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Gut Stasis, bladder sludge.....

R

RabbitsHuman

New Kit
Hi, I'm new here so sorry if I do anything wrong!
Basically our indoor rabbit is 10 months old and stopped eating, pooing and weeing just over a week ago. Since she has been pooing very tiny bits and the odd wee, but only eating cabbage really and the odd strand of hay (nothing like her normal hay munching amounts!!). A week ago our rabbit stayed in at the vets for 3 days, on a drip, critical care, antibiotic, cisapride, fibreplex etc... she came home a few days ago, we have been continuing her meds but no progress has been made, still barely pooping, eating, yet incredibly bright in herself. You wouldn't know she was ill from her personality! She flicks her back feet up at us once we're finished with her meds, to express her disapproval! :lol:
So tonight she's staying in overnight as she has lost quite a bit of weight in the past few days. They're going to put her under tomorrow and do a dental (small spurs, already?!), bladder flush and bloods. She has had quite a bit of calcium in her wee so they think sludge probably caused the stasis but no guarantees can be made sadly :(. She's on timothy hay, pellets and the odd bit of vegetables, so she should be fine in theory! She's the baby of our group ( our other rabbits are a bonded pair, about 7yrs)
Has anyone else been through this? It's really stressful and I just want to see if anyone else has experience of this... thank you!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about your rabbit. I don't have any experience of this so can't offer any advice I'm afraid. I hope she's okay.
 
Welcome to the forum :wave: It sounds as though your vet is doing all the right things for your rabbit. Sending lots of vibes for her treatment tomorrow.
 
RabbitsHuman said:
Hi, I'm new here so sorry if I do anything wrong!
Basically our indoor rabbit is 10 months old and stopped eating, pooing and weeing just over a week ago. Since she has been pooing very tiny bits and the odd wee, but only eating cabbage really and the odd strand of hay (nothing like her normal hay munching amounts!!). A week ago our rabbit stayed in at the vets for 3 days, on a drip, critical care, antibiotic, cisapride, fibreplex etc... she came home a few days ago, we have been continuing her meds but no progress has been made, still barely pooping, eating, yet incredibly bright in herself. You wouldn't know she was ill from her personality! She flicks her back feet up at us once we're finished with her meds, to express her disapproval! :lol:
So tonight she's staying in overnight as she has lost quite a bit of weight in the past few days. They're going to put her under tomorrow and do a dental (small spurs, already?!), bladder flush and bloods. She has had quite a bit of calcium in her wee so they think sludge probably caused the stasis but no guarantees can be made sadly :(. She's on timothy hay, pellets and the odd bit of vegetables, so she should be fine in theory! She's the baby of our group ( our other rabbits are a bonded pair, about 7yrs)
Has anyone else been through this? It's really stressful and I just want to see if anyone else has experience of this... thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi there and welcome to the forum :wave:

She is quite young to be suffering with bladder sludge but I guess it's a possibility. I would've thought the vet would have taken a urine sample and sent it away for analysis if he thought there was sludge (and possibly infection) in the bladder? I mention infection as it often is accompanied by sludge and can cause the small intermittent seeing that you describe.

Pellets contribute quite a lot to overall calcium content so you could ask your vet about diet modification if he really thinks the issue is sludge.

Here's a bit of reading:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...-sheet-for-rabbits-with-urinary-tract-disease

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/free-food-for-rabbits/calcium-and-rabbit-food

In this article:

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/LiquidMg/Liquid_magnesium.htm

... the thinking is a much less invasive option of subcutaneous fluids and a diuretic such as furosemide, instead of the rather painful bladder flush.

I have always found that combatting sludge is best done by modifying the water - i.e. less calcium in the water.

I really hope she gets on OK at the vet - best of luck :D
 
Thank you MightyMax for all the info, much appreciated! They did bloods today while she was awake and it's thrown up a possible liver problem! She's having some sort of scan tomorrow, and then maybe if the scan doesn't show a major issue with the liver (the vet seems to think it unlikely that it is a big problem, but wasn't happy putting Daisy under anaesthetic unless she was sure) they will do the bladder flush and dental tomorrow. We just want her back to normal! She's normal in herself but knowing she is so sick is a real worry. Thank you also for the alternative to bladder flush - will talk to the vet about this but she did seem to think the flush was the best option sadly :( . On the bright side the vet has said that as things stand she doesn't see any reason for Daisy not to survive... Fingers crossed all goes well tomorrow. Thanks.
Also I asked the vet about the calcium in the water thing! She hadn't heard of it before, but surely any way to get calcium content down is beneficial. We live in a really hard water area so the calcium in the tap water is quite high (of course I didn't know this before, let alone that it would be a problem!!) Volvic water has 12mg of calcium a litre, as opposed to well over 100mg in the tap water, is there any problems with giving bottled water in the long term? Will there be something else that is too high/ lacking?
Anyone else got any thoughts on this whole situation please? Thank you. :)
 
