Lets Talk About Gut Stasis-A Sort of 'Wabbit Wednesday' Thread !!

Having a Rabbit in Gut Stasis is the dread of us Bunny carers. So I thought it would be a good idea for us to say what we understand about the condition. What our experiences have been in caring for a Rabbit in gut stasis- what Vets do on initial presentation- what treatment they prescribe etc.

Also, please share anything else about your experience of Gut Stasis in Rabbits, none of us know it all and it'd be an opportunity to possibly learn something new.

I'll be back later today, I really hope that some of you will get involved in this thread as the more we learn, the better Rabbit Care Givers we become

Great post Jane!

My brief understanding (from a few years ago now!):

- A rabbit not pooing is worse than a rabbit not eating. The most important question isn't whether the rabbit is eating, but whether poo is coming out the other end (if not, sooner or later the eating will stop).

- A vet will give pain relief and a gut motility drug and should rule out the possibility of a blockage. Oral drugs are no use once a rabbit is fully in stasis, as they will not be absorbed.


My experiences:

- Clockwise gut rubs can be helpful, but only if tolerated and not too painful

- Cooled peppermint tea can be a life saver. It's as good for rabbit guts as human ones

- Fluids fluids fluids - water is much more important than syringing food

A bunny refusing all food needs prompt vet treatment. Waiting until it is convenient for you in a few days time or in the morning could be too late. I usually wait a few hours with mine if they show no other symptoms as some of them won't eat if it is nap time, even if I offer them a treat :roll:. Tummy pressing, tooth grinding and lethargy are other symptoms.

I have had buns with a blockage before, so if vet can't rule that out, I will get a blood glucose test done. Fluids are important. I usually get subcutaneous fluids at my vet so bun's tum doesn't get too full of fluid. Pain killers are a must, but vetergesic tends to make my buns too sleepy to eat so they usually get metacam now.

When they are starting to eat, I have found they prefer wild foods. Apple leaves and rose leaves are usually the first things they eat. It can take some days of wild foods before they will show any interest in hay or pellets.

And unless you are confident there is no blockage, NEVER force feed without seeing a competent vet.

Seek vetenery help+Metacopramide+zantac+metacam+critical care+exercise=success :thumb:

Sudden onset of not eating/abdominal pain should be taken very seriously and depending on the known history of the rabbit either monitor them closely for an hour or two or straight to the vets depending on circumstances.

It is imperative that on phoning the vets you tell them that the rabbit isn't eating (and is in pain or whatever applicable) rather than just ask for an appointment.... no, an appointment tomorrow won't have to do - it is an emergency.

Syringing water in the meantime can be useful but do not syringe food (as stated in an earlier post, in case of full blockage, as syringe feeding can be fatal).

My vets usually x-ray on arrival if they find anything at all, ie the stomach feels big, the blood glucose is raised. If there isn't anything to find clinically they often admit and monitor if early in the day but if under time pressure often go to x-ray to know what's going on. They can tell a huge amount from x-rays and to my mind it's extremely important to x-ray which is the main reason I use this vet practice as they get to find the cause of the problem ASAP rather than just treating the symptoms. The vet's next job is to treat the symptoms and get the rabbit eating again but if there is an underlying problem that will need to be dealt with also.

Usual medicine regime: Metacam, Domperidone and Zantac.

Esme produced some really good x-rays this weekend that NHB was intending to use for training/demonstration of what changes you'd hope to see from on arrival with 'big stomach, nothing moving' to a few hours later 'small stomach, gas passing through intestines'. They were a really good demonstration of how much she had improved and how the danger had passed.

Bunny Buddy said:

Sudden onset of not eating/abdominal pain should be taken very seriously and depending on the known history of the rabbit either monitor them closely for an hour or two or straight to the vets depending on circumstances.

It is imperative that on phoning the vets you tell them that the rabbit isn't eating (and is in pain or whatever applicable) rather than just ask for an appointment.... no, an appointment tomorrow won't have to do - it is an emergency.

Syringing water in the meantime can be useful but do not syringe food (as stated in an earlier post, in case of full blockage, as syringe feeding can be fatal).

My vets usually x-ray on arrival if they find anything at all, ie the stomach feels big, the blood glucose is raised. If there isn't anything to find clinically they often admit and monitor if early in the day but if under time pressure often go to x-ray to know what's going on. They can tell a huge amount from x-rays and to my mind it's extremely important to x-ray which is the main reason I use this vet practice as they get to find the cause of the problem ASAP rather than just treating the symptoms. The vet's next job is to treat the symptoms and get the rabbit eating again but if there is an underlying problem that will need to be dealt with also.

