GI stasis, infacol?

Hi guys.

This is a bit long winded to get to the point but bear with me!

My bunny Fred has just been to the vets again for GI stasis, and this is after we have reduced their food down (both pellets and veg) to encourage them both to eat more hay. We are watching him to see if he improves, and if not he has to go back to the vet tonight.

I posted earlier this January, when Fred had his first bout of GIS, concerned that we were to blame by giving him the wrong foods and/or the wrong amount. DeeDee had had frequent bouts of GIS when she was with her first husbun Ben, but since Ben died last June, she hasn't had it at all. Fred only came to us last July, and did not have his first bout until this January. I'm not sure that it is food related now, as we have adjusted our feeding to fit with the advice that you all kindly gave. With DeeDee I think it was caused by stress as we separated her from Ben when they were eating as he used to steal her food. Now she eats with Fred she seems (touch wood) to be OK. However, with Fred I am wondering if it could be due to a) fur balls or b) eating cardboard.

He is a lionhead cross, so quite fluffy and at the moment he is moulting terribly but he will not let us groom him. He stamps and runs away to hide under furniture and is obviously stressed. We just try and pull out the odd tuft when he is distracted.

We have built a tunnel which goes behind the couch which is stuffed with cardboard and they go in there to dig and scratch and they eat the cardboard too although not all the time.

Also I have heard people refer to Infacol as helping with GIS. If so where can I get it and how is it given (how much, how often etc)?

Thanks guys.

I give infracol as Doughnut gets gas. You can give 1ml every hour if your bunny is suffering from gas for a few hours. I would first alter his diet to see if that makes a difference. I would cut out the veg and just give a few pellets, they will then eat more hay which should help prevent gas as it keeps the gut moving.

Rabbits crave cardboard when their gut is slowing down, could you try and give him a little brush while he is distracted eating his pellets.

You can get infracol from boots or online. It's good to have in the cupboard but would try and sort out the reason behind it.

Good luck

cazba99 said:

Hi guys.

This is a bit long winded to get to the point but bear with me!

My bunny Fred has just been to the vets again for GI stasis, and this is after we have reduced their food down (both pellets and veg) to encourage them both to eat more hay. We are watching him to see if he improves, and if not he has to go back to the vet tonight.

I posted earlier this January, when Fred had his first bout of GIS, concerned that we were to blame by giving him the wrong foods and/or the wrong amount. DeeDee had had frequent bouts of GIS when she was with her first husbun Ben, but since Ben died last June, she hasn't had it at all. Fred only came to us last July, and did not have his first bout until this January. I'm not sure that it is food related now, as we have adjusted our feeding to fit with the advice that you all kindly gave. With DeeDee I think it was caused by stress as we separated her from Ben when they were eating as he used to steal her food. Now she eats with Fred she seems (touch wood) to be OK. However, with Fred I am wondering if it could be due to a) fur balls or b) eating cardboard.

He is a lionhead cross, so quite fluffy and at the moment he is moulting terribly but he will not let us groom him. He stamps and runs away to hide under furniture and is obviously stressed. We just try and pull out the odd tuft when he is distracted.

We have built a tunnel which goes behind the couch which is stuffed with cardboard and they go in there to dig and scratch and they eat the cardboard too although not all the time.

Also I have heard people refer to Infacol as helping with GIS. If so where can I get it and how is it given (how much, how often etc)?

Thanks guys.

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Infacol, in conjunction with tummy rubs, is extremely helpful for bunnies in stasis:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

You can give 1ml every hour for the first three doses. Then I would do 3/4 times daily.

There are some other helpful hints in that article, and it's helped me save so many bunnies in stasis over the years.

Good luck xx

Infacol has been a life saver with my bunny Storm as he has had about 5/6 bouts of stasis in the past 4 months. As soon as I notice him belly pressing I give him 1 ml and after the 3rd dose (two hours after the first dose) he has stopped belly pressing and is fine again. If he doesn't stop belly pressing after the 3rd dose and/or he won't eat or poo then obviously I take him to the vets, but giving him infacol has prevented at least 3 vet visits which would have been £25 each (aka one £5 bottle has saved me about £100 including taxis to get to the vets and back each time!)

I forgot to say, I buy it at any pharmacy, and also branches of Boots, as it's a baby colic medicine

To be honest I think that Gripe Water is much better than Infacol, my bunnies love it and take it from the syringe with glee

We've had a similar experience to WillowandBiscuit, the first time Peter had stasis we took him to the vet and she said he had a gassy tummy and was a bit dehydrated. So the next time we spotted him looking uncomfortable and off his food we gave him Infacol and water for a few hours. 2 doses and he was up and about again I do wonder if his is caused by fur as he is also a lionhead and we've had some strung together poops.

