UPDATE - Found most likely cause of stasis - First time to emergency vets

[Beapig]

We had to take Jellybean to the emergency vets last night

I went to put the bunnies to bed and freaked out because I couldn't find her anywhere. It turned out that she was hiding in the tube between the shed and their run. I give them a fibafirst stick each before bed, and usually she comes running, so it was very unlike her. She wasn't bloated and passed a normal looking poop when I brought her inside to look at her, but her back legs were shaking as she lay down and she just seemed so unwell. Jellybean has never been ill before, so I didn't want to take any chances.

The vet said she was at the beginning of stasis, but that her skin was still hydrated. She gave her gut meds and we have been given painkillers to administer every 12 hours. I gave her critical care as per vet's instruction when we got back (around midnight). She took it quite well. Woke up several times in the night and could hear her eating hay. This morning she has around 12 normal looking poops in her litter tray.

We have just given her more critical care, but she has less of an appetite this morning. She has nibbled a little on some broccoli too and I've offered her up an array of other greens so she can pick what she fancies as and when.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should be doing/looking out for, for the rest of the day? Right now Hamilton is still in the shed, because he is a bit randy at the moment (spring fever even though he's neutered?) and I don't want him bothering her when she is ill and weak. He always gets very humpy inside regardless of time of year too, because it's a new space so he wants to be dominant.

I really love having rabbits and wouldn't change it for anything, but the expensive vet bill and the stress of it all does make me wonder sometimes why I put myself through it

 

[Pets mum]

Really sorry to that Jellybean had go go to vets, I hope she picks up soon. Seems to be a few poorly bunnies around of late sending lots of vibes for your girl xx

 

[Beapig]

Also this might be really oversensitive of me, but when we got back and I took Jellybean out of the carrier, there was a needle in the bottom and the towel had a fair amount of blood on it. I know that they took a blood test to check her sugar levels, but it didn't fill me with confidence that they used the carrier towel to clean off her ear and that there was a needle dropped in there (presumably on accident!). Obviously it was not my normal vet, and we were not allowed in so I had to wait in the car.

 

[Beapig]

Really sorry to that Jellybean had go go to vets, I hope she picks up soon. Seems to be a few poorly bunnies around of late sending lots of vibes for your girl xx

Thank you Pets Mum. It is horrible and I'm so paranoid now as to what could have triggered it. Like I said, Hamilton has been quite randy recently. I think he is excitable about my other two girl buns being on the other side of the run, but also frustrated that he can't get to them. I hope that his bothering Jellybean isn't what triggered the stasis. But we have had a lot of wind here, so it could also be that something unfriendly blew into the run and she ate it, even just a leaf or something. It is hard to know.

 

[nap91]

Oh no, I completely empathise
I’m really sorry Jellybean isn’t well and I’m crossing everything that she will improve today xx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Omi]

I think it's really difficult to speculate atm what has caused it. I'm afraid I wouldn't have been too impressed by finding the needle either.

Hopefully with gut meds and pain relief she'll improve during the day. It's a positive that she is passing poo and also that she is nibbling, albeit not very much. It's good also that the vet checked her blood glucose, before advising syringe-feeding.

Sending her loads of vibes.

 

[Zoobec]

I’m sorry Jellybean is poorly Hamilton could be mounting her more than normal because he knows she is off colour, so it might be the effect and not the cause. The wind could have caused her to be stressed, or if she’s moulting that could have caused a gut slowdown. Did they check her teeth?

It’s not good that you found a needle and blood in the carrier

Sending lots of vibes and hugs xx

 

[KCG]

I hope Jellybean get well soon. I'll send her a lot of vibration. It's really hard to know what happened. I'm caring for a rabbit for the first time too and I'm new to it. So I don't know much.

I learned that rabbits' immunity is weakened in the spring and autumn period. So these months I give multivitamins and probiotics to my bunny. I hope this information will help you in a small way.

