Vibes please…[Update: Stasis – Causes/Solved]

[Luna]

Luna either has bad gas or the beginning of stasis, and my only medical option left at this hour is a place 45 mins away that has “deathly” horrible reviews. I’m doing the usual treatments right now. She did eat a piece of lettuce and I got her to nibble on a hay cube just now. No poops yet though. Please send vibes for her . Thanks everyone.

[Wick & Fable]

So many vibes!!!

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.

[pinknfwuffy]

All the vibes! You can do it, Luna. Definitely leave a variety of hay and foods near where she’s sitting so she might be encouraged to keep nibbling.

Sorry you have a complicated vet situation. I hope everything works out.

[Luna]

Thanks guys. No improvements. Usual remedies aren’t making a difference so we’re going to make a little trip and try a different hospital.

[DanaNM]

((((Luna))))

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Oh no, I hope Luna is OK!

[Fluffykins]

Oh no my thoughts are with you both

Any news? Everything crossed she’s perfectly better now.

[Vienna Blue in France]

((((( Luna))))). Any news ????

[ThorBunny]

((((Luna))))) Sending all our good vibes!!

[LittlePuffyTail]

((((((Luna))))) Feel Better!

[Luna]

UPDATE: Confirmed stasis . Absolutely no idea as to cause: no change in diet/environment, nothing foreign ingested, no new stressors, molt ended a few weeks ago. X-ray showed full tummy and empty colon; no blockages thank goodness. They gave her fluids and metoclopramide. 

We’re home now and only 2 poops in, but she is munching on hay and I gave her another dose of metoclopramide an hour ago. Just waiting and hoping for the usual now…for poops!

[Bam]

(((((Luna)))))

Keeping my fingers crossed for poops!

[Deleted User]

((((((Luna))))) Bombur and Asriel send vibes too!

[DanaNM]

Pooping and eating vibes for ((((Luna)))) !

. . . 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.  

[jerseygirl]

Im sorry to hear she’s unwell.
Little {{{Luna}}}! I hope she’s well on the road to recovery now.

[LittlePuffyTail]

(((((Luna)))))

Sorry you are dealing with this. It’s very hard. I’ve dealt with the mystery stasis quite a few times. Hang in there….Fell Better Bunny!

[Luna]

We had poops and hay eating as of yesterday! She was back to normal late last night; just waiting for poops to return to normal size but they are well on their way. Still uncertain as to the cause. Luna and I appreciate everyone’s vibes . Also, found a good refresher article on stasis http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

[ThorBunny]

Hoorrraayy! Keep up the hay eating Luna!

Gosh isn’t it scary how these episodes come on so fast? Good job you caught it early.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Yay for poops!!!! Did you do the “Happy Poop Dance”?

That’s a great article for info on stasis. One of the best out there.

[Bam]

Yaaayyy!!! Poops!!!

(That really is a great article.)

[DanaNM]

Yaaaay Luna!

. . . 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.  

[Luna]

I’ve been racking my brain trying to pinpoint the possible cause of the stasis. Anything I could think of that has happened the past 10 days I listed below. If you guys could provide any insight, it would be much appreciated!

Nov 27-Dec 3: sister’s dog (who Luna is accustomed to) stayed at my house
Dec 1: went home from work for 3 hours, left to volunteer at rabbit rescue for 3 hours, returned home
Dec 2: Luna ate a few cracker crumbs that got away from me (apparently I was being a messy eater!) *washed out her cage, litterbox, and bowls (usually I only do 1 at a time – could I have cleaned too much? could that upset her natural flora?)
Dec 3: not home for much of the afternoon
Between Dec 1-3: noticed one incident of a couple “cecal stains” on Luna’s blanket
Dec 5: stasis 
Previous 10 days: Luna has been biting at my hair (new behavior)

[Wick & Fable]

I doubt she would have consumed that much of your hair, but when Wick grooms fresh-out-of-the-shower hair, he typically trims off a few pieces. I know because I see it in his poos.

Could it potentially be the hay? I use a hay box for Wick and when it’s older hay, he typically doesn’t eat much until I refill it with new hay later in the week,

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.

[Luna]

She’s been biting at my hair but hasn’t chewed any off…yet . Her current bale is halfway gone and still smells good; she’s still eating it with gusto when I refresh her feeder (2-3 times a day).

[Boston's Mama]

What about stress ? Is the volunteering at the rescue a new thing?
Do you do anything to remove the other bunny smells before seeing Luna?

I have dealt with stasis a lot this past year and causes for us were :

1, Boston was ill when I got him and in a stressful environment with not enough ventilation and not easy access to hay which was hanging from the ceiling ( stupid pet store!)
Obviously not a cause for you with bad environment so rules that out

2: molting – Luna’s finished her molt so not a factor

3: diet change – again not a factor

So only thing I can think of is stress – Oakley would get full on GI stasis from new bunny smells as we go to pet stores even – and Boston would get tiny smaller poops and less often poops from stress of Oakley around ( even just in same room)
Could this be a factor?

