GI STASIS RECOVERY

[Benjiboy13]

Hi Guys! 

Over Christmas when I was at home from University, a 2 year old Holland Lop fell in to my hands as a neighbour of mine could no longer care for her. Her name is Luna and I have had her around 3 weeks now. Last week, Luna fell unwell with Stasis and we took her to the vets straight away.. She was given 2 injections and I was sent away with medication for her – critical care and recovery plus and a few other things to aid her recovery. I went back the next day and they gave me some more – the bill was reasonably hefty considering I am living solely off my student loan. It’s been exactly a week since her first vet appointment and she is getting better. She was eating little bits before I took her, the morning of she ate about 3/4 pellets. Her poops are still small, and I’m lead to believe that she had a furball as her poo was almost on a string of fur, but this soon stopped but the size hasn’t really gotten any bigger. She is only really eating in the evenings too, I’ve read somewhere that rabbits eat early in the morning and then later on in the evening/night time. She is eating the smallest bit of hay (from what I can see, she is free roaming and shares a hay rack with my other bunny so it’s really hard to tell) and will nibble at hay when I’m around but she used to eat a fair bit! I’m convinced that before I got her she was fed on pellets and hay only as it has been a lot of trial and error with different veggies. I give her spring greens, kale, spinach and some herbs now she is recovering as the vet recommended it to me as the smell is quite enticing for them. She is still eating pellets but she takes a while to eat, she will eat a full plate (like a cup and sourcer size) but it takes a lot for her – I have to keep constantly moving the plate to where she is sitting at the time or locking her in the cage (the cage is usually always open, as she is a free roam) where I think she will eat out of boredom? I need to know if this is normal for stasis recovery, if I’m being completely honest, I really can’t afford another trip to the vets or medication as it has left me almost £400 down from two visits alone. I try and groom her, but I think she has some kind of PTSD from the force feeding that I had to do last week, so whenever I try and groom her she will nip at me and run away.

I really don’t know what to do from my end.. Any help will be greatly appreciated. 

[Bunny House]

Gi stasis is scary, I’ve had a lot of experience with it, and treatment can be very costly. I do just want to mention, if you don’t have the finances to pay for vet visits, she might be better in another home who can financially support a bunny because when a bunny is sick, it is often expensive. Ask the vet for a payment plan if you intend on keeping her. Many people aren’t fortunate enough to have the funds but we always try and suggest other ways of treatment on here to help people like you.

For stasis, did you take her to a rabbit savvy vet? They would have done fluids and recommend you buy a bag of fluids and take it home and do daily fluids until she is well again. What meds did they give? Do you give them everyday? Did they give you critical care to give? It should be given everyday until she is well again. Stasis can be a very tough battle as a parent to get the bun healthy again. If the bun is not getting fluids, that means they are dehydrated and the body can’t function properly and get better. If her poop is small, it’s because she isn’t getting enough food in her system. Is she on probiotics?

Stasis is a symptom of something bigger. Did the rabbit savvy vet check to see if she had molar spurs? Did they do an X-ray to make sure there was no blockage? Motility drugs shouldn’t ever be given unless an X-ray is performed to prevent intestines from rupturing as a blockage in there will rupture them.

[Benjiboy13]

I appreciate your reply and your advice but please don’t tell me that MY rabbit would be better off somewhere else. I can afford it, obviously else I wouldn’t have been able to pay for it but in all honesty, I don’t think MOST people have £800 up front to pay for vet bills. We have insurance, but she was in a 14 day deferral period, I really don’t appreciate you telling me to give my rabbit away, so that comment will not be taken in to consideration. I’m also really not asking for advice on what the vet told me, purely just to see if this is normal behaviour for her – she is doing everything she used to, eating, going to the toilet, zooming, binkying, looking bright and curious as she always was. 

I got all the necessary medication, critical care and recovery plus – again, if I went to the vet, surely they would give me exactly what I need – so that is what I got. She is getting a lot of food, and she is eating it but slowly. I’m feeding her the same amount as I feed both of them, the vet told me to expect small droppings as she is getting better and not to be concerned. 

I’m purely asking if this is normal, for there to be progress but for it to be slow. 

Thanks.

[Bunny House]

A lot of people take their buns to a vet that isn’t specialized in bunnies so that’s why I asked what meds you got since those vets don’t know the seriousness of stasis and dogs can go days without eating or pooping and it’s “okay” to a vet if they are sick.

