It’s possible something made him gassy and you actually prevented stasis by getting him meds early. I keep some baby symethicone on hand to give when I suspect someone is gassy or not feeling well and give it half an hour before I start calling for a vet. I had one case of gassy bunny that the gas drops helped, and that was actually just caused by a new box of Timothy hay (first cut vs second cut). So anything new can potentially cause gas and gas can potentially cause stasis.

It’s really hard to say, but it does sound like you may have fended off a worse episode.

It’s really hard to know a bun’s full history and what might affect their gut. I do recall a member who’s bun would have issues if he ate even 1 browned mint leaf!

I think taking away both the possible culprits is a good move. Does he generally eat plenty of hay? Is he molting?

Dental issues could also start to manifest and cause GI issues.

Molting can def be a trigger as well. I think this time of year is a little stressful on bun’s physiology.

Sounds like you have a good plan going forward!

Molting is a major trigger. I have an 8 month old bun who refused food and  treats a few weeks ago. Totally out of character, ske luuurves food. I treated asap with 1 ml simeticone baby gas drops, and she was back to normal gluttony after about an hour. She had just started her first major shed.

Its not fully understood why molting rabbits are prone to GI issues and general grumpiness, but rabbit owners see it all the time. My private theory is that the bun’s immune defense is somehow  involved in  “killing off” “old” hair and that this leaves the bun somewhat vulnerable -either because the immune defense is on high alert during this time, or because its occupied with elimination of “old” hair. Its not a sign of poor health, I’d rather think its the opposite.

It seems like you are handling this in the best possible way. You are aware and vigilant.

1. (I am not a vet) — In actuality (and quite frustratingly), anything that could cause a rabbit distress seems plausible to lead to stasis, since not eating is a reaction a rabbit can have to virtually any stressor, and that lack of hay consumption/generally food movement through the gut is going to lead the GI system malfunctioning. So yes, the discomfort of respiratory issues could be stressing enough to create the cascade to GI stasis/slowdown — whether there is an anatomical/physiological link, I do not know.
2. I don’t know re: the calcium — This sounds like a vet-consultation question, absolutely. You could discuss if increasing pellet amount may help compensate in the mean time and/or if that may be an alternative, more accessible method at this stage to get that calcium boost.

Re: incisor layout and chewing, it may be beneficial to cut hay strands shorter. My Wick’s incisor layout is also bottom incisors longer than the top, as a result of misalignment– it is actually permanently like that (i.e., it maintains itself at a non-harmful length, but just not matching the normal rabbit incisor lengths for top/bottom), and he greatly benefits from shorter pieces of hay. He gives up/doesn’t try eating longer strands because of how long it takes for him to move it in his mouth in order to get that ‘heavy’, long hay strand in the exact position so he can best chew it. He has been on timothy 1st cut, timothy 2nd cut, and orchard hay, and across the board, he’ll only eat more if they are cut. I don’t measure, but eye-balling I probably do 3-4in strands?

I’m glad you booked him in! I totally agree that x-rays are a great tool. Were the back teeth checked when you did the x-ray?

And I agree with Wick, stasis generally a symptom rather than an illness in itself, so any other health concern could cause it in theory.

Nebulizing is very effective, and usually is pretty relaxing for the bun (you basically just hold the bun on your lap with the little mask over their face). If you don’t see improvement with the other treatments I wouldn’t be intimidated by it.

You may be able to coax him into a carrier and do nebulizing that way, I know of a few members who’ve devised various contraptions for long term.

Does he like his antibiotics? Some of them taste sweet so the bun will take it willingly, or you can mix it with a little mashed banana to turn it into a treat.

I agree stasis is a symptom and the root cause tends to lie elsewhere.

I have used TMZ (it’s called Bactrim here but it’s the same thing, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole) for a lower respiratory infection in a rabbit. He got oral Bactrim, twice per day for 2 weeks. He also got terbutaline for 5 days to help with breathing, I had to dissolve pills for human children to get the proper dose. The vet is rabbit savvy and my bun got well after completed treatment, but he actually loved the taste of the med (banana or vanilla toffee, I don’t remember), which made it a lot easier.

I’m glad you were able to a couple rule things out, but I’m sorry you didn’t get more clear answers.

I think before turning to more invasive diagnostics, it’s important to ask the vet how and if the treatments would vary depending on what you find. In many cases with rabbits, the treatments are the same (pain management, supportive care, etc), so knowing more doesn’t always help.

it sucks playing the waiting game, but hopefully his infection will clear and he will keep improving. As much as stasis is usually a symptom of something else, there are often cases with no clear cause. It seems like molting and dehydration are the most common causes of one-off stasis events.