GI Stasis…possibly

[Dpham22]

I have a dwarf that’s about 9 months old right now.  He stopped eating and playing, all he does now is lie around in his tunnel and occasionally comes out.  His poop has decreased, so I took him to the vet yesterday.  The visit left me in tears.  The vet took an x-ray to check for blockage, which there was, so we tried barium hoping that it would help move the blockage, about 2 hours later we took another x-ray hoping that the blockage moved…which was negative.  The vet wanted to keep him over night to run IV fluids and do another x-ray in the morning, but financially I cannot afford it and took my bunny home.  She was upset with my choice, but I mean my bank account is empty.  The vet told me before I left that if he doesn’t poop at all in one day, then it might be time for me to call them to put him down (the thought horrified me).  She suggested when I got home to get fresh pineapple and see if he’ll eat it.  

His current routine is: Reglan 3 times a day, Special Care several times a day with crushed papaya tablets, Metacam one a day, and Bene-Bac once a day.  There’s a small piece of pineapple in his bowl and the water is infused with pineapple.  He stopped eating his greens and pellets for the most part, but still likes the occasional carrot.  He has access to all the hay he can eat.  I’ve been using Simethicone with him (1ml/hour for 3 hours, then 1ml every 3-8 hours after).  We just changed the litter box so it’s clean and he pooped a little bit in there.  There is no change in his poop.  

I read that you can feed them baby food, which I bought and will probably try tonight after I do special care with him.  

Does anyone have any advice or home remedies they can share?  I’m desperate because I can’t afford to do anything at the vet right now.  I just want him to fight through this and get better…watching him like this is killing me.

[HotGinRun]

Here’s a good article that I’ve seen. Best of luck. I hope your baby pulls through!

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

[Sarita]

Pineapple is not going to help with a blockage. You need to do sub-q fluids and continue with the rest of the treatment you are doing. Fluids can help break up the blockage along with the rest of the treatment (critical care, reglan, etc…). Pineapple as you will read in this article is not suggested as it is high in sugar.

If your rabbit has a blockage then yes, she is in stasis – the article that HotGinRun posted is the best article on stasis and you should read it in it’s entirety.

[Dpham22]

Quick update: So I took him off the of the pineapple…there was no point because he wouldn’t eat it. The past 2 days there’s been more poop in his litter box, but it takes him a really long time to produce the poop. He’s lightly grazing on his hay, greens, and pellets. I still have him on the anti-gas medicine just to help with trying to get the gas out.

I looked into doing sub-q fluids and the vet said that the fluids would not really help him at this time. Is this true?

[tanlover14]

I’m so sorry for you and your bun — I have (thankfully) never been through stasis with any of my buns yet but wanted to throw many healing vibes for your boy your way and for yourself also. Reading through many accounts of Stasis on BB, it seems very stressful for us bunny parents as well. I hope you’re keeping yourself up and healthy and not getting too stressed out about this either.

Poops are ALWAYS good so keep up some hope for your little boy!

[Dpham22]

Thanks tanlover14! I really appreciate the healing vibes. It is really stressful for me. I spent 2 days crying since I’ve left the vet and I never want to leave the house because I just want to be with him.

[Nova]

Any poop production at all is a sign of improvement – it is this time that you should be very careful.

Replace his pellets with Critical Care or Critter Be Better (powdered mix that you mix up with 1 part product 2 parts water – 1 tablespoon per 3lbs (or 1 kg) of body weight, divided up into 4-6 daily small feedings). The purpose of this is that it is very moist and slippery and if you syringe it warm, it will help to stimulate the gut to get moving from the other side to push things thru to the other side.

Fluids, given subcutaneously, are crucial, and I am assuming your vet gave your bun some of those. I know this sounds invasive, but it’s always a good idea to have some on hand at home with a syringe and needle and have a vet tech show you how to do this safely. I’ve had to give my bunny subQ fluids for a week straight once, so I had to learn.

A warm enema (about 30ml/cc) mixed with a drop or two of medical grade mineral oil also stimulates the colon to release its contents and usually when that happens, the rest of the GI tract can push the blockage through.

I don’t like Reglan and prefer a drug called Cisapride, but they are both pretty effective….If you want the Cisapride, which is what I personally prefer, the vet has to call it in or write you a prescription to a compounding pharmacy because it needs to be made up into a suspension from capsules, and since it has been taken off the market for HUMAN use you can only get it made at a pharmacy that sompounds meds. Your vet should help you find a pharmacy that can do that.

You’re doing everything you can. In the case of a true blockage, gently try to massage and knead his belly to try and “urge” the blockage thru the intestines. This is nearly impossible unless the bunny is kept well hydrated. 

After bun is pooping and has an appetite again, very slowly reintroduce any pellets. make sure the pellets you feed are very high fiber, I use Oxbow they have the highest fiber content  

Herbs like cilantro, served wet, usually encourage the bun to eat, and oat hay is good for stasis too. Please keep us updated.

p.s., I’ve never heard of Barium being used for a blockage before… news to me…

(((healing vibes for your little one))))

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sorry to hear your bun is so unwell. I think it’s always a good idea to do fluids. I’m not a vet but I have seen how administering fluids has helped really bad cases of stasis in the past. I don’t think it can do any harm. Better to try something.

You can also try administering simethicone (they explain this in the article link provided by HotGinRun).

(((((Speedy Recovery Vibes)))))

[Author]

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