I didn’t see you mention insurance so that’s why I mentioned those things. Many people get buns and don’t know the costs of their care but I’m glad you have insurance! I wish I did haha, it woulda saved me thousands that I’ve paid so far.

I also didn’t see you mention a lot of the activities that she is doing until your response to me so that’s why I asked the questions I did. No need to get upset by my questions, a lot of info wasn’t put in the topic so that’s why I asked! I didn’t want to miss any critical info that could determine your buns health.

Buns can take weeks to recover from stasis but it seems like she is acting normal from your info you gave me so just give her time.

[Benjiboy13]

I’d like to apologise about my defensive reply – I’m really stressed out about her and I already feel like I’m doing everything wrong! I really am sorry. My other bunny, Benji is so healthy and he’s never had a single problem the whole time we’ve had him, so I don’t really know much about unwell bunnies, I just have to intensely google things to make sure I’m doing things correctly! I’ve had rabbits for as long as I can remember, all free roaming house rabbits but they were my Mum’s when I was back at home but now I have my own it’s completely different! 

She was put on critical care, emipride, metacam and had two injections while she was in the vets office, When I got her she was a pellet only bunny, so it’s been a struggle to try and introduce things to her so I’ve been cutting out pellets slowly and introducing veggies more and I don’t know if she’s slow at eating because the veggies are new to her or if it is because she is feeling unwell – her poo looks bigger now, and it’s a normal bunny shape, just a little bit smaller than usual but she was like that when I got her – they were never big and healthy looking like Benji’s always are (isn’t it weird how rabbit owners talk about poop with such excitement!). Getting her so late in her life (I say that, she is only 2 but it’s always hard getting to know a new bunny but especially if they’re a little older) I don’t really know what could be considered ‘normal’ for her and what isn’t. I tried to ask her previous owners but they didn’t seem to have a clue either which I found really weird considering they had her from 10 weeks old. She was an indoor bunny and then she was put outside because the previous owners got a kitten and this was ultimately the reason they wasn’t able to keep her. She is binkying and zoomying around but she is ultimately really laid back and docile which makes it harder to tell! The time she was unwell she was incredibly lethargic and her eyes looked ever so sad, they don’t look like that anymore, they look really bright and big again. 

I’m just concerned, I feed her bits throughout the day as well as her hay and her main veggies, just to make sure she is still okay. Just finding it weird that she only eats when it gets dark, which at the moment is between 4pm/5pm I even try and give her some of her pellets and she will eat them out of my hand more readily than she would the veggies, which makes me believe she does enjoy the pellets a lot more? Even when I took her to the vets, that morning about half an hour before we went, I gave her a few pellets to see if she would eat them as she didn’t seem to be eating anything else and she would eat them out of my hand, only about 10 or so but it was a lot more than anything else I put in front of her. 

Again, please accept my apologise about my previous reply, I hope you can understand!!

[Bunny House]

I know how stressful it is. You can read my other posts about Patches. He had statsis this past summer for 6 months and ended up having a blockage and had surgery and didn’t make it so trust me, I know how emotional it is having to take care of a sick bun, it’s the worst thing for a bun parent to go through. All of my buns have had serious health issues so I know how you feel.

Emipride, I don’t know what that is, the only search said it was to treat high insulin. Patch was on cisapride( gut motility drug). Maybe that’s it? But since she is pooping, there was no blockage but remember to get an X-ray before they prescribe motility drugs in the future so no rupture of the intestine:

Do you know if the injections were pain ones? Maybe buprenorphine and meta cam as an injectable. Do you have her on baby gas drops? It’s simethicone and it can help any gas she may be having. It’s .5-1ml every hour-3 hours.

It’s difficult to say if it’s because she had stasis and she doesn’t want to eat veggies or that she doesn’t want to eat veggies per her request. Is she taking in any fluids? She should be getting (depending on her size) 200-500 mls a day, if she isn’t getting that, she needs sub w fluids so her body can stay hydrated and so she can stay feeling better because she may be feeling even worse if she doesn’t have enough fluids in her. But she did get the stasis for some bigger reason. It’s good her poops are bigger. When I got patch, he was in horrible condition, never ate hay and ate store bought pellets and the same, I never knew what was “normal for him” but unfortunately never found out. My lop always had chronic ear infections, and had small poops since she didn’t want to eat hay, I got her ear canals removed and now she eats hay and her poops have been so big haha so something like an ear infection can prohibit proper diet and therefore create small poops. You really just have to check the bun all over for any sort of pain that might be causing them issues.

