Rabbit recovering from GI stasis

[Hey There Delilah]

Hi! My rabbit is 2 years old and spayed and has been otherwise healthy. Last night she stopped eating, was grinding her teeth, and kept shifting around like she was uncomfortable. I brought her to an emergency vet and they diagnosed her with GI stasis and sent me home with pain medicine and something to help keep her digestive system going. This morning she started eating and pooping again (although looser than normal) but her appetite is very small. I can’t get in to see her regular vet until Wednesday. I was wondering what to expect as she is recovering? How long will it take for her regular appetite to return? Should I give her some critical care to help as she’s only nibbling on greens and hay? For others whose rabbits have gotten GI stasis, are they more likely to get it again in the future?

 

Any advice/help is appreciated!

[Wick & Fable]

GI stasis is a symptom, as it is a state where the GI system slows down. This is always caused by something, whether because of gas from eating something that upset the tummy, stress, pain, etc.. If the GI stasis was caused by something that will occur again, then yes, it will likely happen again. If it was a one-time thing (which happens; sometimes rabbits get gassy and us owners aren’t sure what happened), whether it will happen again is up to chance. It’s essentially the same as asking if a human has an upset tummy, will they be more likely to get it again in the future— if the upset tummy was caused by a bad food and you keep eating it, yes! If it was a random upset tummy and you’re unsure what caused it, who knows.

If she is eating hay and greens, that’s a great sign. Poop is an especially great sign. These are all signs that your rabbit’s GI system is moving, as opposed to being stopped/slowed down. If in total it seems like your rabbit isn’t eating enough, you can feed some CC. Nothing bad happens from eating CC in the short term, especially since your vet didn’t identify your rabbit having a blockage. I actually gave one of my rabbits a ton of CC on top of their normal diet for over a week to get him to gain some weight. Again, if you’re concerned, offering CC is fine.

In terms of how long it’ll take for her to recover, hopefully you should see her bounce back within a couple days. If things are still sluggish, I would consider calling up the vet and reporting on what you’re seeing.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

If she isn’t eating normally then I would definitely give critical care. Sometimes critical care alone can be enough to stave off full blown stasis. The rabbit gut requires food to be going in for poop to come out, and critical care has lots of other things that help a rabbit that’s not feeling well. And as Wick said, there’s no harm in giving it if it’s not needed (in this case). The only time you wouldn’t want to syringe feed is if the rabbit has true bloat or a blockage is suspected.

Recovery from stasis can be very slow, but that fact that you are seeing some poops and that she’s eating a bit means that she will prob recover more quickly.

This article has some really detailed info on stasis causes, treatments, and recovery, I refer to it often! http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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