Lopsy's in the early stages of ?stasis U/D all fine, maybe ears?

He's been to the emergency vet. She gave him the gut stimulant injection and suggested that if he wasn't attempting to eat in an hour, feed some Rescue sachet food stuff, so I'm off to do that in a bit.

He's pretty mopey. Inquisitive with new things, but uninterested in food (even kale, pellets, dried dandelion or hawthorn, fresh rose, apple chunks!) and VERY interested in headrubs(!). Keeps lying down in all different positions to try and get comfortable, though less so now. Vet said temp was fine, gut sounds fine, no abnormalities etc. Just inexplicably not eating or wanting to eat.

But since we've come back, he keeps drinking. This isn't a bad thing, I don't think, but a new development. Also teeth grinding, quite a bit of that now too, and gut noises much noisier.

He was fine this morning and certainly for some of the day as his broccoli had gone, he was just off when I came to feed him at 7pm. No output (into the litter tray) since then except wee, although vet said there were formed poos in his gut, as normal.

Anyone got any suggestions? I'll pop him to the vets in the morning too as he's not perked up yet: his teeth have been fine every checkup, he's lost a bit of weight (60g) but it varies between 2.1 and 2.3kg anyway and even now his eyes are bright and his breathing is normal. He went to investigate food just now but didn't eat any.

And is this just because I posted in the thread about insurance?! :roll: :lol:

Didn't want to read and run. Been through this myself with my Logan and continuously offering her the water bowl kept her drinking and it then lead to eating after a while. At the same time I rubbed her tummy gently (luckily she let me) and also kept encouraging her to move around.

Have you tried strong smelling herbs as an alternative to get him eating at all? I found that Basil was the first thing that Logan went for when she was ready to eat. Coriander, Parsley, Dill, Mint, Lavender, Rosemary and Sage are also worth a try.

BTW Did Lopsy get any painkiller as well as the gut stimulant? I wouldn't have expected tooth grinding unless the painkiller is just starting to kick in. Also was his blood glucose checked to see if there was a blockage at all?

Im sorry I don't have any advice but just hoping hes much better very soon.x

Hope Lopsy is back to his usual self soon.

increased water could be because of a reaction to pain/discomfort (if he's not on pain relief), or to fill him up because he isn't eating. i've also seen it when a dental is needed and they use the water to 'numb' their mouth because it hurts. maybe if things don't pick up, a thorough check of his mouth might be an idea, just to check the out of sight places. bisc hides his spurs here so we have to go off the other signs of a dental brewing.

sometimes after drinking more they will start to eat more though, so i hope he starts soon. x

Given that this is his second episode of 'unexplained' gut stasis I think the Vet needs to try to identify the primary cause. Gut stasis is often a secondary symptom of another problem rather than a primary illness. Also, I hope the Vet also prescribed pain relief ?

Things to consider as possible primary problems include :

His diet- does he eat enough hay ? Too much dietary carbohydrate/protein and not enough long fibre (hay) will result in chronic GI tract hypomotility and often repeated bouts of gut stasis. Cecal impaction can also become an issue. The onset of cecal impaction is insidious in nature and can mimic the presentation of Dental problems.

Is he overweight ? Obesity effects gut motility.

It is only possible to obtain an accurate view of all of the oral cavity when the Rabbit is under GA, only about 80% can be seen on examining a conscious Rabbit. So I dont think that the possibility of dental issues can be totally excluded.

Pain from somewhere else- the ears ? The bladder (bladder sludge can present as episodes of abdominal pain/gut stasis)

So in short whilst treating the gut stasis is obviously essential it is equally important for the Vet to try to establish if there is another primary issue going on.

I hope that Lopsy is feeling better by now and I hope the Vet can help this morning xx

Firstly, Lopsy is better this morning: he's eaten everything except the very branch-y bits of hawthorn and rose and, while he didn't bound over to me for food, was happy to come and sniff my fingers to see if it was anything more interesting than broccoli (which he ate once I'd put it down...!).

Vet didn't give pain relief: didn't even think about it at the time! I was thinking the drinking might be a precursor to eating or filling himself up (I often drink when I'm hungry so I don't snack and it works for me). I tried to give him the rescue stuff but I'm just too small to handle him on my own when he's not of a mind to be cooperative, and I was getting mentally and physically exhausted which wasn't going to help matters I left it with him in his food pile in the spare water bowl in case he fancied it :S I'd put a bit of grape juice in (about 10ml) to see if it made it more palatable, but it was untouched this morning! Matt said he probably thought it was a threat: eat your food or it'll be this instead! :lol:

Hay-wise, he's eating a lot more hay than he used to, even shortly after he came inside. We have proper golden poos, although less so this morning where we have a few haired together, but they're not small and are 'normal' for him when he's on grass. He really likes stalky hay now, but didn't when he was outside. He actively seeks out the big stalks of stuff in it!

