Re-occuring Gut Stasis? Common?

Ho hum, Egg has gut stasis again - can spot it by the awkward way she is flopped on her belly...
She first got stasis last year - she went to the vets and stayed overnight, i've since sucessfully treated her for stasis with pineapple juice. After the first time, she had it she went down about 4/5 times about every 3/4 weeks. We changed their pellet food to veg (with hay all the time), and this seemed to improve things - she would go down perhaps once every 2 months, or less.
Then we had quite a queit period, but in the last month, she's been down almost every week. I thought it was because she had been eating the foam out of the sofa while free ranging :roll: , so barricaded that off, but she's just gone down again.

Only thing to change recently is Tesco's were out of spring greens, so I got sprout tops (but they've had sprouts before)... Tuesday is fine :?

Egg's poo has always been small... is it likely that there is something else causing regular stasis?
I could put them on hay only, but Egg has always been on the thin side, and she's just put a little weight on, so I don't want to cut the veg out if I can help it (oh - the introduction of Tuesday has brought Allen and Page pellets)

How do you know it is stasis?

Has she poo'd at all today?
Can you hear any gut sounds?
Does her tummy feel 'hard' or 'doughy'

GI Stasis is usually a SECONDARY problem so I'd advise you get your Vet to give her a thorough check up.

Sprouts can give Bunnies wind so if you have some Infacol I would give her 2ml of that now.
If she has not eaten or poo'd for several hours you need to contact a Vet TONIGHT.

Janex

Dusty has had it twice. Touch wood, she has been fine since I cut her pellets down loads and she has started eating more hay. I also give them pineapple and papaya tablets twice a week.

Ted has had stasis a few times now, been rushed to the vets twice, and a few other times I was able to deal with it myself and get him eating again. It is heartbreaking to see him like that

He has his teeth checked at every visit to the vet, he does have very slight spurs on his back teeth, but his diet has managed to keep it under control so far...

Symptoms are:
- Awkward on her belly
- No attempt to eat any grass or any tasty food that you'd normally have your hand bitten off for
- doughy belly (very back of her belly near her bum)
- sticks her bum out in if she is going to wee, but nothing comes out (or very little)
- wees in unusal places, - and normally flops in it or sits in it afterwards

What normally happens is we force feed her pineapple juice every 30mins/hour and in a couple of hours or so, it's like a switch suddenly throws, and she's running around eating stuff again :?
Although it can take more than a couple of hours - first time in the most recent series I was up all night (slept on the lounge floor), and was threatening to take her to the vets at 8.30 - just went to get her box, came back and she was eating :roll: :shock:

It could be gas - i can't hear rumbling (usually you can - maybe i'm just not listening at the right time), but would she be able to pee?

anna said:

Ted has had stasis a few times now, been rushed to the vets twice, and a few other times I was able to deal with it myself and get him eating again. It is heartbreaking to see him like that

He has his teeth checked at every visit to the vet, he does have very slight spurs on his back teeth, but his diet has managed to keep it under control so far...

Click to expand...

Her teeth are ok too - vet checked when she had her jabs (in fact, she had stasis in between the myxi and vhd jab, so the vet had a good feel and look - and didn't detect anything underlying - although I did think it was the sofa eating causing it then)...

I think sometimes she forgets to drink water tho... maybe she's getting senile in her old age?

Awww, I hope she is ok xxx

woodstock said:

Symptoms are:
- Awkward on her belly
- No attempt to eat any grass or any tasty food that you'd normally have your hand bitten off for
- doughy belly (very back of her belly near her bum)
- sticks her bum out in if she is going to wee, but nothing comes out (or very little)
- wees in unusal places, - and normally flops in it or sits in it afterwards

What normally happens is we force feed her pineapple juice every 30mins/hour and in a couple of hours or so, it's like a switch suddenly throws, and she's running around eating stuff again :?
Although it can take more than a couple of hours - first time in the most recent series I was up all night (slept on the lounge floor), and was threatening to take her to the vets at 8.30 - just went to get her box, came back and she was eating :roll: :shock:

It could be gas - i can't hear rumbling (usually you can - maybe i'm just not listening at the right time), but would she be able to pee?

