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What the heck causes stasis???!!!

bensonlola

Warren Veteran
Did nothing different and Lola had to go to emergancy vets. Off her food and just wanting to sit in the corner. She was bright enough but not her usual cheeky self so I took her before it got any worse.

Two things I noticed out of the ordinary...

1. She had a dried bit of poo stuck in the little pocket of skin on either side of where the poo comes out - if that makes sense. I had to use a damp cloth to try and remove it as I didn't want to rip her skin.

2. Their hay stack was very upset and spread all over the run.

Any suggestions?

PS - recovered as soon as back from vets and back to stealing food from Benson's mouth!!
 
No idea ... but very pleased the lovely Lola has returned to her perky self.:love::love:

Thankyou! My baby girl is nommin hay and bossing her hubbie about! Wish I knew how to prevent it but how can you when it just seems to strike out of the blue?:?
 
As to 1, I think you mean the scent glands? Was it dark brown and waxy? Normally they clean these themselves but sometimes if they struggle to reach cos of pain, gas in tum maybe? they don't.

Have her teeth been checked? I'm just surmising here but could it be possible she wants to eat hay but can't so has disrupted the pile instead? That could also be more a symptom than a cause though if her tummy is in pain.
 
Was she just off her food for a couple of hours? Harley did the same to me a couple of months ago, started eating as soon as we were back from the vets. I put it down to Fleury escaping his cage during the night and upsetting Harley :lol:

Glad she is back to eating :D
 
im glad shes improving now:wave:

i wish i knew what caused it.....its awful when you have a bun or buns who are so prone to stasis.:(
 
its a nightmare, Oscar was ill last weekend and ended up having xrays and 2x 3injections, he is still on meds, no idea what caused it either, so relieved he is better now though :D

glad she is improving xx
 
Sounds more like she had a gassy belly rather than actual GI stasis.

Just an abdominal examination by the Vet can be enough to disperse the gas and voila, miraculous recovery !!
 
Just starting to learn all this stasis/gas stuff now also, wish i knew what triggered it also.

Nobody's at home with Biscuit today as im 200 miles away :( So worried about him, OH won't be home until 5pm to see how he is.
 
That does sound like she hadn't been able to clean her scent glands. So much can set them off with stasis :( glad to hear she's ok now
 
This is 1 massive topic. I'm assuming that your bun keeps getting stasis & a full examination by a good vet shows no underlying cause - PAIN from anywhere.

Some buns are gassy - have symptoms for an hour, usually relieved by hopping around or a bumpy car journey to the vet. Certain foods are notorious for producing gas - brassica family, & high starch foods.
It's a condition which can easily become bloat very fast, so we can't sit around waiting long for 1st. aid to work.

I guess it then boils down to
a) Painful to eat - molar spurs can't always be seen without a GA. Then there's tongue mouth ulceration caused by them - (should be seen.) But unless they are treated your bun soon gets into very big problems!

b) "Stress".
1) Physical - sudden changes in temp. sudden changes in diet etc. moulting. Some buns have a slow gut at the best of times, (they are often avid wood pulp eaters = cardboard /paper/ wood of hutch) a few have a sharp bend in the gut.
2) Psychological - fear of predators (WE may know they're safe but they don't) deaf/blind buns are particularly at risk, change in routine (eg. bonded bunny parent stays out all night :lol:), bereavement,

With my bun it often takes several minor factors in quick succession to cause stasis. It can take years to understand our individual buns.

What is happening rock bottom?
In many many cases, there is overgrowth of the "wrong sort" of bacteria in the caecum.

If the bowel slows down they multiply & start to cause issues - some bacteria make toxins which slow the gut further & others ferment the ingesta to produce froth. Bunny feels full & doesn't want todrink or eat so much = bowel slows down even more, & bacteria multiply more until a critical level is reached when they cause major symptoms.

Several of us have successfully reduced the frequency & severity of stasis episodes with a strict diet. NO commercial treats. My bun is'nt allowed ANY sugar(fruit) or starch (eg carrot or grain treats) at all. Some find that spring greens/cabbage/broccoli are the culprit.
Last Autumn it was found by PL that veg from supermarkets which is prepared for marketing by washing it in chlorine was adversely affecting the bacteria in stasis prone buns.

The natural gut stimulant for buns is plenty of regular excercise - like us.
High fiber in good hay. Several of us have had much success by adding fresh/dry bunny safe tree leaves to the hay. Most buns prefer hawthorn (remove the buds/flowers/berries) [Blackbery leaves & raspberry if you can get them are the traditional remedy].

