Gemmapookie
Wise Old Thumper
One of my bunnys died 2 months ago due to stasis, and a resulting blockage in her stomach (the stasis CAUSES the blockage, not the other way round I think.) One day she was totally fine eating, drinking and pooping as normal. The only slightly unusual thing I noticed was that that day she had very uncharacteristically fought with her bonded male Timmy. I also remember thinking that she seemed the tinyest bit "different" from usual, but I couldnt put my finger on why, and as she was well didnt think anymore of it.
The next morning she didnt follow me around pesting for her breakfast when I woke up and I knew instantly something was wrong. She wouldnt eat or drink, didnt poo and looked very uncomfortable. She was also shaking abit. I wrapped her up warm and got her to the vets straight away. He took her temperature, which was indeed low, and administered subcutaneous fluids, metacloperamide and pain relief. We brought her home under instructions to syringe feed her water and various medications often but within 2 hours she had died in my arms. I knew she was dying,she was floppy, unresponsive and her pupils were dilated, and my first thought was to get her back to the vets ASAP. But I knew instinctively we didnt have long left so we made the decision to wrap her up warm on a hot water bottle and cuddle and talk to her until she took her last breath a few mins later. It was the worst moment of my life but atleast she was surrounded by me, her dad and her boyfriend Timmy, warm and comfortable instead of at the vets getting poked and prodded. We kept her for the night so that Timmy could realise that she was truly gone, and grieve (animals accept death much better than us, but need time to understand that their friend isnt just sleeping, or hasnt gone somewhere they will be coming back from.)
Stasis can come on so suddenly and kill so rapidly so the best advise I can give is if your rabbit starts having any of these symptoms or BEHAVING wierdly in ANYWAY, get her to the vets immediately. You know your bunny better than anyone, trust your instincts. I now realise that her unusual attack of Timmy was probably a defensive attack as she had probably been feeling unwell the day before. I also realise I should have listened to that very quiet voice in my head that was telling me for no particular reason that something wasnt right. I wish she'd ground her teeth or "seemed" more obviously unwell, but rabbits hide it well, particularly the dominant one of a bonded pair as they don't like to show weakness.
I hope my auwful experience with this can help you be more vigilant with your precious buns, and I hope none of you ever have to go through it. I still miss Tilly everyday of my life. I was crippled with grief and guilt at first, but now I realise that I did everything I could and ultimately let her go with dignity and surrounded by love.
I have learnt from it aswell, today Timmy had an unusual fight with his new bonded girlfriend Mimi (a rescue bunny) so Im getting them to the vets later today for a check over. Timmy has had mild stasis before so I am particularly careful with him. I just wanted to share my hard-learnt lesson with all you bunny lovers out there.
Take care and big strokes to the buns
The next morning she didnt follow me around pesting for her breakfast when I woke up and I knew instantly something was wrong. She wouldnt eat or drink, didnt poo and looked very uncomfortable. She was also shaking abit. I wrapped her up warm and got her to the vets straight away. He took her temperature, which was indeed low, and administered subcutaneous fluids, metacloperamide and pain relief. We brought her home under instructions to syringe feed her water and various medications often but within 2 hours she had died in my arms. I knew she was dying,she was floppy, unresponsive and her pupils were dilated, and my first thought was to get her back to the vets ASAP. But I knew instinctively we didnt have long left so we made the decision to wrap her up warm on a hot water bottle and cuddle and talk to her until she took her last breath a few mins later. It was the worst moment of my life but atleast she was surrounded by me, her dad and her boyfriend Timmy, warm and comfortable instead of at the vets getting poked and prodded. We kept her for the night so that Timmy could realise that she was truly gone, and grieve (animals accept death much better than us, but need time to understand that their friend isnt just sleeping, or hasnt gone somewhere they will be coming back from.)
Stasis can come on so suddenly and kill so rapidly so the best advise I can give is if your rabbit starts having any of these symptoms or BEHAVING wierdly in ANYWAY, get her to the vets immediately. You know your bunny better than anyone, trust your instincts. I now realise that her unusual attack of Timmy was probably a defensive attack as she had probably been feeling unwell the day before. I also realise I should have listened to that very quiet voice in my head that was telling me for no particular reason that something wasnt right. I wish she'd ground her teeth or "seemed" more obviously unwell, but rabbits hide it well, particularly the dominant one of a bonded pair as they don't like to show weakness.
I hope my auwful experience with this can help you be more vigilant with your precious buns, and I hope none of you ever have to go through it. I still miss Tilly everyday of my life. I was crippled with grief and guilt at first, but now I realise that I did everything I could and ultimately let her go with dignity and surrounded by love.
I have learnt from it aswell, today Timmy had an unusual fight with his new bonded girlfriend Mimi (a rescue bunny) so Im getting them to the vets later today for a check over. Timmy has had mild stasis before so I am particularly careful with him. I just wanted to share my hard-learnt lesson with all you bunny lovers out there.
Take care and big strokes to the buns
