Recovering from gi stasis. Ideas on anything else I could be doing?

My house bunny Billy is in his 2nd bout of stasis in 3 months. In Dec he was back to 100% within a week (and he was really bad - blood glucose of 24). Last Monday morning he was suffering again and we took him straight to our very bunny savvy vets. He spend all day Mon & Tues with the vets and then we have been nursing him at home.

He is on metacam, emeprid and zantac twice a day. I am syringe feeding critical care as he still isn't eating that much of his own accord. He will eat a little hay/greens/dandelion leaves/parsley/kale. Turning his nose up at pellets. We will drink some water.

He is pooing though they are really small. And while he does not look uncomfortable, he is definitely not his usual self. He mainly wants to sleep. Getting up to go to his litter tray or wash.

We have another vet appointment tomorrow as i'm worried about his lack of improvement. His teeth etc were checked last week and don't look to be a problem.

Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else i could be doing to help him please?

Sounds like you're doing all the right things! Going through exactly the same thing at the moment with mine (but second time in 3 weeks!) so I know how horrible it is

Have you tried a bit of coriander or basil with his greens? That's what's got fergie eating properly for me before - must be the smell but they've always been the first things he starts eating properly. I think pellets tend to be the last thing that they start eating - it was a couple of days before mine ate them last time, and he's not that interested in them at the moment either.

The only other thing I could suggest would be to try and get him moving a little bit - I know it's hard when they really don't want to though! Sometimes taking them somewhere new (different room) makes them explore a bit more and gets them moving a little.

Hope everything perks up soon for him, sending lots of vibes xx

Just thought too - mine seems to like a little bit of readigrass to nibble on, he doesn't get much but he does seem to eat it.

Not sure how much of a nightmare yours is to syringe feed (mine is awful) but a little bit of banana or Apple mashed and mixed in was recommended to me and it does seem to make it go down a bit easier xx

billyrosie said:

My house bunny Billy is in his 2nd bout of stasis in 3 months. In Dec he was back to 100% within a week (and he was really bad - blood glucose of 24). Last Monday morning he was suffering again and we took him straight to our very bunny savvy vets. He spend all day Mon & Tues with the vets and then we have been nursing him at home.

He is on metacam, emeprid and zantac twice a day. I am syringe feeding critical care as he still isn't eating that much of his own accord. He will eat a little hay/greens/dandelion leaves/parsley/kale. Turning his nose up at pellets. We will drink some water.

He is pooing though they are really small. And while he does not look uncomfortable, he is definitely not his usual self. He mainly wants to sleep. Getting up to go to his litter tray or wash.

We have another vet appointment tomorrow as i'm worried about his lack of improvement. His teeth etc were checked last week and don't look to be a problem.

Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else i could be doing to help him please?

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Repeated bouts of stasis usually have an underlying cause. Teeth can sometimes be a problem and unless bunny is sedated, it's very hard for the vet to get a good look at the molars (cheek teeth)

As already suggested, coriander is a good herb for revitalising the appetite. If you crush the stems and leaves a bit, it releases more smell. Parsley and dill are also very good.

Readigrass is fine to feed, as is grass from the garden - but make sure it's not the lush green new grass that's growing but the straggly strands at the bottom (well in my garden anyway!).

You can mix critical care with a bit of Ella's Kitchen banana baby food to make a better taste. Or you can feed baby food (veggies) on it's own - Ella's kitchen have a selection of organic veg which are good. Whatever sustains him and helps his appetite to pick up.

You could also add into his syringe/food some probiotic like Avipro:

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/avipro-plus.html

Good luck and keep us posted xx

billyrosie said:

My house bunny Billy is in his 2nd bout of stasis in 3 months. In Dec he was back to 100% within a week (and he was really bad - blood glucose of 24). Last Monday morning he was suffering again and we took him straight to our very bunny savvy vets. He spend all day Mon & Tues with the vets and then we have been nursing him at home.

He is on metacam, emeprid and zantac twice a day. I am syringe feeding critical care as he still isn't eating that much of his own accord. He will eat a little hay/greens/dandelion leaves/parsley/kale. Turning his nose up at pellets. We will drink some water.

He is pooing though they are really small. And while he does not look uncomfortable, he is definitely not his usual self. He mainly wants to sleep. Getting up to go to his litter tray or wash.

