FREQUENT GI Stasis in a family of rabbits…thoughts?

[Nova]

Sooo…. Boon is my little dwarf hotot mix that I rescued from some rather bad conditions at a pet store last October. Since having him, he’s gone through at least 3 severe GI stasis/impaction crisises, and has GI slowdown symptoms at least once a week.

His brother, whom I also rescued from the same place, is stil at the local rabbit shelter. He never seemed to have episodes of Stasis but when I fostered him for a couple of months he did show signs of slow motility.

About a month after he was back at the shelter and he was bonded with a lovely little girl there too, he has experienced 3 episodes of severe stasis and impaction in the last month alone.

The rescue owner and I are beginning to wonder about something genetic – is this heard of?

Boon, my bun, has an appointment set up with an exotic pet specialist who prefers rabbits of all the small animals for a full diagnostic workup to see what’s up. But until then, any ideas? Is this heard of? I know that the English Spot gene, the gene that gives many hotots that “look” can be responsible, but not sure how we would address the issue.

Also, with Boon’s brother, the little girl he bonded with has longer fur. 

Thoughts/discuss???

[BinkyBunny]

I had a bunny, Bailey, who always had digestive issues.  Hers were less stasis, and more just messy poopy butt.   She had fecal tests and she just seemed to have an overactive digestive problems regardless of how strict we were with her diet.  She also had a genetic spine issue, along with e.cuniculi, so in general it could have all contributed. She also grew up in a neglectful situation and she was taken from her original owner by animal care and control, so whether or not her experiences being malnourished and neglected played a part as well in how her digestive system worked the rest her life I don’t know.  But it would make sense if she never developed the right amount of digestive bacteria or in general a life long imbalance ended up being the result.  But I am not a vet and so that might be something to discuss with your vet as well. 

We do have members here that feed their bunnies a very good diet, but sometimes for one reason or another, their bunny is just very prone to digestive issues.  Some bunnies are definitely more sensitive to stress as well.   It just takes time to figure it out and sometimes there is not cut and dry answer, there is just an issue that has to be watched carefully. With your vets advice, you can create a special diet that works best and have emergency care type of things (like critical care) on hand.  

Teeth issues can also be the culprit too, so that is something your vet may check out.  And you are right certain breeds can be more susceptible to certain issues (Example– Cow Poop Syndrome)

Keep us updated with what you vet says. 

[LittlePuffyTail]

Im not sure about stasis episodes being genetic.

When Boon is old enough, I suggest taking him off pellets or giving him very reduced amounts of pellets. Of course, you’ll want to discuss this with your vet first. My boys used to have frequent mysterious gassy tummy problems which led to stasis. This was before I found my rabbit vet.

My vet is very antipellets and she thinks they can cause a lot of gastric problems. I now feed all my buns only about a tsp of pellets daily and it has helped a lot. Pellets are very unnatural, easily digested foods that should not play a large part in their diet

[peppypoo]

Though I haven’t specifically heard of genetic GI stasis in rabbits, I think it’s absolutely possible that there could be some inheritable genetic predisposition to stasis. Development of the GI system is quite complicated with many factors involved, and I could definitely see how a slightly mutated developmental factor could lead to a more problematic system.

It is true that certain breeds can be predisposed to certain conditions – when people were breeding just for looks, much of the time they didn’t realize what other genes were “riding along”, some of which were potentially harmful. Best of luck with the vet!

[Elrohwen]

I’m with Peppypoo that I haven’t heard of this as a genetic issue, but it is certainly something that could have a genetic component.

Good luck at your vet!

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