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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A HELP! GUT STASIS

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    • Enqwerty
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        Hey,
        Yesterday night at around 3am I noticed our bun was a bit lethargic and laying down a lot, not jumping on his food as usual and enerally couldn’t sit still. Took him to the vet who confirmed it was gut/gi stasis. She said his guts are moving just very slowly and gave him 3 injections (2 pain killers and something to help his gut start moving again). Took him home and it’s 4pm the next day now, he’s still laying down, sleeping a lot, and a bit shivvery. His ears are standing up more than usual and he rearranges himself less, so I’m hoping he’s improving.

        Vet said I should try and syringe feed him and I’ve been trying but he keeps trying to spit it out. The only success I’ve had is to thin it down a lot and administer 1ml or so and let him down for a “run” (which turns into a lie down) and try again. Probably only managed to get about 10ml max in him though. Have also been giving him infacol (1ml every hour for 3 hours) and he seems to take that better.

        I gave him a belly massage and he did a little wee but other than that no poops or pees since yesterday.

        He spends most of the time asleep on my chest wrapped up warm but I’m wondering if he’s getting any better or what I should do generally, and any advice on feeding him better. If he’s not better by tonight it’s another vet trip! And how do I know if it’s getting worse?

        Thanks again!!


      • Bam
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          You are following the stasis protocol very well. Cat care, keep warm, syringe feed watered down CC, give infacol. It’s often difficult to get CC into the bun, but if it works to give him small portions, keep that up. You often get quite a lot of CC on your clothes and on the bun. You can mix CC with something yummier, like baby fruit or veg purée , maybe he’ll like that better.

          It’s a good sign that he fights the CC, but it’s not a god d sign that he sinks to the floor when you let him down. It indicates he has stomach pain. Infacol is often effective against gas, but doesn’t seem to do the trick in your case. You can keep giving it to him, though it won’t harm.

          You can help him pass gass by elevating his butt a little bit when you hold him, like in this video: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuxGLa2reg


        • Enqwerty
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            Hey, thanks for the reply. Just did another feeding sesh (it’s 6pm now) and he took it a lot better, and seemed to perk up a little bit. He had around 10ml of food watered down a fair bit but didn’t spit as much of it out. Also have him more infacol (his 3rd dose) and he seems a little better. Going to try massaging him a bit more and see how that goes.

            Also the mix I’m feeding him isn’t critical care it’s just a Timothy hay pellet mix blended to a fine powder with water – got some CC coming in the mail though!


          • Bunny House
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              I agree with Bam, that’s the usual gi routine. If he was given buprenorphine( a very good opioid pain killer) it can cause drowsiness. I know my girls get it when they go in for dentals and act like they are dying after, they are just sensitive haha. So he may be a little drowsy and that is normal, but make sure to keep feeding him, and make sure the pellet mix is watery so he can get fluids in him so he doesn’t dry out. And you can also make it warm too so it might entice him, along with adding what Bam said to add. What motility drugs did they give you? Did they give you a bag of fluids to give at home? Just try not to massage too hard or too much or it can cause more discomfort. You can even try baby food( fruits only with low sugar) and see if that entices him too.

              I also wanted to add that stasis is the symptom of something bigger that needs to be dealt with, like points on the molars that made him not want to eat, or some new diet change and caused gas to arise.

              Get better little guy!


            • Bam
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                I’m glad he took the feeding better! Pellet mush is fine if you don’t have CC. Great that the infacol seems to have helped, it often does. I even got to hear one of my buns fart once, but that is rare.

                As BunnyHouse points out, GI stasis is just a symptom, so if this doesn’t let up or if it comes back, further investigation into an underlying cause is needed. But first things first, fingers crossed he’ll keep improving. Have you seen any poop?


              • Enqwerty
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                  Thanks both of you. Around 8pm he started belly pressing again and looked to be in a bit of pain so I gave him another 1ml of infacol. He seemed to perk up while I was giving it so I offered some water on a dish and he drank a fair bit. Also gave him another 5ml or so of food (didn’t want to bloat him with too much liquid). He’s sitting on my lap now and I’m giving him a belly massage and he’s liking his paws and chin more now and has eaten a palm sized strawberry leaf (only thing I could get him to eat!) so im hoping these are all good signs!


