• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Returning to Forum: New Buns: Spaying Complications and Stasis

ThePhillips

ThePhillips

New Kit
Hello - Merry Christmas! I used to be on here many moons ago when we had bun's before babies arrived, now the baies are older we're back on track with our House Bunnies. Our buns arrived in Sept and are now 6 months old. Two sisters, Iddy and Biddy. Two Dwarf lops.

I booked them in for spaying as we'd all started Christmas holidays and it meant we could keep a close eye on them all the time and get to the vet's for follow up without any issues.

So yesterday they both went in. Received the phone call that all went fine, pick up later that afternoon. Arrived with the kids all excited. Vet calls us in, and then proceeds to explain that Iddy was straightforward 15 mins and was sorted, Biddy's gut was adhered to her uterus so had to be handled and manipulated to enable the operation and as a result there was a high risk of Gut Stasis and a longer recovery time. Vet advised that if Biddy still sppeared to be behind Iddy in recovery the next day to come into the surgery and he'd get her onto a programme of injections. Kids in tears. :0( I try to remain up beat that together we can make sure she has her pain relief and has the best care possible.

So late evening/overnight - Iddy has wee'd - missed the litter tray as usual with her big bum, and there's marbles dotted around and she's moving around. Not seen her eat as yet but have seen her lay out with feet out back. Biddy, has moved but is always in the hunched position and hasn't touched anything despite grass and pellets being in front of her.

So a couple of things...I'll be honest, when I've had rabbits with Gut Stasis previously it didn't end well despite all the meds, do Rabbits actually pull through from GS? Has anyone any tips on giving oral meds to a bunny in a delicate state - I can't remember how I did it with Rodney after his op - but I imagine with a spaying the tummy etc is more sensitive so I'm nervous of picking Biddy up and making her worse just to give her pain relief!

Yes, now regretting doing this just before Christmas..any help gratefully received!
 
ThePhillips said:
Hello - Merry Christmas! I used to be on here many moons ago when we had bun's before babies arrived, now the baies are older we're back on track with our House Bunnies. Our buns arrived in Sept and are now 6 months old. Two sisters, Iddy and Biddy. Two Dwarf lops.

I booked them in for spaying as we'd all started Christmas holidays and it meant we could keep a close eye on them all the time and get to the vet's for follow up without any issues.

So yesterday they both went in. Received the phone call that all went fine, pick up later that afternoon. Arrived with the kids all excited. Vet calls us in, and then proceeds to explain that Iddy was straightforward 15 mins and was sorted, Biddy's gut was adhered to her uterus so had to be handled and manipulated to enable the operation and as a result there was a high risk of Gut Stasis and a longer recovery time. Vet advised that if Biddy still sppeared to be behind Iddy in recovery the next day to come into the surgery and he'd get her onto a programme of injections. Kids in tears. :0( I try to remain up beat that together we can make sure she has her pain relief and has the best care possible.

So late evening/overnight - Iddy has wee'd - missed the litter tray as usual with her big bum, and there's marbles dotted around and she's moving around. Not seen her eat as yet but have seen her lay out with feet out back. Biddy, has moved but is always in the hunched position and hasn't touched anything despite grass and pellets being in front of her.

So a couple of things...I'll be honest, when I've had rabbits with Gut Stasis previously it didn't end well despite all the meds, do Rabbits actually pull through from GS? Has anyone any tips on giving oral meds to a bunny in a delicate state - I can't remember how I did it with Rodney after his op - but I imagine with a spaying the tummy etc is more sensitive so I'm nervous of picking Biddy up and making her worse just to give her pain relief!

Yes, now regretting doing this just before Christmas..any help gratefully received!
Click to expand...

Hello

I do hope that your Vet prescribed ongoing gut motility medication and analgesia for Biddy ? (Pain relief for Iddy too, a spay is a major op and pain relief for several days is usually essential)

Personally I would take Biddy back to the Vet and request that she is admitted for intensive nursing care including prokinetics (gut motility meds) and analgesia given by injection plus syringe feeds and possibly IV fluids. To be honest I am surprised the Vet sent Biddy home given the known complications during surgery.

To answer your question, yes Rabbits certainly can recover from gut stasis but much depends on the actual cause of the problem. In a case such as Biddy's I would expect a Vet to give aggressive supportive treatment (as detailed above) and to not discharge the patient until full gut motility is restored.

I hope that you can get Biddy back to the Vet this morning. Iddy sounds to be doing OK as far as having some output, but if she has not eaten she too may need syringe feeds and prokinetics. As mentioned, she definitely needs ongoing pain relief and I would not accept a 'no' from a Vet regarding a request for analgesia.

I hope that both Rabbits will make a full recovery, but I think Biddy may take somewhat longer to do so x
 
ThePhillips said:
Hello - Merry Christmas! I used to be on here many moons ago when we had bun's before babies arrived, now the baies are older we're back on track with our House Bunnies. Our buns arrived in Sept and are now 6 months old. Two sisters, Iddy and Biddy. Two Dwarf lops.