 

[Beapig]

Thank you nap91, sending more vibes for Phillip too <3

Thank you for the vibes Omi <3 The vet said her blood sugar levels were a little high, but not worryingly so. Finding the needle was completely bizarre, I hope it was just an accident based off of a probably tired vet (I know how hard and stressful their job is) but it didn't fill me with confidence at all.

Thank you Zoobec <3 She mentioned dental disease being a top cause of stasis on the phone, so I assume that she checked her teeth. It was frustrating that I couldn't be in there to actually see what was happening. And since finding the needle, it does make me feel a bit uneasy about the level of professionalism of the vet.

She is definitely moulting, so that could be a contributing factor. But I'm worried that it's because the two pairs of bunnies live side by side. Jellybean has actually been amazing with Lily and Maple - she shows no signs of aggression towards them through the fence. I even saw them all lying down next to each other a couple of days ago. But if Hamilton gets a bit excited by the other two girls, he will sometimes take that out on Jelly, either by chasing/mounting her, or fur pulling. It doesn't happen all day by any means, more so isolated incidents, but it does worry me that this could be her snapping from having had enough of the drama.

 

[Beapig]

I hope Jellybean get well soon. I'll send her a lot of vibration. It's really hard to know what happened. I'm caring for a rabbit for the first time too and I'm new to it. So I don't know much.

I learned that rabbits' immunity is weakened in the spring and autumn period. So these months I give multivitamins and probiotics to my bunny. I hope this information will help you in a small way.

Thank you KCG, that is really useful to know. I didn't know about immunity changing throughout the seasons, I'll have to read up on that.

 

[InspectorMorse]

You mention that her back legs were shaky and that Hamilton has been humping her a lot. Could she have a sore back ? Pain = less eating= gut stasis

Hopefully the Vet gave ongoing prokinetics to administer ? This is almost always essential.

Please mention the rogue needle to the Vet. Very negligent, you could have sustained a needle stick injury with all the potential risks that brings.

Hope Jellybean will soon be feeling better.

 

[a reader of books]

I have no advice, but I'm really sorry Jellybean is unwell and you had to take her to the emergency vets. It's promising that she has done some normal poops and is nibbling a bit, and that she ate hay during the night, even though she's not as hungry this morning. I hope she'll keep that up and will feel better soon. I would've been really unhappy to find that needle in her towel, too. You're right, it's likely an accident, but there's no excuse for them being that careless with needles, no matter how tired or stressed they might have been. Also, whether her moulting is the cause or not, if you're not already doing so, make sure you brush her well so she doesn't ingest more hair than necessary, since her guts are already having a hard time. I'm sending Jellybean lots of get-better vibes.

 

[Beapig]

You mention that her back legs were shaky and that Hamilton has been humping her a lot. Could she have a sore back ? Pain = less eating= gut stasis

Hopefully the Vet gave ongoing prokinetics to administer ? This is almost always essential.

Please mention the rogue needle to the Vet. Very negligent, you could have sustained a needle stick injury with all the potential risks that brings.

Hope Jellybean will soon be feeling better.

It's really hard to say re. Hamilton. He only really does it at the moment if they're shut in the shed, but usually he does calm down after a few minutes. I think maybe though that I will have to re-evaluate their living situation - putting more distance between their runs perhaps, would calm him down. He does generally get like this in the Spring though, despite being neutered. I don't know if that is common?

The OOH vet has only given me Loxicom painkiller. With my regular vet when Ham has had stasis in the past, we always get given Ranitidine as well as a painkiller (usually Metacam). She is nibbling at some hay now. But I think she should have been given gut meds too.

I will drop them a line about the needle incident. Thankfully it had a cap over it, but still not great. And I would expect the ear to be cleaned with a disinfected wipe, not the carrier towel, which may not have even been that clean as she weed on it.