Last edited:
RabbitsHuman said:
Thank you MightyMax for all the info, much appreciated! They did bloods today while she was awake and it's thrown up a possible liver problem! She's having some sort of scan tomorrow, and then maybe if the scan doesn't show a major issue with the liver (the vet seems to think it unlikely that it is a big problem, but wasn't happy putting Daisy under anaesthetic unless she was sure) they will do the bladder flush and dental tomorrow. We just want her back to normal! She's normal in herself but knowing she is so sick is a real worry. Thank you also for the alternative to bladder flush - will talk to the vet about this but she did seem to think the flush was the best option sadly :( . On the bright side the vet has said that as things stand she doesn't see any reason for Daisy not to survive... Fingers crossed all goes well tomorrow. Thanks.
Also I asked the vet about the calcium in the water thing! She hadn't heard of it before, but surely any way to get calcium content down is beneficial. We live in a really hard water area so the calcium in the tap water is quite high (of course I didn't know this before, let alone that it would be a problem!!) Volvic water has 12mg of calcium a litre, as opposed to well over 100mg in the tap water, is there any problems with giving bottled water in the long term? Will there be something else that is too high/ lacking?
Anyone else got any thoughts on this whole situation please? Thank you. :)
Click to expand...


Hi there :wave:

You're really welcome for the info :D

I will certainly be thinking of you and Daisy tomorrow.

A lot of vets never consider the water to be important. My specialist was really surprised when my 13 year old bunny came up with no excess calcium in her urine, but excellent bone health. She was mystified until I told her that she had only ever drunk filtered water. Then she felt that it could certainly be a help in reducing the amount of sludge in rabbits' bladders.

Yes, tap water varies in hardness, but can be very full of calcium.

I should just have a look at what else is in the bottled water, but I know some people always give bottled water for that reason. SarahP on here found a good one - I can't remember it, but if you PM her I am sure she will tell you :D
 
Hi:wave:
Thanks. Yes it certainly is really interesting! I should consider changing my other rabbits water to bottled too - don't want them going through the same thing! Do you think going really low with the calcium in the water could result in not getting enough calcium, or that enough calcium can be found in food and such ? Vet said about changing the pellets too, either to a timothy based one, or a really low calcium one (or both). She suggested Oxbow Adult food but possibly more specialised ones with an even lower calcium content, she wants to speak to a colleague to see what they think. Never imagined I'd be giving rabbits bottled water:lol:
I just saw about your 13 year old bun! That's really amazing! Hope my rabbits live that long and healthily! :D
 
Last edited:
RabbitsHuman said:
Hi:wave:
Thanks. Yes it certainly is really interesting! I should consider changing my other rabbits water to bottled too - don't want them going through the same thing! Do you think going really low with the calcium in the water could result in not getting enough calcium, or that enough calcium can be found in food and such ? Vet said about changing the pellets too, either to a timothy based one, or a really low calcium one (or both). She suggested Oxbow Adult food but possibly more specialised ones with an even lower calcium content, she wants to speak to a colleague to see what they think. Never imagined I'd be giving rabbits bottled water:lol:
I just saw about your 13 year old bun! That's really amazing! Hope my rabbits live that long and healthily! :D
Click to expand...


Yes I can certainly recommend the Oxbow Adult food - very high in fibre and my rabbits love it :D

I know, bottled water for rabbits!

I have to say, I have used filtered water for myself and the rabbits for 12 years now, and they (and I!) have never had a problem. If you feed a varied diet, some forage and veggies, lots of hay and grass and minimal pellets, I doubt you can go wrong .... But of course always take your vet's advice.

Yes my little wonder bun lived till she was 14. I was so proud of her and miss her awfully xx
 
Excellent, thanks!
Awh, yes I bet you miss her. Some people don't get it but pets really become part of the family don't they? I'm sure she had a great life and 14 is an amazing age! x
 
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