep her off them for a full 3 weeks to see if in 3 weeks it happens again or not :/

It is very puzzling. From what I can gather I am doing all that I can at the moment but the only thing left is a strict no veggies for a while just to rule that out as a definite…if it happens again and she hasn’t had veggies at least then I will know..

I have been meaning to get a UTI check on her but struggle for the pee sample for it, is it possible that something like this could cause gut stasis in anyone’s known experiences?

Hi, thank you for checking in, she is okay for the moment she is back off of veg fully.

I have two buns and they both have been moulting worse than usual yes but that has also improved.

The boy bun has bad teeth so first port of call was is it teeth? So yes she has been checked and has spurs but no irritation

It’s so difficult isn’t it? One little problem and it can cause stasis which causes more problems and fatality .. which is why I have been going crazy. I lost a bun to rhd2 almost 3 years ago and the thought of losing another one terrifies me.

I am just trying to be optimistic and hopeful, I will post again either if it happens again or in a few weeks to say she’s still ok…I’m hoping for the latter.

Oh wow. She had the spurs before she had all of these issues but I will definitely keep this in mind, she is due a health check soon anyway so I will ask the vet to check her teeth, thank you for this information 🙂

Hello again, may have to consider this – the vets are saying she has spurs and may need surgery soon but not like now. It started again, Thursday morning on and off and got bad again tonight. I thought I was at my wit’s end before…vets have no answers and neither do I. I don’t want to keep giving her medications that may cause her other issues. Do I just *chase* her around to keep her guts moving and hope she gets out what is bothering her? We were at the vets last night and given the all clear, she has been fine all day..

I’m just confused.

Hello and thank you for your replies. I do appreciate you getting back to me with any opinions.

Luna is doing ok once more, it’s emeprid that is given to her when this happens and it seems to do the trick in a matter of hours, she was cleared by the vets as fine and dandy and then we get her home and the next morning she is off her food. Instead of rushing to the meds or worrying I took the relaxed approach, we made sure they had plenty of hay andnfresh water, clean litter trays and she came round by herself.

I had taken her off veggies completely but I let her have them again only I am cutting them.both down and only feeding them once a day now (with hay as a constant source of food!) And I have word of another local vet and hope to book in for a second opinion on why this may be happening.

Teeth – always under consideration because she has not had them done yet, however I am aware of how fatal this surgery can be and I will only do it if I actually need to so regular dental check ups happen. I already have one bun with bad teeth so I’m sort of aware of what to look for and am very cautious especially with GI being a regular occurrence.

Urine /poop samples – her poops have been tested and is fine, the vets are being difficult about doing a urine test as it (to them) is irrelevant however I do keep reading this could be the regular upset.

It genuinely feels like my vets don’t want me to find the solution which is upsetting and disturbing and without proof there’s not a lot I can do. I’m trying to do my absolute best by both my bunnies ..sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough, but it’s all I can do til I get an actual answer. Thank you for all of your support