Insurance…Gi Stasis..Greens & hay ??

[Jenalynn]

Hello Everyone.

If ya haven’t read from the my last post… I had my first encounter with GI Stasis and the ER and a $350 vet bill…

I think it was from me decreasing the pellets quite drastically …too fast .. in hopes to get him to eat more hay and greens….either way Buzzlight Year was good as new the next day after meds… but what I have learned was that I need insurance for the bunnies which I just applied for VPI insurance today… they said they will email me to let me know If i get approved or not….or if they need to call the vet for records

Since the insurance company knows he was at the doctor last Sunday for GI Stasis- do you think they are going to consider that a “pre-existing condition”….. because if so then my insurance is kind of pointless if they won’t cover that in case of another future emergency…  I know they don’t cover his $80/month teeth grindings since that truly was a pre-existing condition…..

I hoping they won’t consider that a condition – that was an EMERGENCY because of something I think was my fault

Another question is…. how do I get my bun to eat his greens and more t. hay!? He use to love dandelion greens but then like 2 months later decided he was not fond of them…. he rarely eats his hay- at least from what I see when I am home – perhaps he eats some at night but it cant be much becase his hay never decreases a whole bunch….  and I give hime a little bit of fresh hay each night just in case he was picky

My other bunny will eat any type of green you give her and needs new hay everyday because she eats it all day long

Buzz loves his pellets! and since I am too frightened to decrease them due to the Gi stasis I dont know what to do…. I tried giving him 4 different types of greens.. no go.. TOday I tried shaving these bunny treats (I don’t give them to him anymore, but he used to LOVE them) into a fine power and sprinkled it over some greens hoping he would he eat them… but he didn’t….

SHould I try buying different types of hay since timothy didn’t work… I tried orchard grass… but same deal….

I am lost

ANy advice would help…. I just want him to be be eating everything that is supposed to make him 100% healthy

Thanks

[Monkeybun]

How much pellets does have daily right now? You can still decrease the amount, but very slightly over time. The decrease in pellets will make him go for the hay and greens when he is hungry.

[Sarita]

Unfortunately, I think they will consider this a pre-existing condition. After all, it’s insurance and fairly or not, they like any other insurance will use that and consider it preexisting since they don’t really know what stasis is. I’ve heard about health insurance (not vet insurance) it’s alot of how the doctor (vet) bills it. It’s true, in my own mind, that stasis is an condition, and not an illness, but I have no idea at all how vet insurance would look at this.

There is no magic answer to how to get your rabbit to eat more of what we feel is good for them. My suggestion is that you feel you know what the problem was and just to be consistent with his diet. Some rabbits really are more sensitive to greens or to pellets. I think consistency with those sensitive rabbits may be more important. Remember, diet guidelines are only guidelines. If it were me, I would discuss with your vet your concerns and work with your vet to see what you can do about the diet – there is no RIGHT answer to this since rabbits are all different just suggestions.

I think that you are observant about your particular rabbits diet is the best thing you can do for your rabbit to keep them healthy.

[MooBunnay]

Generally, I have found that the more hay a bunny eats the better, just because it is good for their digestive system and for their teeth. Have you tried types of hay other than the timothy hay? Binkybunny offers several different types of hay, and sometimes the picky bunnies prefer one kind or another. I am always slowly decreasing the amount of pellets that my bunnies get, with the end goal of just offering pellets as treats, because I want them to eat as much hay and veggies as possible.

Have you tried parsley and cilantro for veggies? Those are the two favorite veggies for my bunnies.