I booked them in for spaying as we'd all started Christmas holidays and it meant we could keep a close eye on them all the time and get to the vet's for follow up without any issues.

So yesterday they both went in. Received the phone call that all went fine, pick up later that afternoon. Arrived with the kids all excited. Vet calls us in, and then proceeds to explain that Iddy was straightforward 15 mins and was sorted, Biddy's gut was adhered to her uterus so had to be handled and manipulated to enable the operation and as a result there was a high risk of Gut Stasis and a longer recovery time. Vet advised that if Biddy still sppeared to be behind Iddy in recovery the next day to come into the surgery and he'd get her onto a programme of injections. Kids in tears. :0( I try to remain up beat that together we can make sure she has her pain relief and has the best care possible.

So late evening/overnight - Iddy has wee'd - missed the litter tray as usual with her big bum, and there's marbles dotted around and she's moving around. Not seen her eat as yet but have seen her lay out with feet out back. Biddy, has moved but is always in the hunched position and hasn't touched anything despite grass and pellets being in front of her.

So a couple of things...I'll be honest, when I've had rabbits with Gut Stasis previously it didn't end well despite all the meds, do Rabbits actually pull through from GS? Has anyone any tips on giving oral meds to a bunny in a delicate state - I can't remember how I did it with Rodney after his op - but I imagine with a spaying the tummy etc is more sensitive so I'm nervous of picking Biddy up and making her worse just to give her pain relief!

Yes, now regretting doing this just before Christmas..any help gratefully received!
Click to expand...

Welcome back :wave:

I have never had a rabbit die from Gut Stasis so my answer is a resounding yes :)

Has your vet given you pain relief to give her at home? That should be essential for a rabbit just been spayed - for 3/5 days at least. Warmth is necessary too.

Have a look here if you haven't seen them already:

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Infacol (simethicone - infant colic drops) can be very useful (see Dana's article above) in passing gas and getting things moving again.

Please keep posting and letting me know how she is :)
 
Jane is right that both bunnies need pain relief. After my Heidi was spayed, she was only eating her favorite greens after surgery and not that many. She had pain relief and I suspect the anesthesia impacted her appetite even though her spay went well per the vet. I agree with Jane that you need to get your ill bunny back to the vet.
I became a proponent of spaying after I chose to not have my beloved Black Velvet spayed. Black Velvet developed stasis as a side effect of Uterine cancer that was huge before she showed symptoms. An emergency surgery and much supportive care got her a couple more years with us, but the extensive surgery left her with adhesions resulting in our treating her for pain and stasis.
 
I've been giving both pain meds. They have Metacam. Iddy's doing really well, but Biddy is just not interested at all. We've got Emeprid and Zantac Syrup 3 times a day, Avipro powder for on the food. I read the attachments above and have tried the pellets in a little water in a syringe. We're back at the Vet's tomorrow. Thanks for all your advice. Will keep in touch.
 
ThePhillips said:
I've been giving both pain meds. They have Metacam. Iddy's doing really well, but Biddy is just not interested at all. We've got Emeprid and Zantac Syrup 3 times a day, Avipro powder for on the food. I read the attachments above and have tried the pellets in a little water in a syringe. We're back at the Vet's tomorrow. Thanks for all your advice. Will keep in touch.
Click to expand...

Loads of vibes.

Keep syringing (on vet's advice) every few hours so she's got something going in for her gut to work on.

Good luck for the vet visit tomorrow x
 
Did thevet give you anti-adhesion meds as well? We had a bun spayed today who had a slightly inflamed uterus and she has them), we have also had them for buns after gut surgery and various other surgeries where adhesions a risk. If she gets adhesions now they may well rumble on through her life.

This would be as well as the metacam and emeprid etc.
 
parsnipbun said:
Did thevet give you anti-adhesion meds as well? We had a bun spayed today who had a slightly inflamed uterus and she has them), we have also had them for buns after gut surgery and various other surgeries where adhesions a risk. If she gets adhesions now they may well rumble on through her life.

This would be as well as the metacam and emeprid etc.
Click to expand...

What are the anti adhesion meds Parsnipbun? Something I haven't come across :)

How are you doing by the way? I noticed you were on treatment (on another thread) and wondered if you were OK xx
 
Verapamil are the anti adhesions

see the short etry in the vet section on wiki - plus I think its in some of the latest vet med books and FHB uses (as well as otherexotic vets)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verapamil


Thanks for asking - Treatment going ok but making me very tired and brain does not work! (hopefully being cured of chronic hepatitis C by anti retro virals which are quite heavy drugs making me tired PS if you wiki antiretrovirals all you will see is HIV - but they actually treat and actually prob cure HCV - HepC as well)
 
Last edited:
Seem to recall it cant be used if bun has kidney issues - we couldnt use it when a bun had a kidney out. But it is increasingly used in other invasive rabbit surgeries by exotic vets.
 
parsnipbun said:
Did thevet give you anti-adhesion meds as well? We had a bun spayed today who had a slightly inflamed uterus and she has them), we have also had them for buns after gut surgery and various other surgeries where adhesions a risk. If she gets adhesions now they may well rumble on through her life.