If she wasn’t given a proper diet after she was weaned from her mom, her gi tract might have not formed properly so she might not ever have the right sized poops and along with that, some other health issues, but the old owners not knowing a lot is troubling. It is weird how we talk about poop so much…. welcome to bun life haha.

She may only eat at dark because it makes her feel not so scared or vulnerable( to who, I don’t know but she might feel safer eating at dark since she isn’t totally well). Is there a way you can stop the pellets and supplement her critical care, yummy herbs and her hay? Buns often will eat the pellets over any food because it’s sweet and it’s like candy to them. You can even try some sweeter hays and see if she can get back on a good schedule and diet. Buns don’t need pellets since they should already get everything they need from their diet so it’s not a must have. See if that gets her poops bigger, or at least some more regular eating.

I hope I answered your questions, my brain is fried from stating classes back up haha. Let me know if you have other questions and I hope she gets back to her “normal” self soon!

[Benjiboy13]

The first vet I took her to was awful, didn’t tell me what he was injecting her with and didn’t explain any of the medication that she was being put on – I made a complaint because Luna jumped in to his arms because she was frightened and didn’t know what was going on and he got so annoyed with her, that’s when I left and decided to do some research in to another vets that are reasonably local. When I took her there, they were so informative! She was on cisapride and emipride, but not much was said to me about what was going on with the first vet. She was injected with a painkiller and something to get her gut moving! I’ve been looking in to gas drops but we don’t have simethicone here in the UK and can find little on a good one I can use with her, I don’t want to just get any colic medication for babies in case it isn’t suitable. 

She will eat her veggies, I supply a lot of spring greens, some kale, some spinach on occasions and lots of herbs as the vet told me to try anything with her and she will eat coriander (cilantro I believe it may be called in the US?) and also told me that parsley was good for buns with poorly tummies. I also give her regular tummy massages too, I heard some bubbling when I did that last time and I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not! She is drinking but not all that much, I supply both a sippy bottle and a crock, because again, I have no idea what she was used to drinking from when she was in her previous home but I do syringe feed her water just to make sure she is getting enough.. She will drink out of Benji’s water bottle with no problem! Her previous owners  really haven’t supplied me with much information, which does not give me a lot of hope of her having a decent life before she came to live here. My vet checked her teeth, it was the first thing he did when she went in due to her age but everything seemed okay with them, I think the stasis could have been brought on by stress – she has to move from her previous home and then to my family home and then driven a further 110 miles to my university city but she seemed okay for the first week and a half and then she got unwell really randomly, but I guess it could have still been the stress of moving a lot in the space of a few days (we got her on boxing day and then had to drive back up for uni on the 29th)

I’m considering getting different varieties of hay, but honestly can’t find any other than meadow and timothy here in England! I’m still trying to search for a farm shop as I live in a reasonably big city and the only ones I can find provide meat produce and that’s it! I’ve heard that Oxbow hay is enticing for them, but again, still don’t have a clue where to find it here! I’ve been looking in to buying critical care online, as it is £23 at the vets for around 3 small sachets but I can get it on Amazon for £15.95 for a much bigger bag. Do you know if I can trust it? 

I requested an x-ray for her but vet said he “simply didn’t have the time” the first time around and then the second vets who were out of hours told me I had to make an appointment to do so if she still wasn’t eating after a few days- which she was! A few hours ago I sprinkled her hay with a hay topper and she seemed to pick bits with hay topper on and then leave other, so maybe she doesn’t like the timothy hay I’m getting? The hay she came with was long and thin looking, not like I’m used to feeding Benji but she seemed to eat that but once it ran out I didn’t think about getting any more!

I know the feeling! So many deadlines to meet! You’ve been ever so helpful, thank you!

[Bunny House]

Yeah, it’s sad that it’s a luxury to have a rabbit savvy vet by you. I’m glad you found a better vet! And I would stay away from those baby things. Can you see if amazon has some simethicone you can buy? I know adults have a stronger simethicone they can take for gas but I don’t know the name of it.