[Jenalynn]

Well he went from getting a little under a cup of pellets when I got him at 2 months old… to now at 1 year old to about a little over a half cup now….
But whenI first did the pellet decrease I went from free-fed(1 cup) to 1/4 cup ….. and he did great like this for about 4 days where he ate the 1/4 cup in just under a couple minutes and then he was so hungry he would eat hay and all his greens and fill up on them…. but then he got the GI stasis – so I upped the pellets to 1/2 cup now rather than the 1/4 and he is doing fine- the 1/2 cup last him through out the day mostly… but now he rarely eats the hay/greens

Well I am going to do what works for him… ill keep trying different things and hope he likes something- i just want him to get the nutrition/fiber in the greens and hay

ugh- I reaaaaaallllllllllllyyy HOPE THEY DON’T CONSIDER IT PRE-EXISTING =(. That would be such a bummer for me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well I will find out soon I guess…. ::fingers crossed::

[Jenalynn]

Yes i tried both parsley and cilantro… no go… but i am trying again in hopes that maybe that day will be different. I will try getting different hays too… but are all hays going to help the digestive track or just timothy?

[BunnyLiz]

VPI didnt not count Hammer’s stasis as a preexisting condition. When Rose passed Hammer stopped eating (why is not certain, most likely he was grieving) and had to be treated for stasis. VPI wanted his history, this included, and asked if it was over and he had recovered fully from it but didnt put it down as preexisting. They may not have because it was grief related, but maybe say it was caused by some huge stress in his life and they might overlook it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I agree-the insurance company MAY decide thats preexisting…Although it’s NOT but insurance companies are concerned with money But who knows-*fingers crossed*

To get them to eat more hay-try adding it many times a day instead of having it available all day. They seem to eat more when you put down ‘fresh’ hay

For veggies-trying new veggies may take a few tries, they’ll turn their noses up the first few times but may decide they love them afterwards. Here’s a link to veggies they can have-I’d try them all https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=144

[Rolan]

All hays help the digestive tract. Some just help better (like timothy) because they have more fibre in them. But any kind of hay is better than no hay.

Even if the insurance company sees it as a pre-existing condition (and I hope they don’t), it might still be worth it in case he breaks a bone or needs any other kind of surgery or medications.

You might try to decrease his pellets again very slowly this time, but if he really needs all his pellets.. I don’t know how active he is right now, but you might try to get him to do more so he’s still hungry after he has eaten all of his pellets. Maybe he’ll start on his hay then.

[KatnipCrzy]

Can Buzz see the other bunny that likes hay and greens?  Cotton used to be a very picky bunny and as a baby I struggled to get her to try new greens and eat much hay.  Once she was penned next to Schroeder who I adopted from the Humane Society and was a stray- that LOVES to eat- she began to eat much more hay and be less picky about her greens.  All of my bunnies go crazy when they get a new handful of hay (even if they already have some) and they especially love the “treat hays” that I give- oat and wheat.  There is never any left over oat and wheat when they get a handful and will try to steal each others hay thru the pen if they can.

[Jenalynn]

So Buzz is not covered =( this is was his insurance statement said:

Based on all the information provided, the following pre-existing medical
condition(s) will be excluded from your pet’s policy:

– 2519- malocclusion, 1241- gi stasis (enteritis/colitis)

Please note that some pre-existing conditions are considered temporary and can
be reviewed for future coverage eligibility. To be eligible for review, the
condition must be deemed cured for a minimum of six months and not likely to
require additional monitoring or treatment. Chronic conditions or conditions
that cannot be cured will remain as exclusions on the policy.

So the upside I suppose is “if” he doesn’t get sick again in 6 months I can try to get the Gi stasis taken off of his “pre existing condition” list =( Do you think it would make any difference at all if I call the insurance guy back and explain that the Gi stasis is not a pre-existing condition or am i wasting my breath?? =/

What a load of Crock! ANy who I am just going to hope all goes well with my Buzzy til then.

To Katnip… I put a sheet between the two cages when I took in Buzz for GI stasis cause the vet said there was slight possibility that she was stressing him out – but even though they aren’t bonded yet they seem to be very fond of each other when the one is running around the room – so i am going to take the sheet down now since I doubt she was the reason he got the tummy issue and hope that he gets the hint from her to eat more. I hope in a couple weeks when She is fixed and I start bonding the 2 and he can be right next to her when she eats that he will really learn from her. I am going to try to buy a bunch of different types of hays when I get paid and see if he likes any of those.. and in the mean time just keep giving the greens regardless if eats them or not.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I hope it works

::fingers crossed for 6 months sick -free:: =D

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