GI Stasis Scare

[NuggetBuns]

Last night I was a hot mess when Emilee refused to eat her Oxbow pellets at dinnertime (9pm). She was fine yesterday morning and she ate her veggies (same vegs from this week) at 6pm, but then around 9, she stayed in one spot and wouldn’t move. She was sitting upright but would hunch over like she was mad. I put the pellets in front of her, she sniffed and ignored it. She would back up into a corner, hop here and there but always found a corner to just sit and look uncomfortable. She refused water and hay, so I tried Craisins (she loves treats) and she took it. But later when I tried again, she ignored me. She would also try to start cleaning herself, but never finish because it seemed like she couldn’t bend or twist all the way. I have read a lot on GI Stasis, so I figured that’s what was going on. She didn’t poop that much either, but I didn’t find anything unusual in her stools (like fur strung between). BB forum was helpful in home remedies, but I didn’t have critical care or simethicone if she had gas in her belly. We massaged her belly, tried vibrating it to break up any gas/bubbles, searched for hard solids that might be blocking her GI tract, but found nothing. The fact that she let us touch her stomach confirmed that it was causing her discomfort. I felt so helpless because we didn’t see any signs of improvement and most of the GI Stasis stories I read never ended well.  I was worried that she wouldn’t make it through the night. 

We split her and Nugget up when we finally went to bed. I wanted to monitor her stools and see if she eats/drinks so she slept in our room with everything next to her. Woke up at 3 in the morning and there was no pee or poop in her litterbox and the pellets/water remained untouched. It may not have been a good idea to separate them after all, so I put her back in the pen with Nugget and I slept on the couch next to them. I did see her drinking water so that was comforting. Since the buns share a litterbox, I have no idea if she peed/pooped. Woke up at 7 to give them pellets for breakfast and Nugget was the only one that ate. I tried hand feeding her and still nothing. I did notice her moving around more which is an improvement from last night, but she wouldn’t eat. Called the vet and got checked at 9am. That means she didn’t eat for 12 hours! The vet didn’t think she had gas because it is really painful for a rabbit when you rub their bellies. He went really deep when palpating her and you could hear loud gurgling noises that sounded like liquid. She had drank a bit of water before leaving so that’s probably what it was. He didn’t feel anything unusual in her abdomen so we’re not sure what was really going on. He gave us Critical Care and a probiotic… and said if I see any diarhhea, he’d prescribe an antibiotic. 

When we got home, Emilee seemed a lot better and I wanted to see if she would eat hay before giving her critical care. She ate. And kept eating hay as long as I hand fed it to her. I gave her water and she drank! Tried some cilantro and she would slowly eat that too. It took some encouraging but she took a few bites of her pellets. I was so relieved to see her acting normally again, hopping around, jumping into her litterbox, and actually looking for food. I’m at work now since she ate enough hay and pellets for me to feel okay about leaving her with Nugget. I hope this doesn’t happen again and for those that are struggling with GI Stasis, please encourage your little one to eat and stay hydrated! I haven’t tried Critical Care, but depending on how well she improves tonight, I might not need to give it to her. 

[tanlover14]

Sending lots of vibes for your girl!

In the future though, I would definitely not separate her from her bonded bud if she’s sick. Here’s a great passage from an article by Dana Krempels on GI Stasis including the separating from bonded mate:
“While you are treating your sick bunny, NEVER separate him/her from his/her bonded partner(s). The stress of separation itself can make the problem worse. We have known bunnies who seemed at death’s door to recover when they were provided with the love and constant attention of their bonded mate. If your bunny does not have a mate, it is even more important that you, his best friend, show him a great deal of calm attention and affection during his ordeal. Rabbits seem to understand when they are being fussed over, and it may help them recover more quickly to know that they are not being abandoned in their misery. But do this within reason. Many a rabbit can sense a caregiver’s fear for his safety, and this in itself can cause stress. Visit and love your bunny, but also give him time to himself to recover. ”

Heres the actual link as it also has info on GI stasis for you to check out if you haven’t seen this:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

[Rufus]

Ergh! You poor thing. I am terrified of stasis and hover around Rufus like a crazy person every morning to make sure he’s eating ok.
I’m so glad to hear that you caught it in time and that Emilee is feeling better! I hope she continues to make a quick recovery.

[jerseygirl]

I hope shes continuing to improve. {{{Emilee}}} I just love your pair. Beautiful bun buns.

[NuggetBuns]

Thank you Tanlover and Rufus! I knew she needed Nugget, but I also wanted to see if she would eat or poop while we slept. It’s hard to check that when they share a litter box and Nugget will eat everything. I have bookmarked that page on my phone and kept referring back to it to see what else we could do for Emilee that night. It was a great source to refer to when explaining what GI Stasis is to the boyfriend. Hope that it never happens again, but I’ll be more prepared if it does =)

She’s back to her normal habits and showed no signs of pain or discomfort last night, so everything is good! In my eyes, she’s different now. She seems happier and sweeter. Eugene thinks it’s because we both gave her extra attention and kept rubbing her belly, which she definitely appreciated. Just like that quoted passage said, rabbits can sense how their caregiver feels and know when you’re trying to help them get through their illness or condition. Our bond seems to have gotten stronger and I have never been more happy to see her pig out with Nugget! Is this what being a parent feels like?

[tanlover14]

Hahahahahah! Yes, it is! (Well, I only have furkid experience… but I think so!)

It really does get “easier” the more times you do it – I say “easier” because we have a system down now for when it happens but emotionally it is stressful, frustrating, and exhausting. I think we’ve had about 5 bouts with it now total. Twice (for a month with one) with Simba, one with Nora, and one with Tanger.

[NuggetBuns]

Thank you for the vibes Jerseygirl! I somehow missed your post there, but you’ll be happy to know that Emilee is back to normal now. I’m so relieved to see her get excited when I pour pellets in the bowl and top off their hay in the litterbox =D

tanlover- Wow, I will definitely reach out to you if this happens again (hopefully never), since you have so much experience with it. I don’t know how you do it with your bunch because I almost lost my mind with just one case of GI Stasis!

[tanlover14]

You will continue to almost loose your mind every time. It’s incredibly stressful. You just learn the basics and the whats of what to do first, what to do next, etc. With Nora, we didn’t even bother to take her to the vet. Just treated her ourselves because our vet has taught us everything unless it becomes something really serious like a blockage.

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