could there be SERIOUS STASIS in her future?

[Beka27]

Meadow has had a few different “stasis-like” episodes where there is no eating or pooping for a length of time.  she always comes out of it before we go to the vet tho at the 12-24 hour mark.  she had another one yesterday and this one was longer.  i was prepared to take her in this morning at 9am, but at 5am she was eating and bouncing around like nothing had happened. 

for the people who have experience with this: can stasis be a cumulative thing?  could she have a partial blockage or some other issue that is making this happen more frequently that needs to be addressed?  normally, she eats great and poops great.  should i request an x-ray at her next visit in a couple weeks just in case?  or wait until another episode?  are some bunnies just more prone to this kind of thing happening? 

i’ve read most articles about stasis, but i’m still unclear.  digestion is such a delicate balance with buns and i don’t know if i’m working myself up over nothing or if this might be indicative of  “THE BIG ONE” coming soon.

[MarkBun]

I wish I could tell you for certain but if something is causing her to have stasis on a regular basis, then I’d imagine that she’s more likely to have a serious bout. Does she have the other symptoms – bloated belly, lack of energy, etc?

[RabbitPam]

Can you note exactly what she’s eaten the 2 days prior, especially any snacks other family members may have given her? Just wondering if there’s a cause and effect happening.

[Beka27]

she had the bloated belly and no energy at all yesterday evening. i gave her simethecone and that would usually help (or so i think) within a half hour or so but it did not this time.

her diet is very stable. unlim. tim hay, lim. tim pellets (about a 1/2 cup betw/ the two buns per day) and about 6 cups veggies for two buns per day (this week they have romaine, endive, dandelion and parsley). treats are limited: papaya tablets and raisins. usually no fruit, altho rarely some carrots slivers or bits of grape.

another question:  dandelion turns very quickly in my fridge.  could less than fresh veggies cause a stomach upset too?  not really bad, just kind of wilty…

[Sarita]

I think you are going to have to start trying the process of elimination in her diet.

It’s possible the pellets are the culprit or the raisins or the papaya tablets or just about anything which is why you are going to have to go through this process.

I’ve known of rabbits who cannot eat greens and some who cannot eat pellets.

I suggest you start this and possibly you can see how she reacts by eliminating stuff.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

OH rabbitpam that’s a great idea…when people think they have a food allergy they do a food diary…that might be a great idea for you to do Beka for a couple of months and then see if it’s something thats causing it.

If cost is no issue you may want to get an xray and see if there is a partial blockage, that does sound feasible.

[BinkyBunny]

It can be accumlative. Sometimes an imbalance can just slowly get worse over time – usually a higher carb rich diet can cause this, but it sounds like meadow’s diet is healthy. What kind of pellets does she get? Also, some bunnies are extremely sensitive to diet change. So for example, if you feed her more treats for a few days, and then stop them suddenly that can cause issues for some bunnies too. Bailey couldn’t even have the slightest sugary treat without having digestive issues (poopy butt) while Jack and Rucy seem to have stomachs of steel. Mysterious creatures!

If you end up really working through her diet, and nothing seems to make a difference, then you could have your vet do some bloodwork to find out if there may be an underlying illlness.

Let us know how the “finding the culprit” goes!

[Beka27]

they get oxbow T pellets, like i said i give them both about a 1/2 cup and they share. i’m not sure who is eating mroe or less b/c they eat them thruout the night. also, it’s actually not uncommon for there to be a couple teaspoons leftover the next day.

so what do you rec. Sarita? that i take raisins out of her diet for a few weeks and then papaya tablets for a few weeks, etc? or how should i go about it.

i *could* do an xray (she’s late for her annual exam so i’m gonna be doing it the middle of this month). how much are xrays on average, are they outrageous?

[Sarita]

Well, I think I might start with the process of elimination first and start with the sugars like raisins and papaya tablets.

I also think you should give them less pellets – I know you are giving them an average of 1/4 per rabbit but like you said, you don’t know who’s gobbling down the majority of the pellets.

I wouldn’t do an x-ray right off – better to discuss it with your vet than just to do unnecessary things like this. Normally my vet will only do an x-ray if the rabbit is in continuous stasis or there is another reason, not just to do an x-ray. Bloodwork and x-rays are costly too. The vet will most likely feel around, palpate the stomach, etc…

[Beka27]

should i give Mead an 1/8th cup and Max a 1/4 and feed them separately? or cut them both down to a 1/4 cup total? i suppose i could cut them both down, they never want for hay and they get a lot of greens…

[Sarita]

If it were me I would cut the pellets down. Like you said they won’t starve and they will eat plenty of hay and veggies. Just do the 1/4 for both.

From what I’ve heard and in my experience many vets may at times totally eliminate pellets from rabbits who are prone to stasis.

[Beka27]

gotcha! thanks so much Sarita. i will def do that then… and probably get some big ol’ bunny butt in the process. ;o)

[Sarita]

Probably so :~) Actually they just think they are punishing us with the bunny butt – but well, we just think it’s cute.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I paid 175$ for the xray of Rupert’s leg but I think I’m paying a bit more then average here?