"Keep the gut moving & keep the wrong bacteria under control with a regular flush out." We can't get rid of them cos the bun has to eat their caecs, but we can keep them to levels where they don't cause issues.

It is very important that the bun drinks plenty so a heavy bowl as well as a bottle can help.
Never worry that a stasis bun will miss the commercial chocolate dops or grain treats - you'll be amazed how they go crazy for their leaves.
 
This is 1 massive topic. I'm assuming that your bun keeps getting stasis & a full examination by a good vet shows no underlying cause - PAIN from anywhere.

Some buns are gassy - have symptoms for an hour, usually relieved by hopping around or a bumpy car journey to the vet. Certain foods are notorious for producing gas - brassica family, & high starch foods.
It's a condition which can easily become bloat very fast, so we can't sit around waiting long for 1st. aid to work.

I guess it then boils down to
a) Painful to eat - molar spurs can't always be seen without a GA. Then there's tongue mouth ulceration caused by them - (should be seen.) But unless they are treated your bun soon gets into very big problems!

b) "Stress".
1) Physical - sudden changes in temp. sudden changes in diet etc. moulting. Some buns have a slow gut at the best of times, (they are often avid wood pulp eaters = cardboard /paper/ wood of hutch) a few have a sharp bend in the gut.
2) Psychological - fear of predators (WE may know they're safe but they don't) deaf/blind buns are particularly at risk, change in routine (eg. bonded bunny parent stays out all night :lol:), bereavement,

With my bun it often takes several minor factors in quick succession to cause stasis. It can take years to understand our individual buns.

What is happening rock bottom?
In many many cases, there is overgrowth of the "wrong sort" of bacteria in the caecum.

If the bowel slows down they multiply & start to cause issues - some bacteria make toxins which slow the gut further & others ferment the ingesta to produce froth. Bunny feels full & doesn't want todrink or eat so much = bowel slows down even more, & bacteria multiply more until a critical level is reached when they cause major symptoms.

Several of us have successfully reduced the frequency & severity of stasis episodes with a strict diet. NO commercial treats. My bun is'nt allowed ANY sugar(fruit) or starch (eg carrot or grain treats) at all. Some find that spring greens/cabbage/broccoli are the culprit.
Last Autumn it was found by PL that veg from supermarkets which is prepared for marketing by washing it in chlorine was adversely affecting the bacteria in stasis prone buns.

The natural gut stimulant for buns is plenty of regular excercise - like us.
High fiber in good hay. Several of us have had much success by adding fresh/dry bunny safe tree leaves to the hay. Most buns prefer hawthorn (remove the buds/flowers/berries) [Blackbery leaves & raspberry if you can get them are the traditional remedy].

"Keep the gut moving & keep the wrong bacteria under control with a regular flush out." We can't get rid of them cos the bun has to eat their caecs, but we can keep them to levels where they don't cause issues.

It is very important that the bun drinks plenty so a heavy bowl as well as a bottle can help.
Never worry that a stasis bun will miss the commercial chocolate dops or grain treats - you'll be amazed how they go crazy for their leaves.

Wow. Thanks for that - need to read it again! They don't get commercial treats but do get the odd bit of apple and everymorning get a bit of spring green leaf, a small sprig of broccoli and a ring of carrot. Maybe I should rethink this. They also get basil, mint, dill and rosemary. Hope I'm not the cause!
 
Wow. Thanks for that - need to read it again! They don't get commercial treats but do get the odd bit of apple and everymorning get a bit of spring green leaf, a small sprig of broccoli and a ring of carrot. Maybe I should rethink this. They also get basil, mint, dill and rosemary. Hope I'm not the cause!

You won't be the CAUSE, because most buns would be fine on this diet.
Your bun just has a slow gut for what ever reason & it takes very little to tip him into a downward slope. We can only do our best to keep things going.
Donnamt's Alvin is the brilliant success story on RU.

Fluid intake is important with these buns too. A slow gut = feeling full all the time, but their body feels hungry. Water makes them feel full, so they cut back. The waste poops get dry & hard, & can even cause a blockage, especially during moult. This is why fluid replacement is so important when treating stasis.
 
You won't be the CAUSE, because most buns would be fine on this diet.
Your bun just has a slow gut for what ever reason & it takes very little to tip him into a downward slope. We can only do our best to keep things going.
Donnamt's Alvin is the brilliant success story on RU.

