Oh my gosh, what do I need to DO!?

[Binkles]

Ugh. This is getting SO frustrating!!!

After Little-Bit recovered from her stasis week before last, she was doing pretty well for a while there. Eating normally, pooping normally (mostly), acting normally.

Then last week you guys told me that her diet needs a fix. (Thank you, by the way.) So I decided to start with adding an herb, cilantro, and cutting back slightly on the romaine she already gets in hopes that it would get her on the road to better health. Later that night and the next day, she was doing WONDERFULL! Probably better than she has in months! She was active almost all day, ate a LOT of hay, drank a LOT of water, and her poopies…they were amazing! (Lol…funny to talk about poop as ‘amazing’.) It was like the added variety to her diet put some zing into her!

The next couple of days were okay, but not as amazing as that first one. Then about Sunday, everything started to decline again. Her poopies began to vaguely get smaller and less numerous. She visibly had a gas episode and her activity level dipped -not alarmingly so, but a dip to be sure.

Same story today, relatively low overall activity level, even smaller and less numerous poopies.

But the thing that confuses the CRAP out of me is that through ALL of this (except during the gas episode), she has always had a normal hungry-bunny-appetite and has been bright-eyed, alert, and happy -binkies and all. It’s been a while since we’ve witnessed true Bunny 500’s -since before she began to shed back in late November- but she still gets those little excstatic bunny bursts of energy late at night.

At first I thought that it was that she was ingesting too much fur, but now I’m not so sure -she’s almost completely done with her molt, save for a LITTLE on her rear. She does groom herself a lot, but…ehhh I don’t know!

I do -NOT- understand why Little-Bit is having these stasis episodes!! She eats normally. She eats almost everything I give her! It just doesn’t all come out!!

It’s making me a nervous wreck.

This is ridiculous; it’s actually getting to the point where I’ve begun to get inwardly jealously angry at my other animals for eating and pooping normally.

PLEASE, can somebody tell me, WHAT is it that I need to DO to keep her steadilly healthy!!?

Seriously, I would JUST like to have a day where I’m not wracked with fear that she’ll go into stasis. D:

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

*hugs* basically little poops only mean something if normally the poops aren’t little….A change is what your looking for=if the poops are always small then they’re small you don’t need to worry If she’s changing all the time, then a vet workup is in order so you can find out whats going on; But mostly deviation from the norm should be your concern not just small poopies=Kahlua has super small poops all the time

[Beka27]

i’ve noticed that Meadow’s have been a tiny bit smaller the past couple months. but she is also eating, dinking, and devouring hay normally. her activity level is a little subdued, but it’s been like that since Max and her bonded.

please try not to worry SO much. i know it’s frustrating, but you’re doing everything correctly, you’ve added a bit of variety in her diet which is awesome! the only other thing i can think is to take her to the vet, hopefully a very savvy one, and see what they say, and if they’re willing to do an xray.

[Binkles]

I think that…perhaps it may be that I’m overreacting a little. ^^;

Her poops…actually have been pretty consistently-small for a while now; ever since I switched her off her calorie-rich baby food. Every now and then they get a little bigger and lighter brown, but I think they MAY be pretty consistent.

Braahh. I think part of the problem is that she has taken up her mommy’s bad lifestyle/ sleep habits and is most active between 10:00pm and 5:00am. Sleeps in the day. (At which time I’m normally at school.) Which just totally throws me off..

I’m going to try something here; I know that pellets are generally looked down upon when considering troubled bunny tummies, but I SWEAR her activity/ poop levels are directly related to when I feed her her pellets -that is, her activity/ poop output levels rise after I feed them. (I don’t feed very much at all. Maybe a little more than a teaspoon.) I usually give her pellets around 6:00pm, so today I’m going to give them to her around 3:00pm and see how she does after that.

Additionally, I’m going to…go get one of those weekly (maybe even a monthly) pill cases and….yep: collect a representative poop sample every day. I’ll probably take an example of the largest, smallest, and most prevalent sizes for each day and compare them, have them all right there in the case. What do you guys think?

Unfortunately while my vet is WONDERFUL as far as receptiveness (willingness to research and learn things) and medical knowledge in lagomorph medicine, she’s not too knowledgeable when it comes to things like diet and day-to-day care. I honestly feel like consulting you guys about her diet would be the better route to take on this one.

Do you….really think an x-ray is a good idea at this point? What would they be looking for?

PS. Just to let everyone know, since I levelled off her romaine intake, she has been GOBBLING up her hay! It seems like it’s her favourite passtime again. I’ve also noticed her drinking more water. (Whether or not she’s actually drinking more is up for debate since I have been hawkeyeing her. But I THINK she’s drinking more.)

[Beka27]

they would be looking for a blockage or something that was becoming a blockage. of course, i think she could be clear on monday and then have a blockage by friday… so you might wait until until real episode presents itself.

[Sarita]

Well, I don’t think that the vet is going to be able to tell much when they compare poo’s to tell you the truth if it’s over awhile.

I think you should do what you suggested and see how that works.

I don’t think she would need an x-ray unless the vet thought there was a problem – you wouldn’t want to x-ray her just because.

As for habits – my rabbits sleep all day long and all night long really. They certainly aren’t active during the day. Rabbits are more active at dawn and dusk naturally and you have to remember that the days are getting shorter and the daylight hours are less so that affects animals behavior as well.

[Balefulregards]

Coco seemed “off her game” at the season changes too – and I worried about her having stasis as her poops did get small.

And then, she has a few days of very high energy, high activity…then kind of blah again.

Mint is another herb which should be good for her belly – Some of the Moms I had used a homeopathic mint drop for their babies tummy gas…and many cultures swear by a mint tea after dinner to digest.

But then again…maybe she is just coming into her “own” a bit? Personality of a young adult bun?

[MooBunnay]

I’m sorry – I know it is stressful when you have a bunny that is prone to sickness.

If Little Bit is devouring her hay, I think that is a great sign. Usually if bunnies are not feeling well, the hay is the first thing to go. Since Little Bit is eating and pooping consistently (even though the size is varying) – I think you can definitely breathe a little bit easier. It is definitely a good idea to stay aware of her eating and pooping activities, but I would be more sensitive to the texture of the poops than the size, for example, if the poops are round and firm, and kind of crumble when you crush them, that is a good sign. When Grace went into stasis she had poops that had clumps of mucous on them.

So, in summary, I think it is great that you are monitoring Little Bit’s eating and pooping so well, but I think that you may be more nervous than necessary at the current moment, based on the fact that she is eating hay so well, and that she is still pooping. Obviously continuing to monitor this is a good idea, but I would try not to make yourself too nervous!

Also, as a recommendation on how to keep bunny’s from getting stasis, I recommend keeping feeding times consistent for pellets and veg, and always keep hay in unlimited amounts. Also, it is a good idea to give bunnies a variety of veg, but a limited variety seems to work well for mine. My bunnies get romaine, green leaf lettuce, parsley, and occasionally cilantro, and that has worked very well for their systems up to this point.

[BinkyBunny]

Also, it might be a good idea to search out another vet if you feel this one isn’t as rabbit savvy as she should be. I can’t remember if you mentioned your vet options before, but I can give you a link to “screening” questions to ask and list of possible nearby vets. (you’d still have to screen them because the HRS lists can be outdated.)

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