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GI Stasis & Supa Rabbit Excel

michelle&holly

michelle&holly

Young Bun
Hi All,

Well the past 2 days have been rather worrying for me. I got Holly out of her hutch Sunday morning to find her very dull & not eating. I hadn't actually seen her eat since the previous day.

I put her in the kitchen & she sat in one corner huddled in a ball - but kept shifting her weight as if she was uncomfortable.

I tried to tempt her with a treat but she would eat or drink so i decided to get her to the emergency vets.

The vet checked everything over, teeth, temperature, tummy etc & gave her some antibiotic, painkiller & Rimydyl (baytril was one of the others not sure which).

Took her to the normal vets tpday as advised & she has had painkillers & Gut stimulant again & is eating now.

I was so worried :cry: . The vet advised me to get Burgess Supa Rabbit Excel.

Does anyone use this & is it good? Also does anyone know what might have caused Holly to stop eating? And will it be something she suffers froms in the future?

Thanks
Michelle&Holly
 
She currently has Chudleys Rabbit Royale - about a cup a day. Plus unlimited Hay & veggies every day.

But the vet told me to get supa rabbit excel - so i bought some today to try her on that instead. Although don't know if its different.
 
Vets always tend to recommend that food. Some people use it on here, but most seem to prefer Science Selective or A&P.
 
How old is she?

I don't think any bun should have unlimited veggies btw :-/ [unless I've read that incorrectly - damn internets!]
 
Excel is better than Rabbit Royale, however Science Selective, Bunny Basics and A&P are higher in fibre than Excel. If you can buy SS, Bunny basics or A&P pellets locally you would be best to wean you are bun over to this over the next couple of weeks.

Sometimes bloat occurs due to the introduction of a new food, an excess of one type of food being fed, some rabbits have an intolerance to certain foods like cauliflower, broccoli. Foods high in sugars / carbs can ferment in the stomach particuarly in warm weather when fresh foods can go off quicker. Cut fresh grass also will ferment if not eaten quickly. Sometimes bloat is brought on as a result of a number of small factors, rather than a one off large event, often these events are not know. There are many other factors ....

It is never known if a rabbit is more susceptible to developing bloat if it has had one event. However it is wise for any bun who has had an episode of bloat to be fed a failry static diet which is high in fibre, with huge amounts of hay.
 
I use excel (Smokey loves it, Inky, not so much). It is pellets but I'm changing to Science selective because it has higher fibre and Smokey has a sticky bottom with excel. Having said that, it's worth a try, just change it gradually though.
 
My girls all ate the Royale food in rescue. It's cheap and they love it, but tend to pick out the bits that are less healthy and leave the other bits. I put my girls onto science selective when I got them and they loved it - but I only started with a small amount, gradually increasing it as their stomachs got used to it. I didn't have any of the food from the rescue given me, so that was all I could do - but in any case science selective contains probiotic for their stomach, and lots of fibre, and I only feed a small handful morning and evening - they shouldn't have more than that as they mainly should eat hay.
I get science selective online as pet shops don't tend to have it, and I've heard excel can cause too many sticky poops.
 
Bertie has Excel at the mo, no probs with stickyness at all, but he only has a handful a day. I mix in a bit of Fab mix food too for texture.
I didn't know about SS until I joined the forum, so I'm gonna go with the experience of these good folks and switch when this bag starts to run out.
 
JayUK said:
Bertie has Excel at the mo, no probs with stickyness at all, but he only has a handful a day. I mix in a bit of Fab mix food too for texture.
I didn't know about SS until I joined the forum, so I'm gonna go with the experience of these good folks and switch when this bag starts to run out.
Click to expand...

Sometimes it is an idea to start changing when you have plenty of the old food left, some rabbits are a little more tricky to swap over than others and can take ages, particuarly if they have also been used to a mix. That way you dont end up haivng to buy another bag, you can then change over very slowly which with some buns is the only way.

To make life easier for you I would get them down onto one type of food before you start weaning them over as this can make it more tricky to do.
 
jrn1310 said:
Sometimes it is an idea to start changing when you have plenty of the old food left, some rabbits are a little more tricky to swap over than others and can take ages, particuarly if they have also been used to a mix. That way you dont end up haivng to buy another bag, you can then change over very slowly which with some buns is the only way.

To make life easier for you I would get them down onto one type of food before you start weaning them over as this can make it more tricky to do.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help, will do :D
 
Jocelyn said:
How old is she?

I don't think any bun should have unlimited veggies btw :-/ [unless I've read that incorrectly - damn internets!]
Click to expand...

Sorry i meant unlimited Hay & i give her some veggies every morning (not unlimited veggies)

She is 1year 9 months old.

I think i may try her on the excel for a bit - get her used to eating pellets & then have a think about Science Selective.

Whats A&P?

Holly is looking much better today - she has eaten her rocket & her dried food. Have just managed to put her out in run (a break in the rain at last!).

I recently gave her some carrot tops which she has never had before - do you think that could have caused the bloat?

Do you guys think this is just a one off rather than a recurring problem? Is it usual for a bun this young to get it - or is it not age specific?

Sorry about all the questions - just want to understand & know i did or gave her anything wrong.

Luv
Michelle&Holly xxx
 
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