Unusual behavior, GI Stasis?

[Roxie]

Hello! I have a white holland lop, about 1.25 years old. She has been behaving unlike herself this morning. Here are my observations…

Food: She was not interested in her pellets but ate a little bit of hay if I put it right in front of her.

Water: I haven’t noticed her drinking any water this morning and she’s usually right at the bowl when I refill it.

Droppings: She peed once but haven’t seen her poop since during the night. I did find one cecotrope in her area which I don’t see very often.

Energy: She is very active still and is choosing to chew on cardboard or wood that I have around the room. She passed the treat test earlier although with no enthusiasm, and about 2 hours later failed the treat test and is loafed in the hidey house currently. No hunched position that I can see but her shoulder blades are protruded more than usual like she’s got a hunched back and she seems a little skittish.

She does have a bonded partner and his behavior and eating/pooping habits are completely normal. He had a pretty severe episode of GI Stasis about a month ago but went to the emergency room and has recovered, although we never found out what the cause was. His symptoms were very clear but hers I can’t tell.

We recently got another female rabbit that is housed in another room. Could she smell her on me and maybe it’s stressing her out? Any help will be great thanks!

[GlennTheLionhead]

Hey,

How is your bunny doing now?

This does sound like the typical signs of GI stasis onset. If her symptoms are still persisting I would get her straight to the vet for treatment.

If my bunnies fail the treat test I will usually give smithecone, one dose hourly and tummy massage and if theres no improvement after 3 doses I’d usually bring them to the vets to identify the problem, there can be various causes.

Good luck! 🙂

[LBJ10]

I agree, it could be gas. If you get on top of it right away, you can possibly prevent things from progressing. Simethicone and tummy massages often help relieve gas pain.

[Bam]

Also try to make her move around a bit (dont chase her, though). Movement helps the intestines work like they should so gas can pass a lot easier.

[Roxie]

Hi everyone, thanks for responding and for the concern! I ended up taking her to an emergency vet hospital. She’s back home and doing better. Still not drinking water which I’ll call about. She may still have subcutaneous fluids in her system.

[Author]

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