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Stasis prone bunnies

loobers25

Warren Veteran
Any advice would be appreciated. Three stasis in a month...They are saying it could be stress or a broken heart if meds aren't working. On the way home from the vets yesterday obviously Toby was stressed then produced stasisy sized poops again with all sorts of shapes. I called the vet to ask if he definitely had normal poop before he was discharged and they said yes. Now he's back producing his normal golden nuggets.

Is there anything I can do to stop or help prevent the gas he keeps getting? Is there anything I can try or remove. After the vets today I have reduced his pellets to 8 in the morning and 8 at night for his meds. I asked the vet on duty if reducing pellets would help prevent gas. She said no diet nothing to do with it and he needs his minerals from it.

However! Every time he has had his episodes it's been straight after breakfast then he will start belly pressing.

Any opinions? We are starting to feel lost. My chinchilla has the same diet as the bunnys forage wise only he's on selective science nuggets and maple no problems at the moment :/

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Also can a vet come up with a treatment for gas at home rather than having to go every time? My mums rabbit has been prescribed stuff to use at home. I'm back to work Monday and I won't be able to do the 120 miles of driving I've done with Toby to and from the vets, not without extreme criticism anyway. I've already been told I shouldn't have pets!

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I should note that Toby has never eaten veg never will. He's a very fussy eater. He likes dried forage, pellets and fibre sticks.

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Didn't the Vet have any ideas as to what the problem is?
Well Toby has an enlarged heart so we thought when he was on his heart meds thinks would change. But 10 days into the meds he has an episode.

It all started when Millie died. We where struggling to get him to eat and was sad. So we took him to the rescue where he met maple. He ignored her but she liked him so I took her home on the agreement that I would spay her. Then they shared a carrier on the way home and then he went back living in his room for a few days then 1st episode.

We then thought he wanted some company so we moved him in his new room where he was much happier. Followed by two episodes that happened after breakfast :/

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Some rabbits most definitely can't tolerate pellets. When I had my bunnies with horrendous stasis issues, I used to also notice this problem not long after pellets. I ended up giving a hay and dried forage diet.
 
No suggestions, sorry. Treacle has been on Burgess nuggets for all of her 5 years, and apart from the old dental issues-no problems ! I suppose others have suggested infacol, I've used it a couple of times on Treacle, just a couple of drops on her front paws, which she then licked off in disgust. It seemed to work though !
I hope Toby picks up once you've bonded him with Maple x
 
I have had a few Rabbits who have just not been able to cope with any brand of pelleted feed. For most I simply fed/feed them on a pellet free died

an example here :

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view



For a very few Rabbits (with other underlying health issues making it hard for them to maintain their weight) and on Exotic Vets Specialist advice ( so I dont get castigated..........) the Rabbits were fed a small portion of Rabbit Royale Mix. None selectively fed, they all continued to eat a large quantity of various hay types and none had Dental problems. However, I am not advocating feeding a mix as the 'norm', just in certain specific circumstances.

Personally I'd advise trying Toby on a pellet free diet, but obviously if you Vet advises against it then ignore me :)
 
I have had a few Rabbits who have just not been able to cope with any brand of pelleted feed. For most I simply fed/feed them on a pellet free died

an example here :

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view



For a very few Rabbits (with other underlying health issues making it hard for them to maintain their weight) and on Exotic Vets Specialist advice ( so I dont get castigated..........) the Rabbits were fed a small portion of Rabbit Royale Mix. None selectively fed, they all continued to eat a large quantity of various hay types and none had Dental problems. However, I am not advocating feeding a mix as the 'norm', just in certain specific circumstances.

Personally I'd advise trying Toby on a pellet free diet, but obviously if you Vet advises against it then ignore me :)
Some reason it blocks her website and I can get on it! I've been trying to see that info on pellet free diet for ages!

Do you reckon he would be ok on increase of dried forage and hay. I do think the nuggets don't help at all. I definitely think they make the condition worse!

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For my bunnies, they didn't lose weight at all on this diet. They had about 5 different types of hay plus the small amount of dried forage. But obviously weight loss is something you really need to watch out for.
 
When I first had rabbits they had quite a few bouts of tummy trouble so I cut out all veg from the diet and just fed hay,dried grass and dry herb mix (like the ones in p@h)+ pellets and very rarely get any tummy troubles.
 
My bunnies have been on a pellet free diet for nearly two years now. For a while they had fibafirst sticks instead but they went off them. Now their diet consists of four different types of hay, fresh herbs, fresh and dried forage (including grass). They've both maintained weight on that diet.

I really hope you can get to the bottom of what's causing Toby's stasis episodes. I can only imagine how worrying and upsetting it is for you [emoji17]Next time you speak to your vet it might be worth mentioning that Toby starts to show signs of abdominal discomfort shortly after eating pellets and they might be open to reviewing whether he should still have them.

Just as a final thought, I think stasis episodes can happen even with the most careful diet. I've had several vets, including two specialists at the RVC, say my bunnies have an excellent diet but they've still both suffered a couple of stasis episodes.


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Does your bunny drink plenty of water? Louie used to go into stasis very regularly with no known cause. I found that he enjoyed a bowl of warm water when feeling poorly and it seemed to help things along.
 
My bunnies have been on a pellet free diet for nearly two years now. For a while they had fibafirst sticks instead but they went off them. Now their diet consists of four different types of hay, fresh herbs, fresh and dried forage (including grass). They've both maintained weight on that diet.

I really hope you can get to the bottom of what's causing Toby's stasis episodes. I can only imagine how worrying and upsetting it is for you [emoji17]Next time you speak to your vet it might be worth mentioning that Toby starts to show signs of abdominal discomfort shortly after eating pellets and they might be open to reviewing whether he should still have them.

Just as a final thought, I think stasis episodes can happen even with the most careful diet. I've had several vets, including two specialists at the RVC, say my bunnies have an excellent diet but they've still both suffered a couple of stasis episodes.


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I wish Toby would eat fresh herbs. He said the cause of Tobys stasis is his heart condition which the heart is the natural pacemaker of the stomach. When the pacemaker is not right the stomach acts irreactic gas builds up. But it seems to be after breakfast he begins belly pressing etc. I do think pellets make it worse!

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weak luke warm peppermint tea wouldn't do any harm to offer either.
Does your bunny drink plenty of water? Louie used to go into stasis very regularly with no known cause. I found that he enjoyed a bowl of warm water when feeling poorly and it seemed to help things along.
That's really interesting! I'll give that a try. Any brand of peppermint :D

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