• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Looking for some GI stasis advice please.

nic-nac89

nic-nac89

Young Bun
You might remember my post from a few days ago when Speckle went into stasis. Well we've been syringe feeding him blended carrot and blended banana and also some plain water as the vet suggested we do. He produced some tiny, moist poos yesterday and today it's turned into diarrhea which is matted into his tail and feet! We've tried cleaning him as best we can but I'm wondering what the best plan of action is at this point? I'm thinking he probably has diarrhea as all the food he's been eating recently has a lot of water in it but as he's still refusing pellets I'm not sure what to give him? I'm scared if i don't give him any more veg/fruit he'll just go back to eating nothing :?
 
Has the vet seen him again? I know it was suggested on the other thread that he really should as he should be reassessed. Jacksjane really knows her stuff and I stongly suggest you listen to any advise she has to give.

The carrot and banana are both very high in sugar which causes the runs in buns.

If the vet didn't give you some recovery food and I would at least call and ask for some, I know some people soak their usual pellets to make a mush to syringe feed. You can buy Oxbow Critical Care from vetuk or is it vetsuk (?) online if your vet doesn't have it.
 
Is he eating hay? Is hay being 90% of his diet? For the time being, get some blackberry or raspberry, smash it via juicer. You need about 6 oz. Get some hay stem, cut the stem in 1 mm length, mixed it w/ the blackberry. Put the mixture in a 35 ml syringe and force feed your bun. Your bun need the fiber to survive.

If it is just a little bit of gas in the GI stasis, you can get 2 ml of infacol every few hour just as a pre-caution.
 
I took him back to the vet on wed and she didn't seem too concerned (different vet this time). She said to try syringing blended carrot to him instead of the recovery food as it kept getting stuck in the syringe and all he was really getting was murky water. Will definitely try the mushed up pellet idea. I've had him for 7 years and for 7 years i've unsuccessfully tried to get him to eat hay :( we've tried a couple of different kinds but he just turns his nose up at it.
 
The recovery is best as I believe it contains probiotics as well as fibre, nutrients etc. I was told to mix it just thin enough to go through the syringe, you can take the syringe apart and spoon it in the top (over the sink its messy!) although we didn't syringe feed as we found Maisey ate it readily from a little flat dish. I would try the recovery again tonight and offer aromatic herbs, basil, coriander, parsley, lemon balm but lay off the sugary stuff.

But this bunny needs some better veterinary attention - start a thread asking for a good bunny vet in your area and get your bunny there tomorrow so that he can have the best chance of survival - there is obviously an underlying cause for this - perhaps his teeth - and it needs to be found and treated, the syringe feeding etc is only to keep him going through this period while he doesn't want to eat.
 
sometimes it helps to cut the a piece nozzle of the syringe off so that the hole it comes out of is bigger, that might stop the recovery food getting stuck
 
Should also have said make sure you keep him clean otherwise you will have a flystrike problem on your hands next.
 
your problem is the lack of hay. Your bun's diet must compose of 90% hay. They need a huge amount of fiber. The remaining 10% is pellet, green, fruits and some treats.

The hay is also necessary as it helps them wear off the on growing molars in their mouth. If your bun doesn't have hay stem daily, eventually his molar will overgrow, then you need to have teeth surgery. Hay stem greatly reduce the growing of molar (teeth)

I advise you to reduce the amt. of pellet gradually and give unlimited amt. of hay, and hold a bundle of hay in front of his mouth, he'll chew some, bite it off, but he will also swallow some.

Also for the time being, get some sweet hay (I forgot the type) to induce your bun to eat some hay

you can also try this:

Get some blackberry or raspberry, smash it via juicer. You need about 6 oz. Get some hay stem, cut the stem in 1 mm length, mixed it w/ the blackberry. Put the mixture in a 35 ml syringe and force feed your bun. That way, the fiber is in his sys.

Now Oxbow bunny Basis T is designed for buns who don't eat hay, however, that won't fix the molar overgrow problem
 
I would get him back to the vet asap. Syringe feeding should only be used as a temporary support measure while a problem is being addressed (usually treatment of the underlying problem, or giving prokinetic drugs to get the intestines moving again). If there is no progress being made then continuing the feeding will just maintain him as he is rather than cure the problem.
Diarrhoea in a bun is a serious problem because disturbances in the normal gut bacteria can lead to overgrowth of nasty ones (particularly clostridia spp) and a secondary toxin release and very severe illness. And as mentioned previously flystrike is a real concern this time of year. Perhaps you could ask others for recommendations of a vet local to you if your vet is not keen to pursue further investigation/treatment
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

keletkezes
Barrie has lost a lot of weight
Replies
17
Views
465
a reader of books
a reader of books
E
Neglected Angora Grooming
Replies
10
Views
1K
euxiomoniia
E
R
GI stasis
Replies
5
Views
773
bunny momma
bunny momma
Back
Top