GI Stasis *Advice needed*

[Cappuccino]

Hi, Our four year old New Zealand White doe has possible GI Stasis. She stopped eating her pellets on Friday evening but continued eating hay and veggies, by Saturday morning she had terrible diarrhea, then nothing. She wouldn't eat, drink or pass any poo.

Took her to the vets Sunday morning and they said she was dehydrated and had possible GI Stasis. Felt and listened to her belly and didn't think she had a blockage, just no gut movement.

She had sub cutaneous fluids, a gut stimulant injection and an anti-inflammatory injection.
I have been syringe feeding her critical care, fibreplex and a gut stimulant and she has started to nibble on some greens and hay (but not much) she still won't eat any pellets.

I have no experience of GI Stasis and wondered if her recovery is normal? Whether recovery is slow but will continue to improve? If I need to continue syringe feeding critical care now she's nibbling at food? Or whether I need to get her back to the vets?

She was also dragging her belly on the floor, sliding herself along and not moving much before I took her to the vet. She is now walking around very slowly but not hopping.

Thank you

 

[InspectorMorse]

She needs to be on medication continuously, not just one off doses. So if the Vet did not supply you with medication to continue to give at home then it is essential that you contact the Vet ASAP today. The gut stimulants need to be given every 12 hours, analgesia too although some Vets will only prescribe analgesia every 24 hours. Ongoing subcutaneous fluid therapy is usually very beneficial too, especially as you say that your Rabbit has diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is not a normal presentation of gut stasis and in Rabbits it can become very serious if ongoing fluid therapy is not instigated.

You have not mentioned what her poo output is like now ?

It is a good sign that she is showing some interest in food, recovery from gut stasis can take several days. During recovery ongoing medication is almost always needed so as previously mentioned if this is not happening you need to contact the Vet again ASAP today.

Best wishes to your Bunny

 

[Cappuccino]

They gave me enough medication for three days (so until tonight) she's had both twice daily since Sunday. How long would she need medication for? Until she's eating normally?

Her poo is now formed, there's just not much of it.

 

[Zoobec]

I agree with what IM said, I would expect pain relief to have been given alongside the gut meds. Is she spayed? Did they check her teeth? Sending lots of vibes for her xx

 

[InspectorMorse]

They gave me enough medication for three days (so until tonight) she's had both twice daily since Sunday. How long would she need medication for? Until she's eating normally?

Her poo is now formed, there's just not much of it.

Medication needs to continue until input and output are back to normal. So I would call your Vet again today.

 

[tonibun]

Hello. Sorry to hear your Bunny is not well. I would contact the Vet and ask for more medicine, possibly another 3 days worth then hopefully she will be feeling well enough to at normally. Do you have any idea what caused this problem? I hope she gets better soon.

 

[Cappuccino]

Just checked on her and she's picked at her food and has produced more poos, they are very small and still not many.

The vet gave her pain relief but didn't give me any to bring home. We have metacam that was prescribed for another of our rabbits but have no idea of dosages for her, she's just under 5kg?

I stupidly gave her more veggies than I normally would and believe that this has possibly caused the diarrhea and then the GI stasis.

She was neutered a couple of years ago and is fully vaccinated.
I'll call the vets again today and see if I can get her more medicine and pain relief. So worrying, she's normally such a greedy and active bun.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

 

[a reader of books]

I hope the vet will prescribe you some pain medication you can use for her at home. Pain relief is so important when they have trouble with their guts. I wouldn't give her metacam from your other bunny until the vet has given you the right dosage (also, check if the metacam is still good, as it's only usable for 6 months after the bottle has been opened). If she's only nibbling some hay and greens I'd keep up the syringe feeding. It's important that she gets enough food in her belly to get it going, and it's important, too, that she gets enough calories or she won't have any energy and she'll lose weight. I would keep the syringe feeding going until she's eating enough by herself to do regular poos and she eats a more normal amount.

You're also saying she's walking around very slowly. It could be belly pain that's keeping her from moving. Bunnies with belly pain usually press their bellies against the floor and won't move much.

 

[Cappuccino]

Thank you, I've given her some more recovery food this afternoon, she seems abit brighter and managed a few hops.

Rang the vets again earlier and they said they can't prescribe anything else unless they see her for a check up first, so off we go at 5.

Felt slightly concerned as they mentioned that she shouldn't need any more pain relief (doesn't sound right) and said possible next steps for her would be an X-ray. Would an X-ray diagnose GI stasis? Or are they thinking she might have a blockage?

They said that they're concerned with how little she's pooing (possibly hinting at a blockage?) but with how little she's eating, surely she won't poo much?

