It can take some time for the poops to come (sometimes days). I would go for the amount and frequency of feeding your vet recommended. A 15 mL feeding (3-4 times a day) is on par with what my vet has recommended, so that doesn’t sound odd to me. My vet is super rabbit experienced. He has also told me that even if a partial blockage is suspected, he will syringe feed to try to push it through. Rabbit GI tracts are like conveyor belts: if there isn’t anything going in, nothing will come out.

I do not know of any cases where force feedings have caused bloat. How does her belly feel? Often with stasis there is a build up of gas because things are moving so slowly. I go back to this article often: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Especially this quote: “It is essential that the caretaker faced with a rabbit in GI stasis be patient, allowing the treatments and medications to work. Rabbits are easily stressed, and excessive handling should be avoided. It may take several days before any fecal pellets are seen, and it may take two weeks or more of motility therapy before the intestine is moving normally again. We know of one case in which a rabbit produced no fecal pellets for 14 days, but finally did respond to gentle, consistent administration of the above treatment regimen. Patience and persistence are key.”

I of course don’t know what’s going on with your rabbit, but with true stasis, it’s important to keep with the supportive care and be patient. Recovery can be very slow sometimes, but additional aggressive treatments can make things worse.

How do her ears feel? If they feel cold she might appreciate a warm bottle wrapped in a towel to snuggle with. Was her temp OK at the vet?

I’m sorry that I have no advice to add to this, but I hope Betty gets well soon!

I have had the same issue. When my rabbit goes into stasis we cant feed her critical care because of the gas and had to get grain free pellets to soak which caused less gas.

Maybe your rabbit has a slight intolerance to grain?

Her gas was so severe it lasted months. We had better success with grinding down her hay fine but not a powder. This is digested more slowly so as not to cause gas (similar to flour vs wholemeal flour in humans) It also is bulkier and helps things pass through better apparently.

You may find if you add longer strands of hay into your critical care for syringe feeding it blocks the syringe. What I found best was to mix it as normal with warm water and then roll it into balls and my rabbit loved them.

Simethicone, light belly rubs and vibrations are a God send if they have gas.

We got a tiny vibrating device that was small enough for her to sit on. And she used to sit on it so I’m assuming it must have felt nice.

Here is an article quite by galens garden un the UK regarding syringe feeding and about the increased hay length being beneficial for gut motility if you can manage to get it down them. Sometimes even when syringe feeding causes gas it’s still necessary if they arent eating themselves.

“Indigestible (lignified) fibres should be at least 2.5mm in length to ensure the good gut motility essential for the wellbeing of the rabbit.  Even beneficial lignified or indigestible fibre, if ground too finely, will pass through the digestive system as carbohydrate or energy as opposed to the type of fibre which acts to move the other food through the gut in a healthy manner.”

https://galensgarden.co.uk/herbivore-nutrition/syringe-feeding/

Good luck

Jade

You’re welcome! I’m so happy to hear she is on the mend!

Seeing a bun nibbling hay after a stasis episode is just about the best feeling in the world.