Are some buns more prone to stasis?

One of my buns passed away this week as a result of stasis... She was only 3 but it was the third time she was hospitalised with it and she'd been on the verge of it another few times but we managed to nurse her and hand feed her before it set in...

She had a post mortem and there was nothing else underlying, she was a healthy girl...

Her sister, who has the same living arrangements, diet etc has never ever been poorly... Are some buns just more prone to it??

I think that, yes, some are more prone to stasis.

My Louie suffered frequent episodes, at least once a month, throughout his life. We learned how to manage it and intervene at an early stage.

I'm sorry you lost your bunny

I do think some rabbits do seem especially prone to stasis for a whole variety of reasons. Obviously those with on going (or new) health problems are at higher risk as rabbits in pain are likely to refuse some / all food, as are those with dental problems such as spurs forming . Then there are the sensitive buns who stop eating when they have had a fright or are stressed. Very often we can't identify what caused the stasis either.

I can't help thinking of we hadn't gone on holiday she'd still be here because she either wouldn't have got stressed and started with it or we'd have known she was prone to it and intervened earlier and it might not have got so far...

She had been there 5 days before she became unwell though and was settled so not sure it was the change of environment... And I know they looked after her well and did the best they could taking her to the vet near midnight, they didn't know she had history and they couldn't get in touch with us, I don't blame them at all, I blame me for not being there My husband keeps reminding me we can't not go away for fear of upsetting the rabbits and we did our best to make sure she was well looked after while we were gone... I still can't help but blame myself, so many what if's

So sorry to hear your story . But yes, I do strongly believe that some bunnies are just more prone to stasis than others. I've had ALL mine on an identical diet and housing set up but some have had stasis 3 or 4 times a year and others absolutely nothing. If they seem to have a cast iron constitution then you're lucky. I find going through a moult seems to increase the risk of stasis as the additional fur they're ingesting seems to slow everything down. I always have Infacol, Metacam and Zantac on hand!

xRoxiex said:

I can't help thinking of we hadn't gone on holiday she'd still be here because she either wouldn't have got stressed and started with it or we'd have known she was prone to it and intervened earlier and it might not have got so far...

She had been there 5 days before she became unwell though and was settled so not sure it was the change of environment... And I know they looked after her well and did the best they could taking her to the vet near midnight, they didn't know she had history and they couldn't get in touch with us, I don't blame them at all, I blame me for not being there ���� My husband keeps reminding me we can't not go away for fear of upsetting the rabbits and we did our best to make sure she was well looked after while we were gone... I still can't help but blame myself, so many what if's ��

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Please don't blame yourself. You are obviously a very devoted & caring bunny mum & what else could you do? Keep yourself hostage in your house to be with your bunnies 24/7. You arranged good care for them on your holiday. The likelihood of you being there or not impacting on the sad outcome is low. Please try to be kind to yourself x

xRoxiex said:

One of my buns passed away this week as a result of stasis... She was only 3 but it was the third time she was hospitalised with it and she'd been on the verge of it another few times but we managed to nurse her and hand feed her before it set in...

She had a post mortem and there was nothing else underlying, she was a healthy girl...

Her sister, who has the same living arrangements, diet etc has never ever been poorly... Are some buns just more prone to it??

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I'm really sorry you lost your rabbit

They are such individual little creatures, and hide their weaknesses so well, that often it's impossible to know the whys and wherefores of why they leave us.

I'm certain that things would have been the same had you been around so please don't blame yourself.

Sending loads of hugs xxx