We have another vet appointment tomorrow as i'm worried about his lack of improvement. His teeth etc were checked last week and don't look to be a problem.

Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else i could be doing to help him please?

Click to expand...

Gut stasis is often a secondary symptom of an underlying problem. This especially being the case if there are repeated bouts of stasis. So whilst it is obviously important to treat the gut stasis it is equally important that the Vet tries to identify a primary cause. Otherwise treatment is just 'fire fighting' rather than addressing the actual cause.

Apart from the blood glucose test did the Vet take an abdominal Xray. A BG of 24 is very suggestive of an obstruction, at least a partial one. An Xray would be needed to rule this out. I am thinking in particular about a condition called 'Cecal Impaction'. This can be very insidious in onset

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Caecal_Impaction.htm


If there is some sort of partial obstruction within the GI tract (either impacted ingesta or some sort of 'mass') this may account for the symptoms your Rabbit is presenting with. Initially ingesta may still be able to pass through the GI tract and past the partial obstruction, albeit it very slowly, the Rabbit will be inappetent thus exacerbating GI tract hypomotility. Syringe feeds will start to cause problems when they are not moving through and eventually the partial obstruction can become a complete obstruction.

Fluid therapy, either subcutaneous or IV as well as oral is usually essential. When the GI motility is very slow ingesta becomes dehydrated very quickly. Thus adding to the problems as dried ingesta can become impacted.

Personally I would take your Rabbit back to the Vet for re-assessment. You say the Vet is very Rabbit Savvy, which is great. Hopefully he/she will be on the case and able to get to the actual cause of your Rabbits gut problems.

The Vet may think that Cisipride is a more appropriate prokinetic than Zantac and Emeprid, but diagnostics are what I would be requesting at this stage I think

Good luck and please keep us updated if you can xx

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

He happily eats parsley and a bit of greens. He takes the syringe feeding and meds really well. He went to his water bowl last night for a long drink.

He is back at the vets this afternoon (cat and rabbit care clinic is northampton if anyone knows it). My gut feeling is there is an underlying issue like dental as he just seem so miserable.

It was back in Dec when his blood glucose was 24. He had an xray which showed no obstruction (and a nice little line of round poos waiting to come out).

He has not been xrayed this time but i will definitely ask for it later.

I just hope the stress of it all doesn't also start to affect his bonded mate was also had stasis last year. I don't think i can cope with two ill bunnies....i feel like i am getting stasis myself with all the worry!

billyrosie said:

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

He happily eats parsley and a bit of greens. He takes the syringe feeding and meds really well. He went to his water bowl last night for a long drink.

He is back at the vets this afternoon (cat and rabbit care clinic is northampton if anyone knows it). My gut feeling is there is an underlying issue like dental as he just seem so miserable.

It was back in Dec when his blood glucose was 24. He had an xray which showed no obstruction (and a nice little line of round poos waiting to come out).

He has not been xrayed this time but i will definitely ask for it later.

I just hope the stress of it all doesn't also start to affect his bonded mate was also had stasis last year. I don't think i can cope with two ill bunnies....i feel like i am getting stasis myself with all the worry!

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I empathise !! It is stressful enough caring for one ill Rabbit.

AFAIK a few people appear to think that the CAR Clinic provides a 'Bunny Savvy' service, so I am sure that they will do all they can to try to establish exactly what is going on. With regards to the possibility of Dental problems, some Rabbits can be extremely sensitive to even the slightest sharp bit of tooth and as a result they will stop eating. Others may carry on munching despite having huge sharp molar spurs digging into their cheeks/tongue !!

It would appear that very little about Rabbits is straight forward...............:? !!

One other thing, which may sound a bit off the wall but bear with me, ask the Vet to have a good check in your Rabbits ears. I have known Rabbits with chronic otitis present with 'hardly eating', depressed mood, lethargy and as a result secondary GI tract hypomotility. There were no other signs at all to point to the primary problem being ear pain. Your Rabbit's ears may be fine, but it'd be worth asking the Vet to check them just incase.

Thanks jacks jane. I have wondered if his ears might be an issue. He was shaking his head a bit a couple of days ago. But i haven't seen him do it since. I had a quick visual check and they look ok. He is a mini lop. I will mention it to the vets.