very worried ill make things worse :( stasis bun

Okay so I am new to this as i have said and my poor Belle has been in stasis for a week tomorrow eating very little, drinking little and less then 10 poos in a week I went to the hospital to see her yesturday but she seemed worse. She has stopped eating completely and is now grinding her teeth.

Guy Carter (rabbit vet) phoned me himself this morning and said i should bring her home and see how she gets on here. He said he thinks that Maybe being in hospital is stressing her out further. She does not like dogs and is in a room with 5 of them which i think when they set each other off must really scarey for her too.

I have booked an appointment for 7 this evening so both me and my partner can be one so we can be shown how to feed her and give the meds she needs.

Another so one of us can hold her speak/stroke on the way home.

However i am now really scared that i will make things worse, as i do not really know how to care for a rabbit with stasis. I had not even picked her up before i had to take her to the vets as she had just began jumping on my lap for strokes and i thought we would go at her pace.

Any advise on what to do would be amazing and very very much appreciated

Thank you

Hayley

hayley2126 said:

Okay so I am new to this as i have said and my poor Belle has been in stasis for a week tomorrow eating very little, drinking little and less then 10 poos in a week I went to the hospital to see her yesturday but she seemed worse. She has stopped eating completely and is now grinding her teeth.

Guy Carter (rabbit vet) phoned me himself this morning and said i should bring her home and see how she gets on here. He said he thinks that Maybe being in hospital is stressing her out further. She does not like dogs and is in a room with 5 of them which i think when they set each other off must really scarey for her too.

I have booked an appointment for 7 this evening so both me and my partner can be one so we can be shown how to feed her and give the meds she needs.

Another so one of us can hold her speak/stroke on the way home.

However i am now really scared that i will make things worse, as i do not really know how to care for a rabbit with stasis. I had not even picked her up before i had to take her to the vets as she had just began jumping on my lap for strokes and i thought we would go at her pace.

Any advise on what to do would be amazing and very very much appreciated

Thank you

Hayley

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I wonder whether you might be amending your title so people know that you're asking for advice on stasis.

Firstly, i'm really sorry your bun is in stasis.

Do you know the medication she is currently on, as that'll give us ideas on how to advise you on things.

Obviously, we are NOT vets, so cannot offer everything a vet can, but a lot of people here are very knowledgeable.

I agree that having her in a room with 5 dogs is NOT going to help matters - stress will make her not want to eat i expect also.

Having her at home, in her surroundings, as long as you can give her waht the vet suggests, will be (in my opinion) better for her.

Loads of vibes for your little lady.

so far she is on the following

pro biotics
recovery
metoclopramide
metacam
liquid parafin

and i think he is going to try another one as metoclopramide is not working at the mo.

I am not sure how much of each yet will find that out when i go and get her this evening.

Thank you for your response

hayley2126 said:

so far she is on the following

pro biotics
recovery
metoclopramide
metacam
liquid parafin

and i think he is going to try another one as metoclopramide is not working at the mo.

I am not sure how much of each yet will find that out when i go and get her this evening.

Thank you for your response

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You will almost certainly be asked to give those meds (metoclopramide and metacam), and obviously the parafin and recovery by mouth via a syringe. I have to do this with my buns, and whilst it's not something I enjoy, and neither does bunny, I have got better at it which helps reduce the stress for both of us . Here are some of my tips:

- when picking bunny up, try to do it without too much fuss. The majority of buns don't really like being handled, so will try to resist by running away or struggling. If you can be very decisive in picking up, I find it helps massively. The way I do it is to place one hand under the bun's front paws, and use the other to cradle their bum, and they will then be able to be lifted up into your arms. My buns prefer to be carried sitting on my chest with one hand supporting their back, and the other under their bum (and their paws on my shoulder ).

- I then place bunny on a towel on the kitchen worktop (best to have this already laid out and the meds ready in their syringes).

- My buns can sometimes be medicated just sitting on the towel. I place my left arm around bunny's bottom to prevent him from scrabbling backwards, and use my left hand to open the mouth a little, whilst using the right hand to syringe the meds into the mouth.

- If your bun is a bit scrabbly, or has got fed up with being medicated, you may need to use a 'bunny burrito', which is where you wrap the towel around the bun, so that just his head is poking out. I usually do this whilst bun is sitting on the worktop, but I know some people find it easier if the bun is on your lap - depends on the bun I think. Once bunny is nicely wrapped up (not too tight, just to restrain him), then you can syringe as above.

- When syringing, don't squirt too much into the mouth at once, as it won't be too nice for the bun, and you'll find they can't drink it quickly enough and let it all drip down (I learned from experience :lol. Just small amounts fed into the mouth will allow the bun to swallow it all.

Sorry for the length . Good luck with it. I agree that your bun will be better off at home in familiar surroundings. The syringing is a bit scary at first, but it really is fine once you've done it a couple of times. I talk to my buns calmly throughout, telling them what I am doing. It sounds crazy, but I think the soothing sound of my voice might help a bit

thank you soooo much, i will try my very best hate her being so ill.