                • Sr. Melangell
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                    Hi Enqwerty, this is Olly Rabbit, what I have when I cannot use my tray is a bit of banana, it works quickly for me but it might be different for your bunny.


                  • Enqwerty
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                      Also, should I keep feeding him if nothings coming out? He still hasn’t done a wee or poo :/


                    • Bam
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                        What you describe are good signs. The lack of poop could be because he has very little food in his tummy. Hydration is very important, so I think I’d keep feeding him small portions of very watery pellet mush. Then contact his vet as soon as you can tomorrow (assuming you are in Europe it’s late evening now). If you can make him move around a little bit, that could help the tummy.


                      • Enqwerty
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                          Yeah he’s been drinking a bit but he’s still pretty lethargic, lying down and panting a lot. Not sure if he’s feeling better or worse :/

                          How long does it usually take them to recover from something like this? Not sure if i should be concerned his symptoms have lasted this long or if it’s normal. Thanks again!


                        • Bam
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                            It is concerning that he isn’t better by now, lying down and panting are not good signs, although if he got buprenorphin, that can make a bun drowsy. Buprenorphin is an opioid and it can affect breathing. I think you need to contact a vet again, buprenorphin can cause respiratory depression and that is a really bad side effect. Im not sure if this is why he’s panting (symptoms are shallow breathing and shortness of breath and also slow breathing), but it is not normal for a stasis bun to be panting.


                          • Enqwerty
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                              Yeah I think he was given buprenorphin? Vet didn’t tell me what he was given other than “2 pain killers and something to help his tum” but I saw something labelled “BUP” in his notes.

                              He’s still drinking water but less receptive to fluids, just tried to feed him and he’s not having it. Still splaying out and he seemed cold so I’ve got him wrapped in a blanket on my lap and he looks like he’s fallen asleep. Really hoping he feels better soon!
                              How do I know if his situation is really bad and if I should rush to the vet?


                            • Bunny House
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                                Do you have an ER exotic vet near you? Or does your vet have a number you can call to talk to one of the techs? If you are really concerned, taking him to the vet now wouldn’t hurt, if course you don’t want to cause stress but him being lethargic for this long is concerning. The buprenorphine should have worn off it it was a 8-12hr dose. And see if they can do an X-ray to see if the cecum is compacted. But really try to get fluids in his tummy as some food may have dried up and is causing pain to him.


                              • Enqwerty
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                                  He was doing a bit better this morning, a bit more lively and his breathing seemed to be back to normal. Took him to the vet but saw someone else and he was good – checked his glucose levels which seemed normal but I’m not sure if that’s due to the infacol, gave him some more injections and have us metacam and some critical care for at home. He seems a bit perkier, he’s grooming himself, his eyes are brighter and his ears are alert. Still no poops and not eating but the vet said he feels constipated.

                                  Hopefully he recovers soon!


                                • Bam
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                                    How is your bun doing today?


                                  • Enqwerty
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                                      It’s evening now and he’s doing a lot better than last night – he’s taking the critical care better, grooming a lot more and HE POOPED! never thought I’d be so happy to have him poo!

                                      I was feeding him, got about 5ml down and he started getting restless. Let him down onto the floor and he ran into his litter tray and did a couple of poops. No wonder he was having tummy troubles – TMI but they were pretty small and hard and stuck together with what looked like this thick white glue.

                                      Hopefully that’s the worst of it done and he’ll be feeling better tomorrow.


                                    • Bunny House
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                                        Yay! That white glue is what the intestines make when they are inflamed. I would keep trying to get fluids in him so his gi tract can continue to moisten back up. Hopefully he feels better and gets back to normal!


                                      • Bam
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                                          Poop!!! Yay for poop!

                                          The intestines can produce mucus in response to inflammation as BH says. But formed poop is so great. That they are small is to be expected after an ordeal like this.

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                                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A HELP! GUT STASIS