Usual medicine regime: Metacam, Domperidone and Zantac.

Esme produced some really good x-rays this weekend that NHB was intending to use for training/demonstration of what changes you'd hope to see from on arrival with 'big stomach, nothing moving' to a few hours later 'small stomach, gas passing through intestines'. They were a really good demonstration of how much she had improved and how the danger had passed.

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Excellent post.

I dont understand why so many people think its ok to give metacam and start syringe feeding without seeing a vet. I never ever syringe feed before the rabbit has seen a vet.

Unless we have cause to think the stasis is secondary to something else urgent our vet always xrays 24 hours after treatment if no improvement.

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I saw a mention of cooled peppermint tea, would it be helpful to give this to your rabbit occasionally or is it just if she/he is ill?

We’ve sadly had a fair bit of experience with gut stasis with Honey over the years. When we got her in July 2008 we found her one day looking decidedly unhappy. She didn’t want to move around much, was sitting hunched up, refusing all food and not pooing. Being new rabbit owners we weren’t aware of the seriousness of the situation and I remember posting here asking for advice. We were quickly informed that a rabbit’s refusal to eat was very serious and that we should take her to the vet straight away.
On taking her to the vet I think she was treated with metoclopramide, metacam and fibreplex. On coming home she began eating and behaving normally again.

Later on that year she had an awful episode in which she refused to eat or poo for 2 days. She had to be admitted to the vet to have X-rays to rule out a blockage and she had a minor dental in case it was her teeth bothering her. After all this the vet inserted a feeding tube through her nose and after being fed in this way for a day she began eating on her own again. The vet had suggested surgery which had a poor outlook so we were delighted when she began eating on her own.

We weren’t 100% happy with her treatment that time so she was registered at a different local vet, they told us she was over-weight and needed to go on a diet. She had DBS (dirty bum syndrome) a few times and had to go to the vet to be shaved and cleaned.

Honey suffered with numerous less serious bouts of stasis for a year or so. At times we could catch it quick enough to treat at home with tummy massages and peppermint tea but other times we had to go to the vet.

After having a bad experience with the 24 hour service at the practice we finally registered at the Edinburgh vet school which is around 35 miles from us but is one of the best facilities in the country.

When we took Honey there for the first time they also commented on her weight and suggested that instead of being 3.4kg she should be between 2.4 and 2.8. They suggested trying different types of hay, cutting out all store bought treats, offering enrichment toys and games and reducing the amount of pellets and veg Honey was offered. At first Honey struggled to lose weight and suffered two further stasis episodes that required hospitalisation and the vet school wouldn’t allow her home until it was clear her guts were working normally. Their stasis protocol seems to be as follows:

• Check rabbit over in the consultation room including teeth and palpitation of the abdomen. This lets the vet see if there is food and/or faeces in the gut and where it is.
• Admit rabbit for X-ray (rule out blockage, teeth problems and check for any other abnormalities).
• Begin treating with metacam, metoclopramide, zantac and fluids
• Rabbit is encouraged to exercise as this can help move things through the gut

They keep rabbits in a pen with their bonded partner in a pen next to them or the ill rabbit stays in a dog crate within the pen with the partner having the run of the pen. This ensures the pair can interact with one another but the stasis bunny can have its output monitored.

Honey’s last stasis episode was March 2013 so it’s now been over a year since she suffered from it. Usually you could bet your mortgage on her getting stasis in March and October but it’s been a while now. We’ve incorporated a lot of forage into her diet particularly bramble, hawthorne, long grass and dandelion. Honey has always been a good hay eater but we still buy her a variety of different hays. We stopped feeding her store-bought treats and only offer leafy veg now along with 10g of pellets a day. She’s now 2.7kg and hasn’t had a mucky bum for about the same amount of time.

In short I’d definitely recommend more forage if it’s not being used already, we found that Honey would take bramble and dandelion leaves before anything else when she’d been suffering with stasis. Our previous two vets seemed to be happy with the explanation that Honey was just a stasis-prone rabbit and didn't seem too bothered about finding the root cause. Often we'd be told to treat at home if we had any left over meds that were still in date.

It was only after the first consultation at the vet school that we realised we were killing her with kindness and her diet needed drastic changes. The vet school were also keen to find the underlying cause of Honey's stasis bouts but as she's not had it for a while they're having to put the investigation on hold. They have also indicated that they wouldn't be happy for us to attempt any kind of treatment until Honey had been seen (and that always resulted in hospitalisation anyway).