Yeah, the stress of moving can cause stasis! Buns are very sensitive creatures. Try and take note if something stresses her out and write what stresses her, some buns are very sensitive to stress( like my lop) and some aren’t ( my Dutch and New Zealand). And my buns get cilantro and parsley for their breakfast, they go crazy over it. I would try and limit kale and spinach as it has a lot of calcium and spinach causes gas so she might be very sensitive to it. You can swap them out for romaine which is very easy on buns tummy and do parsley and cilantro and even celery is good.

Have you looked on amazon to buy hay? I know a lot of people do it since it’s convenient as many don’t live near farms to get fresh hay. And vets usually charge a lot for food so if you can find critical care online that’s a better price for the quantity, then buy it online, just make sure it’s by oxbow. I know la Faeber ( bird food company) makes a critical care version and my vet prefers it over critical care as it’s more nutritious than oxbow so you can also look for that online too. You can also put a tiny bit of apple juice (healthy version) in her water to try and get her to drink more, hydration is the key thing to recovery!

It’s concerning that first vet denied an X-ray, he must have not been familiar with buns. Any vet would suggest an X-ray first if they are specialized in buns but then again, a lot of vets that have been talked about on here still don’t know to do that first since “buns rarely get hair balls of blockages” but it’s worth the money to make sure you don’t kill them from a rupture.

For the hay, there’s 1st cut( very coarse and hard) 2nd( softer) and 3rd(very soft) she may like a softer hay, or a harder one, but it depends on which one you bought. See if you can get small bags of hay and try them. So many haha to choose from and their cuts haha

You’re welcome! We are always here to help!

[Benjiboy13]

I’ve ordered some simethicone and some Oxbow hay to come to my house, so hopefully they will do the trick! I tried her with small bits of hay that I found in a local farm shop, she still didn’t seem to be too fond on eating it though but she definitely  does prefer the long, thin more grassy looking hay but she will snap a piece in half and then just have a bit of a chew and drop it! It is so hard not knowing what she was like before, what hay she had, what she did and didn’t like.. I feel the old owners of her didn’t really know the diet of a bunny and fed her all that musli mix type stuff.. 

She is a holland lop and seems to be so much more stressed than my other lop, who is a lop cross but not really sure what he is crossed with. I want to say a mini rex, but couldn’t be 100% but he loves humans! He is so social, loves everyone that walks in the house! We left him with a sitter for the few days I was gone over Christmas and he loved them! I can’t imagine Luna ever being as confident as him but I guess they both have their own personalities. 

The problem with stress is, I have a feeling that I am a stressor to her! I only had her a short while before having to do syringe feeding, critical care, medication and syringe feeding her water – she really hasn’t seemed to warm to me at all and I feel this is a huge factor is that. I sometimes sit and do my assignments in the room that she’s currently in and she will hop on the bed and lick my clothing but whenever I try and approach her, she has none of it! She was in the bathroom door way just a little while ago, and I lay on my front and she came over and gave me a sniff and did a scope and then licked my face, but just last night I did exactly the same thing and she nipped me! I feel like I just need to give her time and space – I don’t want to give her too much space though as then she won’t feel comfortable with me at all! So what I’m doing is letting her in to the living room and putting Benji in his cage just so she is sat with us but we are not invading her own private space, if that makes sense?

I noticed something today, however, I was in her room today changing out her hay and water and realised she hadn’t gone to the toilet all night and then I left for university – was only gone around 2.5 hours and still nothing, but as soon as I let her in to the living room, she went straight away in the corner where Benji’s litter box was, although she didn’t use the litterbox, she went around it but I was just happy she was going to the toilet! Do you think she associates that corner with the toilet and she would hold it until I let her in? I was thinking about moving her in the front room permanently, but Benji isn’t neutered yet so he pesters her so I have to have one in a cage at a time, which I don’t like as they are free roaming but one always gets left out. Benji’s usual spot is in the conservatory but he has free reign of the house while we are awake and then at bed time he goes in the conservatory – so maybe I could set Luna up in the living room and then swap them around every few hours in the day? Or let them roam in separate areas? Benji is getting done on the 29th, so it isn’t too long until we are able to start putting them together (after his hormones and such calm down)

[Bunny House]

I know my boy bun will grab pieces of hay, chew a few times and drop in his litter box, drives me crazy how he wastes it haha. There’s a lot of people who get buns from places that didn’t know how to feed them properly so they have to slowly change their diet. So just work slowly at it as any quick changes can make them mad and have gut issues.