This would be as well as the metacam and emeprid etc.
Click to expand...

I believe calcium channel blockers eg Verapamil needs to be given immediately after surgery as the wound is being closed for it to be of real benefit.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2812657

Also as CCBs significantly lower the blood pressure I suspect many Vets would not want to give the treatment on an out-patient basis incase the Rabbit 'crashed'.
 
parsnipbun said:
Verapamil are the anti adhesions

see the short etry in the vet section on wiki - plus I think its in some of the latest vet med books and FHB uses (as well as otherexotic vets)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verapamil


Thanks for asking - Treatment going ok but making me very tired and brain does not work! (hopefully being cured of chronic hepatitis C by anti retro virals which are quite heavy drugs making me tired PS if you wiki antiretrovirals all you will see is HIV - but they actually treat and actually prob cure HCV - HepC as well)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info Parsnipbun :) I didn't realise that intra-abdominal adhesions are so common in rabbits.

I'm sorry you're having to go through such long and heavy treatment, especially at this time of year. But I guess there's no good time to do it, and there's less work for you around perhaps at this time? Not in terms of looking after bunnies though, of course :)

You're a mine of info Twigs xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
I believe calcium channel blockers eg Verapamil needs to be given immediately after surgery as the wound is being closed for it to be of real benefit.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2812657

Also as CCBs significantly lower the blood pressure I suspect many Vets would not want to give the treatment on an out-patient basis incase the Rabbit 'crashed'.
Click to expand...

When needed our rabbits have it immediately after surgery but then also an on-going dose for several days (usually 3 I think). I know several vets do this now but canot say how widespread it is in regards to whether they do this for all owners or whether they would sometimes keep the rabbit in if giving it.
 
parsnipbun said:
When needed our rabbits have it immediately after surgery but then also an on-going dose for several days (usually 3 I think). I know several vets do this now but canot say how widespread it is in regards to whether they do this for all owners or whether they would sometimes keep the rabbit in if giving it.
Click to expand...


Is there a down side to giving the drug parsnipbun? Any known unwanted side effects that might make vets less likely to prescribe it?
 
I think Jacks Jane has noted this above - there is also a conflict with buns with poor kidney function for some reason.

However certainly my vet uses it and is considered a pretty good exotics vet
 
parsnipbun said:
I think Jacks Jane has noted this above - there is also a conflict with buns with poor kidney function for some reason.

However certainly my vet uses it and is considered a pretty good exotics vet
Click to expand...

Thank you :)

Good to know when my rescues get spayed!
 
parsnipbun said:
I think Jacks Jane has noted this above - there is also a conflict with buns with poor kidney function for some reason.

However certainly my vet uses it and is considered a pretty good exotics vet
Click to expand...

I believe that is due to fact that the effects of the drug may be increased if renal function is compromised and the BP may drop to a life threatening level. Same applies if Liver function is impaired. The drug is eliminated more slowly with both renal and liver impairment so dose rates need to be much lower and prolonged use avoided

https://www.drugs.com/dosage/verapamil.html#Renal_Dose_Adjustments
 
Hi everyone. Sorry we haven't been in touch. We lost Biddy on Christmas Day morning between 3 and 7am. I know because my youngest was throwing up at 3am so I was downstairs putting the devastation in the wash and Biddy was still alive. When I came down when the kids actually got up to open presents Biddy was flat out, stiff :0( around 7am. Iddy was sat next to her. We broke it to the girls that morning. Faced it head on, best thing really with the distractions of the day. Iddy is fine and eating everything in sight. She's been bouncing around. We've found a Ted to put in her room. We're just undecided on bonding a friend right now. It's too soon to broach it with the girls. I've written to the Vet (can't face them) - too much to go into but reading your posts and just from my own knowledge the practice just isn't working with Locum's - since it was sold the care has been lost - the original Vet is still there, did Biddy's Op, but never saw him again. There is another practice a little further away with permanent Vets who we ended up seeing just before Biddy died. So lesson learned. Feel so sorry for Iddy but she's getting a lot of attention and care. Amazed actually, she was the runt of the original litter and she's out lived all of her siblings. She's a massive Lop compared to when she first came home. Love her to bits xxx Thanks again all of you xx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Gi stasis, no vets available
Replies
9
Views
178
ERCD
E
H
GI stasis advice please
2
Replies
35
Views
1K
Helen1981
H
thebunnydad
Meloxicam and liver problems
Replies
7
Views
270
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Back
Top