Hugo's There said:

I dont understand why so many people think its ok to give metacam and start syringe feeding without seeing a vet. I never ever syringe feed before the rabbit has seen a vet.

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I've been surprised many times by posts from people with either a high post count or been members of the forum for many years who have said they started syringe feeding as soon as they realised the bunny wasn't eating and didn't know it was dangerous, it's such vital information to get everyone to know. I was even more surprised to talk to an out of hours vet last year and he said he wasn't too concerned about a rabbit that hadn't eaten for two hours - perhaps I could consider syringe feeding him :shock::shock: (even more of an issue for me because the rabbit in question was Elijah who has needed blockage surgery previously and had has a longstanding history of obstructions/blockages!!)

G-Man said:

I saw a mention of cooled peppermint tea, would it be helpful to give this to your rabbit occasionally or is it just if she/he is ill?

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I actually used to give it twice daily (in small amounts - only a syringe full, not a bowl full ) when I had a chronic stasis bunny. I'm sure it helped preventatively , and once saved a rabbit of mine from being put to sleep (that's how I decided to try it - desperation! Half an hour later there were poos).

A few things I have learned over the years is what a huge difference fluid therapy can make as part of the treatment of gut stasis. With my Vet's approval I now always use SQ fluids as well as oral fluids.

Knowing what pain relief best suits a particular Rabbit too. But this information can only be obtained from experience. For example I know that Metacam will be useless for Dermot when he is having one of his 'episodes' (he has a chronic gut problem). He always has to have Vetergesic. But in some of my Rabbits Vetergesic has been found to cause more problems than it solves.

What gut motility meds does your Vet normally prescribe ? Does he/she explain to you how the drug(s) works ?

There is a good Webinar about GI Tract Disorders on here, its the second one down

http://www.thewebinarvet.com/supreme-rabbit-webinars/

If Louie refuses his breakfast or tea, which he has done on a few occasions, I have always offered him warm water which he always drinks, give him tummy massage and encourage him to move around.

Only twice has this not got him eating within an hour or so and we then took him to the vet.

Too much green stuff and too many dandilions also we gave them a load of twigs from the butterfly bush, which made Ozzie ill within a couple of days, It took me 3 episodes with Ozzie and 1 with Twinkle to realise that spoiling them wasn't doing them any good. My only previous experience of it was when Twinkle chewed the wheelie bin wheels:roll: we now have a bin without wheelsthat was a vet job.

I give infacol, 1ml then tummy rubs and a bit of chasing round, then luckily by the time I am really panicking and reaching for the phone for the vets they have started eating, so within a good hour of giving the infacol. I always give a second dose after an hour and give a bunny buffet to get them eating.

They now have pellets for breakfast, unlimited hay of course and then teatime is a variety of apple, carrot, cucumber, broccoli but not a lot of any of them. I used to love seeing them with loads of cabbage or a 'Sunday dinner' of veg but it just doesn't work.

It is always worth remembering that what comes out (ie poo!!) is as relevant as what goes in. A Rabbit is very likely to have a reduction in poo output (size and/or quantity) BEFORE they stop eating. Treating a 'sluggish gut' before the Rabbit actually stops eating can save all concerned a lot of additional stress !!

Just bumping this up in case anyone else would like to contribute to the thread.

I am lucky I think that mine have not had an episode of stasis for years - it is possibly 10 years since I saw it in my bunnies. I don't give mine veg, not sure if there is a connection there. I feed unlimited hay, forage and a tiny amount of pellets - as natural a diet as possible.

Bette was the last bun to have an episode and that was a long time ago - the (young) vet didn't have a clue either so had to prompt him. She recovered quickly thankfully.

I've also learned that Louie doesn't tolerate any new foods well, even too much of his usual green stuff can affect him.

Alarm bells always ring when one of the buns is off their food. Apart from once when Spring's tummy felt bloated and I took her straight to the vets I usually give them some metacam, zantac and metaclop, warm water, tummy massage and encouragement to move around. If there is no improvement after an hour or so or if they appear worse then we go straight to the vets with a list of meds already given plus some of their favourite foods.

At the vets their tummies and teeth are examined, blood glucose level checked and an xray if felt necessary. More often than not the bunnies are admitted for fluid therapy and meds. They are generally not allowed back home until they have been seen to eat and poo. Though with Spring and Rosie in particularly they do not do well at the vets are and generally sent home sooner.