I know my lop is always so stressed but then again she can’t hear so she always on high alert! Her past may not make her a regular bun so you’ll just have to try and keep her from getting stressed.

Her getting sick right after coming to you would surely make her stressed around you. The best tip I can give is to keep doing what you’re doing. Study and sit on the floor and let her come to you. You can give her treats when she comes to
You so she associates you with good thoughts. You do need to give her time and space but make sure it’s not too much! Benji not being neutered may cause her stress too since she knows there is another bun but she can’t get to him to check him out and make sure he’s not a threat.

She probably does hold on her pee and poop until she gets to the box, I know my buns don’t like to go pee or poop in their carrier at the vet unless they have been in it so long they can’t hold it any more. They are very potty trained.

You can swap them around and see how that goes. Getting used to each others scent will probably help both of them and then when he’s neutered, you can start prebonding and then bonding.

[DanaNM]

Hi there,

I’m very late to the game on this one (and sorry if something has already been covered), but I just wanted to say that from a quick skim of this thread, the treatment you were prescribed sounds pretty typical. My vet usually gives motility meds, critical care, and pain meds as their stasis treatment. They do not necessarily do an x-ray first unless they think it’s necessary based on their exam and the symptoms. They’ve been treating rabbits for 20+ years and are the vet for the rescue in my town.

Do not worry about the stress of you handling her for the meds etc. I know it sucks, but it will honestly probably bring you closer. Keep pushing any greens she will eat (cilantro is a great one), as fiber and moisture are key to keeping the gut moving. Keep up with her critical care if she isn’t eating enough. You might even try offering it on a plate (my buns love it!).

The fact that she is snubbing her hay a bit (especially the fact that she will pick up a piece and drop it), and that she is a holland lop, makes me think of a possible dental issue. Has she had a deep dental exam? Molar spurs can cause picky eating and stasis (due to the pain and low hay consumption).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

I can speak a lot to stressful interactions bringing you and your rabbit closer together. Wick is going through a molt right now, and while grooming him is also a game of “avoid being nipped”, it has been these kind of interactions that generally brought him and I closer. He’s a rabbit with hx of sickness, so he’s gotten daily shots from me, twice daily meds, lotion and soap smeared on his face, etc.. but we just cuddled this morning in bed, so it’s not a relationship wrecker!

What a wonderful conversation you and Bunny House had. Indeed, being defensive is so natural but I’m glad both of you are taking each other’s responses seriously and in context with one another. It’s always important to consider what questions haven’t been answered and what may be assumed incorrectly. We all have different experiences so getting second, third, and fourth opinions can be valuable.

Based on my teeth experience with Wick, I really honed in on the lack of hay appetite. Hay is essential for rabbit health, so I’m wondering what could be done to increase hay appetite. Oxbow is a great choice. What sort of intervals are you feeding pellets and veggies? Sometimes if fed too frequently (even if the amount totals to a fine daily amount), it can discourage hay eating. Think of hay as healthy food for children, and pellets and veggies as ice cream. Children will wait out through the hunger if they know they’ll get ice cream later. Same with a lot of rabbits. A lot of owners “give in” to the cute face and feed bits of pellets and veggies throughout the day, and this decreases the likelihood that the rabbit will eat hay, since it’s the least appetizing option to many. Based on what you wrote, it sounds like you are trying to get her to eat her pellets more quickly by always having the plate out and moving it so she eats it occassionally. This constant access to pellets may be contributing to little hay appetite. Also, unsure if it’s a different brand of pellets, but it’s common for a rabbit to turn its nose at a new type of pellet. That is a transition in itself.

Getting her to eat is important for recovery, while also balancing keeping her stomach in a good place. You said you were experimenting with veggies to get there to eat, as recommended by the vet. It’s good that she’s eating, but since veggies are new to her diet, lessen experimentation because this can also induce gas. What you have been giving her isn’t wrong, but usually veggie transition is a bit slower to habituate a rabbit’s stomach to the veggie first.

I cannot provide any guidance for the medication intervention unfortunately, but wishing you both well!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

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