 

[tonibun]

It the extra veg has caused the upset I would think giving her another day to recover would be ok but I'm not a Vet. If no improvement by tomorrow then you will have to go back to the Vets. I would also think 1 mil of Metacam would be helpful. New Zealands are lovely Bunnies and I hope she will start to feel better very soon.

 

[a reader of books]

I'm glad she seems a bit brighter and has hopped around a little bit. I hope when you're at the vets for a check up they'll give you some pain relief for her for when she's home. It's odd that they think she shouldn't need any. I don't think an x-ray can diagnose GI stasis, but maybe they're thinking of a blockage, yes. When a bunny hasn't eaten in a while it can take quite a while for the poops to start up again, but since she's getting gut stimulants and syringe feed you should see some more poops at some point, though that might not be now. It's true that if she isn't eating much, she won't poo much, but she should be getting enough syringe feed that she'll be pretty full. Are you syringe feeding her as much as the directions on the packet say? Obviously if she has a blockage syringe feeding her a lot wouldn't be good, so it's probably a good idea to get it checked just in case they missed something on Sunday.

 

[bunny momma]

Others gave good advice. If her poo is formed, yet small, she may not have a blockage, yet pain from gas/slow motility may keep your bunny from wanting to eat more. Also ask about fluids. Some bunnies need to get fluids sub-q (under the skin) at home to keep gut contents hydrated. Vet can show you how.

 

[a reader of books]

Others gave good advice. If her poo is formed, yet small, she may not have a blockage, yet pain from gas/slow motility may keep your bunny from wanting to eat more. Also ask about fluids. Some bunnies need to get fluids sub-q (under the skin) at home to keep gut contents hydrated. Vet can show you how.

I like that you're always here to remind everyone how important fluids are. It's such an easy thing to forget in the midst of all the meds and syringe feed and everything.

 

[Graciee]

I like that you're always here to remind everyone how important fluids are. It's such an easy thing to forget in the midst of all the meds and syringe feed and everything.

Ikr bunny momma always comes by and reminds me about fluids! And they make such a difference, yet everytime they're an afterthought for me [emoji38] I really should learn [emoji38] everytime I think fluids, I think of bunny momma [emoji38]

 

[bunny momma]

Jane mentioned fluids first. I just added vet can show how to administer at home. Though you are right that I give fluids and pain meds for practically everything.

 

[a reader of books]

Jane mentioned fluids first. I just added vet can show how to administer at home. Though you are right that I give fluids and pain meds for practically everything.

Oh, you're right. I just noticed your mentioning fluids in your post just now because you're always mentioning fluids in your posts.

 

[bunny momma]

Oh, you're right. I just noticed your mentioning fluids in your post just now because you're always mentioning fluids in your posts.

Jane added so much other good advice too. Yeah, I am a big believer in fluids, even when bunny seems hydrated on the surface. Fluids soften gut contents, and flush by-products from meds and bacterial growth out of their pee.

 

[Craig 1965]

Just catching up with this and sending vibes for your bunny.
IM has as always, given both valuable and experienced advice - she is rarely wrong.
Personally I am going through a very similar experience with my bun Leo and he was presenting with the beginnings of stasis and has a bad gi tract infection. He’s on strong antibiotics and fluids and will be in at least one Fay and might in hospital on IV drips. When he is discharged we will expect the anti biotics to continue (via us) for at least a week in order to sweep away any remains of infection/bacteria otherwise any missed bugs will start the process off again so a prolonged course of anti biotics and supportive pain meds are basic essentials when dealing with episodes of stasis.
I hope that your bunny continues to eat and regain a healthy appetite but I would also consider speaking with your vet to discuss supportive meds for at least the next 5-7 days to ensure your bunny recovers and is supported with that recovery via meds.

 

[a reader of books]

Jane added so much other good advice too. Yeah, I am a big believer in fluids, even when bunny seems hydrated on the surface. Fluids soften gut contents, and flush by-products from meds and bacterial growth out of their pee.

She did! She always does. That's really interesting; I never thought about how fluids flush out bad stuff, too, in addition to softening gut contents and being good for general health.

 

[Cappuccino]

Took Luna back to the vet yesterday, they felt her belly and said that they don't think there's any discomfort or a blockage so again refused to give her any more pain relief. They had a look at her teeth and said they were good, so we were given more of the gut stimulant and told to see how she goes.

She had some larger poos last night and seemed fairly bright, she even started to eat a few pellets but today she's not herself again. She's refusing to eat anything by herself and hasn't pooed much, she had a very odd jelly like poo earlier?

Our vet isn't an exotics vets so I'm thinking that I might be better off finding a more rabbit experienced vet to take a look (although our normal vets have been quite good in the past)
Can anyone recommend a good vet in the Lincolnshire/ Nottinghamshire area?

Right now she's laid stretched out and not moving much, what would her posture be like if she was in pain?