Click to expand...

These are all the symptoms claude has when he is having a gassy attack,he has been to the emergency vets twice because of it
the 3rd time i gave him infacol and it worked

bluebunny said:

woodstock said:

Symptoms are:
- Awkward on her belly
- No attempt to eat any grass or any tasty food that you'd normally have your hand bitten off for
- doughy belly (very back of her belly near her bum)
- sticks her bum out in if she is going to wee, but nothing comes out (or very little)
- wees in unusal places, - and normally flops in it or sits in it afterwards

What normally happens is we force feed her pineapple juice every 30mins/hour and in a couple of hours or so, it's like a switch suddenly throws, and she's running around eating stuff again :?
Although it can take more than a couple of hours - first time in the most recent series I was up all night (slept on the lounge floor), and was threatening to take her to the vets at 8.30 - just went to get her box, came back and she was eating :roll: :shock:

It could be gas - i can't hear rumbling (usually you can - maybe i'm just not listening at the right time), but would she be able to pee?

Click to expand...

These are all the symptoms claude has when he is having a gassy attack,he has been to the emergency vets twice because of it
the 3rd time i gave him infacol and it worked

Click to expand...

Is infacol something you can buy at the chemist? or is it vet only?
I'll have to try and get some on standby!

woodstock said:

bluebunny said:

woodstock said:

Symptoms are:
- Awkward on her belly
- No attempt to eat any grass or any tasty food that you'd normally have your hand bitten off for
- doughy belly (very back of her belly near her bum)
- sticks her bum out in if she is going to wee, but nothing comes out (or very little)
- wees in unusal places, - and normally flops in it or sits in it afterwards

What normally happens is we force feed her pineapple juice every 30mins/hour and in a couple of hours or so, it's like a switch suddenly throws, and she's running around eating stuff again :?
Although it can take more than a couple of hours - first time in the most recent series I was up all night (slept on the lounge floor), and was threatening to take her to the vets at 8.30 - just went to get her box, came back and she was eating :roll: :shock:

It could be gas - i can't hear rumbling (usually you can - maybe i'm just not listening at the right time), but would she be able to pee?

Click to expand...

These are all the symptoms claude has when he is having a gassy attack,he has been to the emergency vets twice because of it
the 3rd time i gave him infacol and it worked

Click to expand...

Is infacol something you can buy at the chemist? or is it vet only?
I'll have to try and get some on standby!

Click to expand...

Its from chemists/supermarkets,you give it to babys to help with colic/wind!

bluebunny said:

Its from chemists/supermarkets,you give it to babys to help with colic/wind!

Click to expand...

:thumb: i'll have to get it next time i'm shopping

update - she's just started eating again (phew!)

Hi there. Your whole story is EXACTLY the same as my bunny Nell who has developed bloat/colic four times since September.

I definitely use Infacol and belly rubs now and I have had quite good results if I have caught it 'early'. Mines seem to enjoy boiled cooled water syringed in. Anyway, glad your bun is feeling better now though. I would probably think about asking the vet to check teeth again. Trouble is, its nigh on impossible to check the molars using the scope, needs a general anaesthetic. Nell did have spurs though and has had a dental. Its hard to know what has caused the other bad spells though.

I am hoping that things improve now that I have cut down their vegetables quite drastically and altered their feeding regime to avoid them gobbling greedily. I have especially cut down on spring greens and they only get a teeny tiny amount of these. I am trying to encourage more hay and grass eating

Meant to say Nell came down with a very sore belly after eating those brussels tops.

My vet and I are giving Nell another month to see if we get any more bouts, if so she is going to have xray/bloods/full MOT etc to see what is going on.

