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Best way to avoid stasis?

LloydFerris

Warren Scout
I have an Americal product called Petromalt that I give the buns a dab of once a week, just to make sure their plumbing runs well. They haven't had any problems yet so I am just doing this as a preventative. I am watching carefully for loose poos and/or diarrhea and have had no trouble with that at all.
Is this an acceptable method of avoiding stasis or is their a better alternative for regular maintenance?
 
Personally I would rather use a good hay based diet, ample water intake and lots of exercise rather than giving something like Petromalt.
A healthy Rabbit with the appropriate diet and enough exercise should not require anything to 'keep them regular' :)
 
I have an Americal product called Petromalt that I give the buns a dab of once a week, just to make sure their plumbing runs well. They haven't had any problems yet so I am just doing this as a preventative. I am watching carefully for loose poos and/or diarrhea and have had no trouble with that at all.
Is this an acceptable method of avoiding stasis or is their a better alternative for regular maintenance?

I personally wouldn't advise a paraffin substance to prevent stasis.....it is often thought to be of no help and can make things worse apparently.
The best way to keep your bun's guts working properly is a diet high in fibre (hay/grass), plenty of exercise, cut out starchy and sugary treats, only feed commercial feed, fruit and other starchy foods in moderation, plenty of fresh leafy greens/veg to keep the guts well hydrated and spot any pain or ill health quickly and seek immediate vet attention. :D
 
:wave: Personally I wouldn't recommend petromalt - it is based on liquid petrolatum. Rabbits intestines need to be really well hydrated for them to work properly, and oil + water don't mix - so I'd be more concerned that in fact it could coat a hairball and prevent it from becoming hydrated enough to pass through easily.

Fresh pineapple and/or papaya are supposed to help - because they contain an enzyme called bromelain which actually breaks down hair (the bromelain is destroyed by heat treatment though so the canned or UHT stuff is no good!). But they are very sugary, and things that are high in sugar can also cause problems for buns intestines.

Personally I think a good, high fibre diet consisting of mainly hay/grass, a small amount of pellets, a selection of fresh vegetables and fresh clean water, is the best way of preventing stasis. More often than not, stasis is a secondary symptom of something else anyway (often dental problems) so a high fibre diet is also a good way of helping your bun to keep his teeth nicely worn down.

If your bun does get a lot of hair passing through his system and you want to try something, I would prefer to use a tiny piece of pineapple or papaya (you can also buy these as specific bunny treats!) rather than petromalt :)
 
Thanks so much! My babies do get plenty of hay, lots of fresh water and a fair amount of fresh greens. No junky treats for them, but a bit of fruit from time to time. So it seems I am doing okay without the Petromalt. They are also free-run house buns so they get plently of exercise.
I do also give pellets, but have often wondered if I give too much/enough. Each of my buns weigh approx 1.5 kilograms. What would the correct amount be?
Oh, and if I was to give pineapple and/or papaya, how much would be appropriate and how often?
 
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my male bun poos for England, i sure he is seeing how fast he can fill his litter tray up.. still at least he is healthy.:)
 
90% hay 24h a day, vegetables, good exercise, less pellets, and make sure he drinks, this in normal situtations, but sometimes it happens that some rabbits get stasis several times in their lives with no apparent reasons (that was my case and also mentioned in the HRS vet section)
 
1.5kg is quite little so about a tablespoon a day would be fine. The rest of the diet should be made up of hay plus any fresh foods you want to give. For fresh foods the best types are leafy greens like they'd find in the wild so this like dandelion, blackberry/raspberry leaves, weeds (check they aren't poisonous), herbs etc.
 
Thanks so much! My babies do get plenty of hay, lots of fresh water and a fair amount of fresh greens. No junky treats for them, but a bit of fruit from time to time. So it seems I am doing okay without the Petromalt. They are also free-run house buns so they get plently of exercise.
I do also give pellets, but have often wondered if I give too much/enough. Each of my buns weigh approx 1.5 kilograms. What would the correct amount be?
Oh, and if I was to give pineapple and/or papaya, how much would be appropriate and how often?

Oxbow do some Papaya tablets that you can give to them as there is no added sugar.

During a heavy moult I give mine pineapple juice (freshly cut and squeeze), approx 10ml per week - mind you mine are big, one weighs 4kg :roll:
 
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