 

[Beapig]

I have no advice, but I'm really sorry Jellybean is unwell and you had to take her to the emergency vets. It's promising that she has done some normal poops and is nibbling a bit, and that she ate hay during the night, even though she's not as hungry this morning. I hope she'll keep that up and will feel better soon. I would've been really unhappy to find that needle in her towel, too. You're right, it's likely an accident, but there's no excuse for them being that careless with needles, no matter how tired or stressed they might have been. Also, whether her moulting is the cause or not, if you're not already doing so, make sure you brush her well so she doesn't ingest more hair than necessary, since her guts are already having a hard time. I'm sending Jellybean lots of get-better vibes.

Thank you so much for the vibes <3 I will definitely give a brush! It might help to relax/comfort her too. She's always loved having a cuddle with me.

 

[Craig 1965]

I’m sorry jellybean has had to be given emergency treatment but you were so good noticing the early signs with her.
I’m afraid that personally I would make a formal complaint regarding the sharp you found. This is incredibly poor practice as the routine should be to dispose of any sharps in a special biohazard bin. There could have been other serious issues from others handling or being pricked by the needle so the vets need to be aware of your concerns.
I don’t have any other suggestions for what might be causing the issues with jellybean - having just lost Leo to complications, all I can suggest is to have blood tests to try and detect any anomalies from jellybeans critical organs - globin levels, glucose etc. I know that these are not cheap. But they are a good indicator of any issues.
Sending millions of vibes for jellybean. Xx

 

[KCG]

Thank you KCG, that is really useful to know. I didn't know about immunity changing throughout the seasons, I'll have to read up on that.

I checked-up my bunny after I found out. I had him check-up. And I saw it was true. My bunny's blood values ​​proved that. There was a tiny drop in him blood values. After that, I started to give him immune boosts during these periods (multivitamin, probiotic, some vegetables..). I added some special vegetables to his diet during these periods. There is a good article about it, let me share with you.

https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/tag/natural-immune-system/

Also needs a harsh warning to the vet. There can be no excuse for this situation

 

[Beapig]

I’m sorry jellybean has had to be given emergency treatment but you were so good noticing the early signs with her.
I’m afraid that personally I would make a formal complaint regarding the sharp you found. This is incredibly poor practice as the routine should be to dispose of any sharps in a special biohazard bin. There could have been other serious issues from others handling or being pricked by the needle so the vets need to be aware of your concerns.
I don’t have any other suggestions for what might be causing the issues with jellybean - having just lost Leo to complications, all I can suggest is to have blood tests to try and detect any anomalies from jellybeans critical organs - globin levels, glucose etc. I know that these are not cheap. But they are a good indicator of any issues.
Sending millions of vibes for jellybean. Xx

Thank you so much for the advice Craig, I truly appreciate it. I agree that it is really bad about the needle and I will be letting them know. I'm so so so deeply sorry about Leo. I have hardly been on the forum recently and just read your threads about his battle. I'm so truly heartbroken and so sorry that you lost him. Please let me know if you need someone to talk to xx

 

[AnjaSanja]

With GI stasis is always the thing. Is it primary or secondary due to any kind of pain or teeth problems. It sounds like hamilton needs more ladies around. A whole bunch or at least three. But it might be something worth considering-too much humping-back pain, inflamed nerve? As minutes of hummpig at once are way off the charts. Few seconds and that's it.

 

[Beapig]

With GI stasis is always the thing. Is it primary or secondary due to any kind of pain or teeth problems. It sounds like hamilton needs more ladies around. A whole bunch or at least three. But it might be something worth considering-too much humping-back pain, inflamed nerve? As minutes of hummpig at once are way off the charts. Few seconds and that's it.

He used to be happy with it being just the two of them, but I think it is a problem that he can see the other two quite close now - he gets very excited and frustrated at the same time. He does only hump her for a few seconds, but I'm not sure exactly how many times it happens per day. Some days he might not do it at all. But I do think I will have to seriously re-consider the setup I have now.

 

[joey&boo]

I hope Jelly makes a full recovery & you can work at a solution to help Hamilton feel a little less frustrated