GI stasis help – really need some advice

[Masters02]

Hello All,
I’m really hoping someone will be able to give me some further advice, one of our buns has been suffering with GI stasis and we are running out of ideas on how to help her. (Just to point out straight away, she has been to the emergency vet and then our local vet for follow up). Also, sorry for what is going to be a long post… i just want to give as much perspective as possible

Background
Doris is an 18month old Dutch house rabbit, typically eats lots of hay and drinks a lot of water, much more so than our other 2 buns and all very healthy. Her diet consists of mostly timothy hay, her standard greens are a mix of: Kale, Spring Greens, Romain Lettuce, Celery and Bell Peppers. She has been eating these for around 1 year, nothing has changed in that regard.

Monday night at 19:00 she was fine, running around as usual and all seemed well. However, when we went to see her before bed at 21:00 she refused to get up off the floor to greet us (very very odd) and refused to eat any of her night time greens. When she refused those we tried giving her some Banana/Apple/Strawberry and she also refused to eat those. We immediately called the emergency vet as we knew 100% that something was not right.

The vet nurse took her temp, heart rate and listen to her breathing which was all fine. The vet then became available and couldn’t hear any gurgling in her stomach (bad), but was glad that we caught it so early. Ultimately, she gave her an injection of Metoclopromide and sent us on our way with some critical care. She refused to eat all through the night, at 1am we decided we really had to get some sleep so we reluctantly left her for the night and hoped she would get some rest. I woke up at 4am really not sure what to find, fortunately she seemed much more alert, no greens or hay yet… but she did eat a good chunk of banana, which was a good start.

During the day she slowly started to get an appetite back and finished a bowel of greens, she even started nit picking at some hay. Poops started coming again, although small in size and quantity. They were also very dark and hard. She appeared to be in some pain passing her poops, so i called our regular vet who gave us some Metacam for pain relief and some more Metaclop.

Present
Seeing her poop again plus eating the greens gave us a lot of hope, however since last night it seems her poops have slowed right down and possibly even stopped again. She is still eating, but again, its at a reduced rate. She also hasnt been drinking at all since this all started, i’ve been keeping her greens extra wet to try and keep her hydrated that way.

First thing this morning i cleared out all of her poops again from her litter tray so i can accurately measure how many she does today. However, this is all very concerning and im really not sure what else we can do to help her.

I gave her a belly massage again, given her fresh greens and hay. Is there anything else we can do? Perhaps some pineapple/pineapple juice? Although it seems this to be a bit of a grey area…

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks!

[Sofia]

The best you can do is follow your vets instructions, but I understand you may feel it’s not really helping. I would keep giving critical care, it won’t hurt her and will probably help her even. I also know that fresh papaya and pineapple can also help. Other wise keep doing what you’re doing, massages, constantly offering food, monitoring poops carefully.
Sorry if I wasn’t that helpful, none of my buns have ever had a serious bout of stasis, thank god

[Bam]

I’m sorry your bun is going through this. It’s very good that you’ve cleaned out her poops so you can keep track. Are you still giving metaclop? Some vets combine metoclop with ranitidine (Zantac), another gut stimulant. I’m glad you got metacam, there can be pain when the gut starts moving and rabbits are very pain-sensitive. I doubt pineapple or papaya will help, but some people swear by it and in small amounts it won’t hurt. Sometimes the glucose content in fruit will help perk a poorly bunny up, but the amount should of course be small so as not to further disturb the GI microbiota.

That she’s not drinking is most likely due to the wet greens and the reduced amount of dry food she’s eating. It’s very good that you give her wet greens. Hydration is important for the tummy,

Poop irregularities can be seen several weeks after a bout of stasis. The important thing is that there is poop. You can rather expect it to be misshapen and the “wrong” color and consistency. You can give a probiotic to help the gut stabilize. Benebac is often used with bun owners, but there are other brands.

Poorly rabbits can become hypothermic. If she feels cold you should offer her handwarmers wrapped in a towel or a hot water bottle to help keep her warm. She must be able to move away from the heat source though, if she doesn’t want it. Or you can warm her up with your own body heat by sitting her in your lap. That would mean no risk of over-heating.

[Masters02]

Thanks both for coming back to me.

The good news is, i just checked on her and there is a decent pile of poops Still small and dark, but at least there are some. She is back on her food now, mostly greens but has also taken some hand fed hay too.

The metacam she takes gladly, the Metaclop/critical care i have to really force down her. To the point where she fights as though its life and death, i do wonder if the extra stress outweighs the benefits? Especially if she continues eating/pooping…? Its really sad doing it because we usually have such a great bond.

[Sofia]

Meds are unfortunately a necessary evil. I would keep on giving them, it’s great that she’s eating/pooping but her gut still needs to stabilise. Maybe you can get someone else to give her the meds so it doesn’t interfere with your bond?
Amazing news to hear she’s doing well

[Bam]

If you think she will eat enough on her own you can stop the CC. Metoclop should ideally be tapered down though. Maybe you could hide it in banana?

It’s an excellent sign when a bun fights back, but it is of course impractical. If she only eats very little, it is absolutely necessary to keep up the CC though, because buns must never have an empty stomach. Many of us here have had to force feed our buns and oddly, buns don’t seem to resent the human for it once the ordeal is over. The opposite can happen though, for some reason the bond between human and bun can get stronger once the bun is feeling well again.

[Author]

Messages