So glad i found this sight not sure what i would have done without it!

before you bring her home ask for a dose of fluid injected under the skin, i found when alvin is really poorly with stasis the hydration given through an injection under his skin was a total life saver and home treatment does seem to suit him better, a vet also decided after a week of daily hospitalisation that alvin was far to fiesty to be at the vets and we was doing more harm than good getting him admitted so i had your fear of getting it wrong too . after alot of crying and being told he wasnt dehydrated they gave in and gave him fliuds before i took him home. by the second day of fluids he was well recovered (5 mins vets visit as opposed to all day)

good luck im sure you will get your angel through this, sending loads of vibes xxx

hayley2126 said:

thank you soooo much, i will try my very best hate her being so ill.

So glad i found this sight not sure what i would have done without it!

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Me too! I have only been on here for a few months but I have really learned SO much from everyone here

I should have said, do check with your vet to see what he/she advises re giving the meds. I'm sure you will anyway, but as Graham said we can only advise, so if your vet says something different then always check

All the best with your bun. Keep us updated

Annieelms i also talk to Belle all the time. When i got her i do not think she was use to toys or playing at all really. So i have found my self on all fours pushing her balls with my nose and picking up plant pots in my teeth putting them in the next one etc. :lol:

Not sure admitting this is going to help my case maybe i am just a little mad, she does look at me like it at times:lol:

However she now runs after the ball and i took it into hospital yesturday where she just found enough energy to go for a sniff and a push bless her xx

I have asked for fluids but they said she does not need them, it was like fighting king kong to get them to give her pain relief!! But after 3 days of pushing they gave in.

I am taking my fiancee with me tonight as he has said he will share the night feeds he is much more to the point then me so may get him to ask for the fluids.

They say because of the recovery is mixed with water she is fine (i do not agree as if i had not really drank for a week i am sure i would need fluids but then i am not a vet)

Is there any reason that you guys know of why not to give it to them as if not i will play that card?

thank you sooooo much all of you its not just the advise as of course i will follow the vets instructions but just having others who understand and support you is pricelss xx

You sound like an amazing bunny mummy! And it's lovely of your OH to help you as well

I don't know of any reasons why sub-cut fluids might be bad, but there are many more knowledgeable people than me on here, so I'm hoping someone else can answer that Q for you.

Your post about talking to her and pushing balls for her with your nose made me chuckle :lol:. The things we do for our buns, eh? My OH (and certainly my neighbours as well) think I am a complete nutcase when I talk to my buns in my little squeaky bunny voice, asking them if they've done some nice poos for me, and asking if they'd like a dandelion :lol:

I was a bit scared when i had to give my bunny Jake recovery stuff via syringe into his mouth, but i wrapped him up so he was restrained (not tightly) and i asked my friend to just hold him still in her lap whilst i syringed it into his mouth a little bit at a time. I talk to him all the time too! I had never done this before either and i was worrying about it, but if you can get someone to help you first it might be a bit easier, then both of you can see how to do it and what might be the easiest way for you to do it. I hope she starts to get better at home, where she is with her mummy and she feels safer xxxx

Poor little bunny, you seem to love her very much.

With Stasis it is very important to give something against the bloat!

The bloat can kill as it can cause the whole cardiovascular system to collapse.

I use Infacol or somebody else her uses wind eze, but I am not vet and can only speak from my experience.

i have a printed copy of this >>> http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

i have highlighted the important stuff like pain relief and the fluids, may help your argument with the vets should they refuse :wave:

Good luck with the vet tonight.

Another meds tip! My bun had a long dose of meds for EC and I gave up syringing as it was so stressful for both of us. I found that she prefered licking it off a spoon, preferably mixed with pure fruit baby food and honey :roll:

thank you, thank you, thank you

Massive hugs and thank yous to all

i am not sure how i reply to posts like everyone else seems to be able to so i am sorry i am replying in mass at the mo. I am sure i will work these out the more i use the site.

I am soooooooooooo grateful to you all i have learned so much which is down to you good people and you do put me at ease. I am a bit of a geek in the sense I like to research things however the more i do on buns the more i realise what complex characters they are and how much i still have to learn. This does not put me off though just makes me want to learn more.

Thank you again to all of you i will be taking on all of your advise and have brought myself what i call the Belle book where i can keep a diary of poos, food intake (and what) water drank, dates, meds etc to see if we can get to the bottom of this and what works for her.

We were also looking into bonding her but that is being put on the back shelf for now untill she is fighting fit again and back to her happy self.

I am a worrier but it only because i love her so much.

have a little look on the foraging thread in rabbit chat, brambles and hawthorn have really helped to sort my Alvins tummy out. 2009 & early 2010 were terrible times for stasis until i was pointed in the direction of a more natural diet. we have a small blip every 6 months or so now that only lasts a few hours and i 100% believe it was the diet changes that have made him less prone to stasis

i will keep everything crossed she recovers very quickly and don't be afraid to go to a different vets if you feel yours are not treating her correctly at any point during this illness xxx

donnamt said:

i have a printed copy of this >>> http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

i have highlighted the important stuff like pain relief and the fluids, may help your argument with the vets should they refuse :wave:

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Great link - thank you.

thank you all, and thank you for the link have that in hand, am now off to pick my beautiful up