[MimzMum]

Xrays are only good, I would think, if there’s an actual problem in progress. If the tummy is empty (or even working normally) and there’s nothing shown as being stuck anywhere, the doc isn’t going to find anything. I don’t think they give bunnies barium for their GI radiographs, do they? 0_o

And yet, it might be helpful to have one taken just to have the option of ‘before & after’ for comparison, yes?

I find if my buns have more greens in their diets it can work two ways; either it helps keep things lubricated and moving along smoothly, or it makes them eat less hay, which blocks things up. Then I find little poopies in the box and I get all stressed out.

I assume her activity level hasn’t changed? She is still doing her bunny 500’s around your son’s cartoon watching table?

[Beka27]

her activity level has changed. i noticed about 4-5 days before the stasis scare that she was not sleeping next to Max. normally they have their bunny bottoms mushed together underneath the willow tent or they are in the maze snuggling… but she was sleeping in the corner of the pen by herself in a meatloaf. Max was in the tent… A L L S P R E A D O U T . . . and i thought it was b/’c Mead wasn’t right there (like your husband or BF is out of town overnight so you spread out onto his side of the bed kinda thing… just b/c you can.) she was still eating during this time but it was just strange to me that she was not by Max so then after the stasis scare i was thinking she might not have been feeling that great even earlier in the week…

i’m iffy about an xray. my thought is that if there is a PARTIAL blockage, we could see it… but then there might be nothing… and a week later i might need a second one if she goes in stasis…

i’m reducing the pellets. no more raisins. Max is NOT amused. husband is under strict order of one papaya tablet in the morning, one at night.

[jerseygirl]

I’ve been following this thread and keep thinking; why can’t they do sonograms/ultrasounds for rabbits? Anyone ever heard of this or know why it would not be possible? It’d be safer then an x-ray and would show more in soft tissue areas wouldn’t it?

[Beka27]

it would also probably be more expensive i would guess and would require greater knowledge to read it properly…

[JK]

Oh I’m just reading this now.  Poor little meadow.  At least you are on the alert.  I think feeding them separate pellets is a must and only 1/4 cup each. I’m so glald to hear they are getting along so well together.  Hey I need to see a picture of Max one of these days!!!  I love the one of Meadow but can you try and get one of the two of them???? Keeping my fingers crossed for Meadow.

[Beka27]

i haven’t gotten any new pics of them recently. i love that one of Mead b/c it is just… SO Meadow.

i’m going to be cutting down to 1/8th cup each and see how that goes.

[MimzMum]

I hate to bring this up, but I’m finding my bunnies have a LOT better toilet habits if I am NOT feeding them papaya tablets.

For Pip they seem to cause her to stop eating her cecals altogether. I find too many of them in her litter box after papaya tablets. She will eat real papaya, so I don’t worry about her having that instead.

The different activity concerns me. Any change in a bunnies habits is cause for examination in my book. That she seems to be secluding herself at certain times makes me nervous. Animals that are ill often remove themselves from the family atmosphere.

How is her coat? Is she shedding now? And how old is she? (don’t remember if you said earlier)

[Beka27]

she’s not shedding now, her coat is fine, she is about… 1.5 years.

i didn’t even think about her being away from Max while it was happening, i thought it was strange, but i wasn’t alarmed until the stasis thing came on. i will be looking for that more in the future now…

[RabbitPam]

It’s been 3 days since you posted. Any change? Is she still staying away from Max? Is she still a bit lethargic? In other words, does she seem the same, or worse?

I am an acknowledged worrywart, but I think a visit to the vet won’t do her a bit of harm. This is Meadow we’re talking about. You must take care of her. She’s my favorite, well, one of my favorites… *names 20 other bunnies belonging to BB friends*

[Sarita]

You can do sonograms but they are VERY expensive and they have to call a technician in to do this who has a sonogram machine or send you off to a diagnostic center to do this and it wouldn’t be something you would typically do for a blockage.

[Beka27]

Pam: oh no. she’s fine. you must have misunderstood… when i initially posted she was completely fine. it was the day before that she had been not feeling well. my point in posting this was to try and determine if there was something i was doing that might be causing this to happen somewhat frequently and i’m making changes to hopefully help in the future…

from my first post:

Meadow has had a few different “stasis-like” episodes where there is no eating or pooping for a length of time. she always comes out of it before we go to the vet tho at the 12-24 hour mark. she had another one yesterday and this one was longer. i was prepared to take her in this morning at 9am, but at 5am she was eating and bouncing around like nothing had happened.

[RabbitPam]

Glad to hear I misunderstood.
I sometimes forget that bunnies, unlike dogs, only eat when they are hungry, and then stop until they’re ready to eat again. Some inhale all of it I suppose, but many just graze periodically. So if a lot doesn’t go in, I guess not much comes out. Especially during shedding times.

There were days when I thought Spockie had no appetite, but then learned that my brother had stopped by – with a secret treat – and then his wife said hello – and slipped him a treat – and then my Dad thought it was too long a wait until dinner – treat – and then I gave him dinner – 1/2 of it sat in bowl for 2 hours. No wonder he was thinner when we were in an apartment than when we were staying at my folks house.

Maybe she’s just watching her girlish figure for Max.

[Author]

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