Fluid intake is important with these buns too. A slow gut = feeling full all the time, but their body feels hungry. Water makes them feel full, so they cut back. The waste poops get dry & hard, & can even cause a blockage, especially during moult. This is why fluid replacement is so important when treating stasis.

Oh my head's swimmin!!! Would you come and live with me? She is back to her little starvo self and she eats a lot of hay and they have a bowl of water and a drinky. I think that Benson def drinks more than her but she def does drink from the drinky. She has been hoppin about and making her ears flap and she looks bright and cheeky again so long may it last. They have 14x4 feet to hop about in during the day and I let them out for 20 min am and about an hour pm. It's the best I can do. Do you think it's enough?
 
Oh my head's swimmin!!! Would you come and live with me? She is back to her little starvo self and she eats a lot of hay and they have a bowl of water and a drinky. I think that Benson def drinks more than her but she def does drink from the drinky. She has been hoppin about and making her ears flap and she looks bright and cheeky again so long may it last. They have 14x4 feet to hop about in during the day and I let them out for 20 min am and about an hour pm. It's the best I can do. Do you think it's enough?

Long may it last indeed. I'm delighted for you all.:D

Yes it's a good space because they'll entertain each other & most buns nap in the day. As long as they get a really good run round when they're out. We can't do better than our best.
Stasis bunny mummies have a very difficult job at the best of times. It becomes a nightmare when stasis strikes. We stick together on this forum.:)

It isn't so much of a Wow really.
I've had Thumps for 5 years. We didn't understand why he was so prone to the wrong bacteria in his caecum until 1 1/2 years ago. His ceacum doesn't fill or empty much at all!! :shock: It was similar to p l who recently discovered that her 4year old bun has deformed joints & now arthritis. He just kept getting bloat with no joint symptoms. He now does very well with continuous pain relief. Alvin gets stressed out easily & is deaf. There are several others.

Despite the different underlying causes for stasis all 3 buns have benefitted from a diet high in fiber & low in sugars & concentrated nutrients. We all use shrub leaves to increase fiber & certain weeds for less concentrated nutrients etc when this didn't give enough control.

Sometimes we have to wait a long time for an underlying cause to manifest. Sometimes it never does. They all get stasis but each bun is an individual.
 
A lot of bunnies go in to stasis because they are in pain elsewhere, being prey animals they hide their pain very well and it can show as stasis although this is not the root cause of their discomfort.

I know a bunny that had repeated bouts of stasis until seen by a specialist who diagnosed damage to his spine, it was dealt with and the bunny received the correct medications only then did the bouts of stasis disappear
 
This is a really interesting thread and theres lots of useful information especially Frankie stopped eating last night. Unfortunately I can't stick to the low pellet option for him as he is still recovering from a respiratory infection so need to keep his weight on. These bunnies are complicated creaters:?
 
This is a really interesting thread and theres lots of useful information especially Frankie stopped eating last night. Unfortunately I can't stick to the low pellet option for him as he is still recovering from a respiratory infection so need to keep his weight on. These bunnies are complicated creaters:?

Please don't anyone feel guilty on here. Neither can I follow a low pellet option, or the weight falls off Thumps too. He can't put much food in his caecum to let the good bacteria release the nutrients from it. Neither does he absorb water or drink enough.

I'm trying to say (rather badly) that if we understand the rock bottom basics of what is going on, we can help our buns a bit more on an individual basis.
We can also think of diet as 3 basic components - Fiber, nutrients, & fluid, & work out for ourselves, together with our buns, what suits them best.
With fiber I'm finding several stasis buns who go crackers for hawthorn/bramble leaves. Dental buns prefer them dry (easier to chew like crisps). If we can get them, they can have them freely, cos like hay there's very little nutrient in them.

It's possible that Frankie is also a little low on fluids from breathing more quickly. I moisten Thumper's pellets with water so he can still pick them up but they are soft, to improve fluid intake.
 
A lot of bunnies go in to stasis because they are in pain elsewhere, being prey animals they hide their pain very well and it can show as stasis although this is not the root cause of their discomfort.

I know a bunny that had repeated bouts of stasis until seen by a specialist who diagnosed damage to his spine, it was dealt with and the bunny received the correct medications only then did the bouts of stasis disappear

This is identical to Nino's story. Except the chronic pain was due to early onset arthritis in his hips and knees that he hid completely from us, normal mobility and gait etc. you just wouldn't have known, the ONLY symptom for the first two years was recurrent bloat/stasis. Diagnosis and correct medication and the bloat/stasis has disappeared. :D
 
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