He's not overweight: he feels good and bony according to Tamsin's chart she posted up and the vet said 2.2kg was fine for him. He last had a GA teeth check in August when he was castrated and they were perfect then, but we all know how that can change! :roll:

He DOES have an itch at his ears a lot: I have had the vet check them and they were fine, so I just assumed it was a lop thing (Charlie itched around his ears half as much but he was a Nethie), but I would like to get them checked properly. I check them at least every other day, usually daily, and there's nothing unusual to see. The itching around his ears could be itching around the back of his jaw, i.e. dental problems, maybe, too: I certainly get horribly itchy ears when I have a throat reaction or my wisdom teeth are on the move!

Anyway, yes, I'll be phoning the vet this morning: he's alright now but who knows what'll happen next! :roll: Thanks for all your help and thoughts everyone: let's hope we get to the bottom (or colon?) of this soon!

keletkezes said:

Firstly, Lopsy is better this morning: he's eaten everything except the very branch-y bits of hawthorn and rose and, while he didn't bound over to me for food, was happy to come and sniff my fingers to see if it was anything more interesting than broccoli (which he ate once I'd put it down...!).

Vet didn't give pain relief: didn't even think about it at the time! I was thinking the drinking might be a precursor to eating or filling himself up (I often drink when I'm hungry so I don't snack and it works for me). I tried to give him the rescue stuff but I'm just too small to handle him on my own when he's not of a mind to be cooperative, and I was getting mentally and physically exhausted which wasn't going to help matters I left it with him in his food pile in the spare water bowl in case he fancied it :S I'd put a bit of grape juice in (about 10ml) to see if it made it more palatable, but it was untouched this morning! Matt said he probably thought it was a threat: eat your food or it'll be this instead! :lol:

Hay-wise, he's eating a lot more hay than he used to, even shortly after he came inside. We have proper golden poos, although less so this morning where we have a few haired together, but they're not small and are 'normal' for him when he's on grass. He really likes stalky hay now, but didn't when he was outside. He actively seeks out the big stalks of stuff in it!

He's not overweight: he feels good and bony according to Tamsin's chart she posted up and the vet said 2.2kg was fine for him. He last had a GA teeth check in August when he was castrated and they were perfect then, but we all know how that can change! :roll:

He DOES have an itch at his ears a lot: I have had the vet check them and they were fine, so I just assumed it was a lop thing (Charlie itched around his ears half as much but he was a Nethie), but I would like to get them checked properly. I check them at least every other day, usually daily, and there's nothing unusual to see. The itching around his ears could be itching around the back of his jaw, i.e. dental problems, maybe, too: I certainly get horribly itchy ears when I have a throat reaction or my wisdom teeth are on the move!

Anyway, yes, I'll be phoning the vet this morning: he's alright now but who knows what'll happen next! :roll: Thanks for all your help and thoughts everyone: let's hope we get to the bottom (or colon?) of this soon!

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Eating more hay is always a good sign

Yes I hope you get to the 'colon' of what's bothering him! Sometimes, though, with the best will in the world, you can't find an explanation and you just have to cope with the fall out each time it occurs ... Rabbits are such mysterious creatures :shock:

Little PITA was eating TONS of hay last night judging by poos!

Vet today said nothing appears wrong tooth-wise (scoped), BUT he does have some ear wax. It's not a lot at all, and may not have caused anything, but there's a YET to add there so we're treating it bets to get it early, before it does become a problem!

I still think it was the sprouts... ;P

keletkezes said:

Little PITA was eating TONS of hay last night judging by poos!

Vet today said nothing appears wrong tooth-wise (scoped), BUT he does have some ear wax. It's not a lot at all, and may not have caused anything, but there's a YET to add there so we're treating it bets to get it early, before it does become a problem!

I still think it was the sprouts... ;P

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Silly boy for putting sprouts in his ears.....................


Hope the treatment helps him

keletkezes said:

Little PITA was eating TONS of hay last night judging by poos!

Vet today said nothing appears wrong tooth-wise (scoped), BUT he does have some ear wax. It's not a lot at all, and may not have caused anything, but there's a YET to add there so we're treating it bets to get it early, before it does become a problem!

I still think it was the sprouts... ;P

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Haha - keeping you on your toes! Best to cover as many bases as possible with these buns, cos they're always gonna come up with another one when you aren't looking :lol:

Jack's-Jane said:

Silly boy for putting sprouts in his ears

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TBH, it wouldn't surprise me if he did get some sort of food down there, the way he flings it about sometimes! ;P

MightyMax said:

they're always gonna come up with another one when you aren't looking :lol:

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Definitely! Or maybe when I am looking, just to prove something (like when he knocks his hut over only when I'm there... :roll.

We've been told to clean his ears out about once a week while using the drops: any suggestions?