I posted about this a couple of weeks back. Here is the link.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=33424

From this, I would say the main things to consider are teeth probs, excessive gas/wind or possibly urinary problems (e.g.stones which are painful)

Hope your bunny gets over this soon.

Fiona x

As Fionabun has said, I would definitely look into getting the teeth checked more thoroughly. As Jane said / bloat stasis is often a secondary symptom of something else.

In the first year that I had Evo, it got to the stage where he was suffering very frequent stasis / bloat attacks. My vet couldn't get to the bottom of it, so I insisted that his teeth were checked under GA, which lead to the discovery of molar spurs. The spurs were obviously making his mouth sore and making him not want to eat, which lead to the stasis / bloat. He now needs a dental every six months to a year, I can tell when it needs doing when he starts to refuse food.

I think his tummy is very sensitive now, since all the initial attacks.....he gets an attack of bloat / stasis about once a mouth now. I can tell in an instant now if he's "turning" and give him Infacol straight away, along with tummy rubs and encouragement to run around. It's not happened yet, but if he wassn't better within a couple of hours, I'd take him straight to the vets. If the attacks get frequent, I know it's time for his teeth to be done.

I also give him a pineapple / papaya tablet every day, and a blob of Kittymalt every other day to make sure everything in his tummy keeps moving smoothly.

Also, has she a history of sludgey wee? Sometimes bladder sludge/stones can cause syptoms mimicking a GI tract problem. Once the sludge/stones are passed or move about to a more comfortable part of the urinary tract the symptoms appear to resolve.
And of course pain from a bladder problem will effect gut motility.

Glad she is eating again

Janex

Thanks all...
Well, I really don't want her to be put under GA unless it can be avoided... I've heard Snowy talk about a lady/vet in Cov that can do dentals without GA - perhaps I should try and get her to have a look...
Diet wise - I would prefer egg to put weight on... I think she's a dutch crossed with a nethie - she only weighs 1.6kg - tuesday is a monster in comparison (2.8kg - but he's a stocky lad). Egg's sister always used to be about 0.2kg or more heavier than Egg.

But you can tell pretty soon if she turns - it's like a sixth sense - and she's a pretty active rabbit which helps.
Sounds like yesterday was probably gas...

Jack's-Jane said:

Also, has she a history of sludgey wee?

Click to expand...

sludgey wee? I'd ask for more info, but I don't think I'd like the answer! :lol:

I suppose she normally has a whity/yellow wee - sort of fairly thick... does this sound normal? I'd take a photo, but it's really not a very pleasant thing to do! :shock: :lol:

Sludgey wee is as you describe, thick and creamy. It indicates high excretion of calcium and is directly related to the amount of calcium in the diet
Over time the sludge can build up in the bladder causing irritation and infection (Cystitis) This condition can then go on to cause the formation of bladder stones/Kidney stones.

A bit more info here
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/Mech_diseases/Urolithiasis.pdf

Janex

If I can please tag on to this thread, I am a bit concerned about the calcium content of my bunnies' wee too (and both have had stasis before, one of them twice - although, touch wood, not for a few months now). I have to 'descale' my bunnies' litter trays every week - is that normal to have to do that?

ohhh... cranberries eh? Egg ate a whole tray of blueberries (opps) in the summer...

Erm - stupid question - do bunnies have to be GA'd to have an xray taken? (i'm guessing yes becuase I doubt I could get her to sit still for long enough)...

My vet usually does xrays with out GA, although I suppose xrays of certain parts of the body might require GA to get a good shot.

If Egg has constant thick sludgy wee, it's best to have a vet check him. Sometimes that's a sign of a urinary tract infection, not just sludge/stones. Along with cranberries, increased fluids can help a lot. Try flavoring her water with a little vanilla or unsweetened juice. And make sure she has a water bowl, not a bottle, as rabbits usually drink more from bowls.

I'm glad she's eating again! I've already learned my lesson (and had an expensive xray done for no need), so now I keep baby gas meds in my house at all times.