Re-occuring GI Stasis in 6 month old Britannia Petite....

Hey everyone, Im new here and so far glad I joined up.

I have a female 6 month old britannia petite called Princess.
A month ago or so she had a bad case of stasis and I very nearly lost her,
Luckily she fought it and I was able to nurse her back to health, It took a little while as she's a nightmare to
get meds into.
On Saturday she got poorly again and after seeing the tell tale signs i rushed her to the vets.
She had a few jabs ( cant remember what they were ) and sent home with some fibreplex and told to keep an eye on her.
The Sunday was not a great day for her and she wasn't interested in eating or drinking much.
Yesterday she was back to normal, Bouncing around, wolfing her food down, drinking and poking as normal.
Then this morning ( around 7am ) She was dragging herself around her cage again and off her food, So, Rushed her back in AGAIN.
Vet was very nice and helpful, He says he doesn't think she is 'prone' to getting stasis, More it could be her age and maybe it could be genetic???

Anyway, Ive got her eating and drinking again ( although she hasn't had many pellets ) and she's pooing ( they're a bit abnormal size/shape/dryness but she's getting there )
She's on a healthy diet of science selective pellets, occasional greens, fresh daily hay, fresh daily water and a dry dandelion/melissa/plantain mix as a treat ( also great to get her eating again )
And right now she's comfortable and looks relaxed.

The vet sent me home with some Loxicom for canines to give 6k once a day for three days.

Im also going to try a hot water bottle in a towel on her tummy when having cuddles.

The vet said she was spasseming ( spelling? ) but he got it moved really quick, which surprised him in that he said he'd never met a little bun that shifted the spasm that fast.

Im really hoping this is it for now and that she's really on the mend.
She really is my little best friend and I know we could have a good ten years of happiness ahead of us.
So please "bungod", if ya listening, Give my little thumper the strength to pull through the pain and get better Please xx.

Im getting her spayed once she's better and having her jabs done.
Im also looking into a bun husband for her ( neutered ) ...

Im hoping these will help to keep her healthier.

I forgot to mention, She's an indoor bunny and gets 3-4 hours "Out Time" a day and has the run of the whole flat.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated folks, Thank you x

Hiya, sorry to hear you are having issues...

What are you feeding her?.. I found that my wee mini lop Smudge was prone to stasis. He has a very sensitive tummy and would get a sore tummy if he ate Science Selective or burgess excel pellets, he couldnt tolerate greens very much either.

Plus, he liked to nibble cardboard, so i had to supervise their use of cardbpard boxes!!

Cant give you medical advice as such but I can understand how scary it is to see your little bun ill.

Fee xxxx

Ps , meant to say, his bouts would co-incide with a moult....perhaps brushing your bunny would stop ingesting fur..

How many pellets does she get and is she a good hay eater? Some buns you give them it but it doesn't necessarily mean they eat as much as they should

Thank you Tamsin, She gets a handful of pellets in the morning and she's a good hay eater, Not a brilliant one, If I put down a mass of hay equal to her body size she'll eat Ild say around a third to half of it.
Usually she'll eat 95% of her pellets but at the moment she's had say around half ish. ( Difficult to tell as she always empties her bowl )

Fee, Mine was moulting a few weeks back but its pretty much stopped now.

Stasis is often actually a symptom of something else, rather than an illness in its own right. Most commonly, it is caused by some kind of pain, which causes the rabbit to have a reduced appetite or stop eating completely, and this in turn causes the guts to start to shut down and cause stasis. Part of the treatment of stasis is pain relief, so if the stasis is caused by pain, the painkillers will make bunny feel better, who will then in turn start eating again etc...until the pain relief is stopped, and then the whole cycle starts again.

Probably the most common cause is dental pain - has she had her mouth thoroughly examined? It's not really possible to get a full look at both sides of all the teeth on a conscious bunny, but most vets will try and look as much as they can for sharp points called spurs. Rabbits' teeth grow constantly and if they're not being worn down evenly, for instance by genetic factors and/or lack of dietary fibre, they can grow into points which can dig into the tongue or cheek. Of course there are other potential causes of pain, for instance abscesses, injuries or infections, pain through e.cuniculi infection, but dental is the most common. I would suggest asking for a really thorough check over to try and determine whether there is an underlying cause for these recurrent episodes. Good luck xx

I know the first time around they said she had slight spurs on the rear teeth. That it wasn't anything major but to keep an eye on it.
What would any symptoms of these spurs playing her up be? Apart from the obvious.

Snowy&Princess said:

I know the first time around they said she had slight spurs on the rear teeth. That it wasn't anything major but to keep an eye on it.
What would any symptoms of these spurs playing her up be? Apart from the obvious.

Click to expand...

Recurrent episodes of reduced gut motility/gut stasis
Small dry fecal poo
Selective feeding/reduced food intake
Chewing slowly/dropping food
A wet chin
Runny eyes
Reluctance to drink from a sipper bottle but will drink a lot if given water in a bowl
Unusual aggression/other changes in normal behaviour
Excessive grooming/licking

That to me is Princess to a T apart from the wet chin/dropping food/runny eyes.
Once she's over this bout of stasis Im booking her back in to have a full check up.
Problem is the pdsa where we are might not see her unless she's really ill. ( some of the receptionists are awful! )
Then again if thats the case, Ill book her into our local regular vets. ( If I can pay my way I always do. )

does sound like she could need a dental, so best get vet to recheck her molar teeth

Yeh thats what Im thinking.
Thanks for all the help so far folks!
So yeh, Going to wait until she's fully recovered and get her back in,
I need to rebook to have her spayed as well ( she was meant to be done on Monday )

There might be a more rabbit savvy vet in Plymouth if you ask on the forum..someone will advise

Thank you Fee, I'll do that
I hope there are some members down this way also,
Would be nice to make a few rabbit owning and savvy friends

Well she's picked up today and let me give her her pain relief with no fighting. ( makes a change lol )
She's moving around comfortably and let me give her cuddles.
Only downside is she's not pooping a lot, So Ive given her some Romaine as it could be her diet's a touch on the dry side?,
I'll see if it gets her moving, If not I'll get her back up to the vets tomorrow.

My half wildie went into stasis quite often in his first year.

Dill and Basil always got him eating.
Dill is great for any tummy problems.

Is she moving around? Moving also keeps the tummy moving.