Possibly too much information but if they have gas, you can hear the medicine working!!!

I haven't used gripe water but I've heard good things about that too.

Hi all. thanks for the comments. it's been a hectic day or so, with Fred going to the vets and a close friend being admitted to hospital with a gangrenous gall stone! So I haven't had chance to thank people and to update. Fred has had his injections at the vet, and today he seems a bit better. He has eaten some hay and some parsley and a little piece of leafy kale, (not the stalk bit). So he looks like he will recover OK. Although we cut down their rations when Fred was last ill, we think that we are going to cut the pellets even further. I was delighted to see him looking in through the kitchen door at me this morning, as he always does, except from yesterday when he was feeling sorry for himself. So I assumed that he was totally back to normal. But he really did not want any pellets. He pushed the bowl away with his nose, and when I tried again, he 'dug' at it with his paws and pushed it back through his legs. So it was a very definite "NO!" I gave him a handful of the B&M timothy hay with marigolds, and he started munching on it. So will just have to keep a close eye on him.

I am going to get some infacol to keep handy. Just in case.........

I think FHB said infacol worked in people by making small gas bubbles form into one larger bubble to allow burping and that it was of no use in rabbits as they can't bring wind up.

RedFraggle said:

I think FHB said infacol worked in people by making small gas bubbles form into one larger bubble to allow burping and that it was of no use in rabbits as they can't bring wind up.

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It's the other way around

She agreed that if it works, use it!

Of course it is, long drive home from Scotland today!!!! Thanks

RedFraggle said:

Of course it is, long drive home from Scotland today!!!! Thanks

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:thumb: Hope you're OK?

RedFraggle said:

I think FHB said infacol worked in people by making small gas bubbles form into one larger bubble to allow burping and that it was of no use in rabbits as they can't bring wind up.

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Yes, that is correct. Simethicone alters the surface tension of the gas bubbles causing them to combine into a larger bubble and reducing foaming.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/simethicone

Humans can burp the larger bubbles up and out. As Rabbits cannot burp there is some doubt as to whether Simethicone is of any help in Rabbits. Some studies have shown that it may not be of much help for human babies either.But if some people find that anecdotally it makes a difference, for either a human baby or a Rabbit then giving an appropriate does of it should not do any harm.

Blimey, I got it right!!

RedFraggle said:

Blimey, I got it right!!

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:lol:

I somehow think that my opinion may be considered to be irrelevant by some

Each to their own, I make no claims to be an expert about anything. Just a regular numpty me

My specialist has always recommended it and I find it helps with Doughnut, but what may work for one rabbit doesn't always work for another. She also loves the taste but I think gripe water is supposed to be just as good

I asked my vet about using Infacol as Thumper gets stasis so regularly it is now beyond a joke (obviously that's just a phrase; it never was funny).

She was aghast and said she'd never heard of it and would never recommend it.

So I don't use it and won't use it and wouldn't recommend it either.

I strongly advise you to seek your vet advice before giving anything meant for humans, to a rabbit.

Each vet's opinion varies of course; I'm only going by mine. Yours may say okay, which is fine also . But as mine has categorically said no, if I then did give it and it made Thumper worse, I'd never forgive myself.

Angie B said:

I asked my vet about using Infacol as Thumper gets stasis so regularly it is now beyond a joke (obviously that's just a phrase; it never was funny).

She was aghast and said she'd never heard of it and would never recommend it.

So I don't use it and won't use it and wouldn't recommend it either.

I strongly advise you to seek your vet advice before giving anything meant for humans, to a rabbit.

Each vet's opinion varies of course; I'm only going by mine. Yours may say okay, which is fine also . But as mine has categorically said no, if I then did give it and it made Thumper worse, I'd never forgive myself.

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It's strange how different vets are such different opinions sometimes, almost as if the were all studying different species of rabbits haha. My vet knows that I give mine infacol if need be they never said either yes I should or not I shouldn't, they just said it would be OK to use but to be aware that there may not be any results from it.

RedFraggle said:

I think FHB said infacol worked in people by making small gas bubbles form into one larger bubble to allow burping and that it was of no use in rabbits as they can't bring wind up.

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Sorry MightyMax, it is this way round. It makes a lot of small gas bubbles into one big gas bubble, it is used in 'frothy bloat' to make one big 'burp'. As RedFraggle says, rabbits don't burp, but whether it will let the gas make its way out the other end is beyond my ken.