I don’t believe the hair thing would do it – unless she is ingesting long strands but the worry even then would be of it tangling and youd end up with a blockage which her X-ray cleared

[Luna]

Volunteering is new, but I have been there a couple times prior to the last, and I always jump in the shower to wash off bunny scents before I see Luna. I’m leaning towards stress as being the cause too (mostly because everything else has been ruled out), but I can’t think of what could have triggered the stress?

Love Boston’s december pic btw

[Luna]

I’m freaking out now because I weighed Luna and she is 4.7 lbs; her usual weight is 4.12. Could the stasis have caused this much weight loss in such a short amount of time? Five ounces seems like a lot to me. Coincidentally, I happened to weigh Luna less than one week before the stasis and she weighed her usual 4.12 lbs. Is this normal?

[jerseygirl]

Had she been drinking her normal amount of water before this? (Water weight can cause some fluctuations).
Is she a bowl or bottle drinker?

Continued {{{vibes}}} coming her way. 

[Boston's Mama]

I would just weigh her again in a week and see if any chance , the difference of 4.12 and 4.7 could be water weight as jersey said – or possibly different scales – how soon she ate – molt – so many factors … if she has a drop in weight next week then I’d have her seen again but try to weigh at same time of day and on same scales to eliminate some of those varying factors

[Bam]

I agree with BM.Weigh her again in like 5 days and it must be on the same scales, they vary lots. 

But i don’t quite understand, 4.7 lbs is more than 4.12, isn’t it? 

ETA: Oh, I see you count pounds and then add on the ounces. Intriguing! 

So in grams she’s gone from 2154 grams to 2013 grams, so she’s lost 141 grams. Or 5 ounces, as you write. 

[Luna]

JG – Great thinking! The water weight never occurred to me. You’re right, she was barely drinking (bowl and bottle) the day of and day after the stasis. Yesterday was a little more normal and this morning she was drinking with her usual “gulps” (it’s so cute because it almost sounds like little squeaks and I always have to tell her to slow down).

BM – Good idea, sounds like a plan!

Bam – Exactly. I always forget about the conversions. I’m glad Google does the math for me!

Thank you so much everyone!

[joea64]

So glad to hear Luna’s better! I always make sure to wet down Panda and Fernando’s evening greens for that very reason so they get their water even if they don’t go to the water bowl much during a given day. I don’t have a digital scale at this time but should see if I can find an inexpensive one; when the vet weighed them last month, Panda was 3.04 lbs. and Fernando was 3.12 lbs. As I always recite to the point of boredom, they’re Polish buns so I’m pretty sure that weight range is normal for their breed.

I think stress, for whatever reason, is probably the culprit in this episode. Thank goodness my two haven’t had any stasis incidents to date (I was really worried that the long drive to North Carolina and back last month might trigger one, and there’s another trip upcoming in a couple of weeks)…

[Bam]

Luna, I only converted because it was fun

I hope Luna will soon be back to her true self.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Fingers crossed for more poops! Hope she’ll be back to health again soon

[Hazel]

Oh no, poor Luna!  I’m glad she’s doing better now.

[Luna]

Stress seems to be the likely cause, and I finally realized this morning what could have caused the stress…continual disruption in routine + increased human stress in the environment. For over a week I’ve incidentally changed Luna’s morning routine by changing my routine – I’ve been waking up at different times and doing things (cleaning her cage, giving her breakfast, etc) out of order. Also, tensions have been a little high in the home lately – I got in a huge fight with my parents and sister 48 hours before Luna’s stasis event (my sister and her husband just had a baby who is still in the hospital because he was born premature so their stress has become my parents’ stress which has become my stress). So I’m going to spend some extra bonding time with Luna this weekend, and return to our normal morning routine.

Thanks again all for your support!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

That sounds like a good plan, I hope you both have a relaxing weekend. Rabbits are very sensitive to stress, and I think they’re also sensitive to stress from group members. They’re very social and caring animals, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that upset her tummy.

[joea64]

Good to hear you finally figured it out, and that makes perfect sense – we all know how wedded to routine buns are. (I’m kind of the same way myself.) My mother looked pretty bemused when I told her how early I give Panda and Fernando their breakfast, but I explained to her that my commuting schedule makes it necessary and by now it’s pretty well settled; on weekends, I just get up, give them their pellets and treats, and then go right back to bed again. Same thing basically with supper, they know to expect it between the hours of 4:30 to 6:30 pm, and a couple of treats afterwards in the evening hours. I always clean their condo on Saturday or Sunday afternoons and change the litter out every 2 to 3 days, and overall try to keep stress as low as possible (which is why, at Thanksgiving and again upcoming at Christmas, I basically took down everything I could load in the car of theirs except the condo itself so they’d have as much familiar gear around them as possible). One of the most important things is that I always, without exception, see to their feeding and watering needs first thing of all (sometimes even before I go to the bathroom) on awaking and on coming home from work.

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