Any idea what caused stasis in my 'bullet proof' bunny ?

Griffski · May 3, 2017

My previously invincible 3 year old bunny, crixus, is in the midst of a stasis attack. She has no history of digestive tract-initiated stasis.

She is indoors (temporarily), after a month outdoors, so i can monitor her wingbun spartacus (a recurrent stasis bunny), and hopefully reset his caecal microbiome, after a stasis episode 10 days ago. Their diet for the past 10 days has consisted of burgess pellets (15g per bunny per day), unlimited (horse/commercial) hay (and water) and small amounts of fresh dill and parsley as treats, supplemented with a thin apple/pear twig per day (between them) which they bark strip and eat. Nothing else.

With hindsight I think something was 'off' from yesterday morning as she didn't do her usual binky session before breakfast though she seemed otherwise ok and ate enthusiastically until late last night. They are moulting just now and I noticed 'stringed' faeces in the litter tray yesterday but no caecals, no abnormally shaped faeces, no runny output. The vet detected a gassy abdomen and infrequent bowel sounds and administered gut stimulants and painkiller. Teeth, temp etc. ok. She seems no worse than she was this morning but has not eaten yet which worries me..

Does any of the above suggest a possible cause? I feel we are getting on top of Spartacus' issues through dietary restrictions but I have no idea what to do to protect crixus from this happening again..

Ponymad21 · May 5, 2017

Have you reduced the amount of veg she is having suddenly? Or taken fresh grass out of their diet suddenly?

roxyroller88 · May 6, 2017

I suppose it could be any number of things. A change in diet, a change in environment, the fact that she is moulting etc. It's hard to pin point so maybe make a note of all possible changes in case it happens again.
Have they always been on Burgess pellets? I have a stasis prone bun like Spartacus too and he was on Burgess pellets too. By doing process of elimination we were able to link his issues back to the pellets and he's been doing pretty well since. Maybe something to consider in his case?
I hope that they are both much better soon
xxxx

Omi · May 6, 2017

My guess would be it's the moulting that's been the problem here if you've noticed stringed faeces. I'm also taking into consideration here that this is her first episode.

Only if she starts to have regular statis attacks would I start to think about changes to her diet.

I notice this was first posted a couple of days ago and I'm sorry not to have seen it earlier. How is she now?

MightyMax · May 6, 2017

Griffski said:
My previously invincible 3 year old bunny, crixus, is in the midst of a stasis attack. She has no history of digestive tract-initiated stasis.

She is indoors (temporarily), after a month outdoors, so i can monitor her wingbun spartacus (a recurrent stasis bunny), and hopefully reset his caecal microbiome, after a stasis episode 10 days ago. Their diet for the past 10 days has consisted of burgess pellets (15g per bunny per day), unlimited (horse/commercial) hay (and water) and small amounts of fresh dill and parsley as treats, supplemented with a thin apple/pear twig per day (between them) which they bark strip and eat. Nothing else.

With hindsight I think something was 'off' from yesterday morning as she didn't do her usual binky session before breakfast though she seemed otherwise ok and ate enthusiastically until late last night. They are moulting just now and I noticed 'stringed' faeces in the litter tray yesterday but no caecals, no abnormally shaped faeces, no runny output. The vet detected a gassy abdomen and infrequent bowel sounds and administered gut stimulants and painkiller. Teeth, temp etc. ok. She seems no worse than she was this morning but has not eaten yet which worries me..

Does any of the above suggest a possible cause? I feel we are getting on top of Spartacus' issues through dietary restrictions but I have no idea what to do to protect crixus from this happening again..

Sorry to hear about this Griffski. I've only just seen your post.

I have had rabbits that suddenly go into stasis around moulting time. Hair in itself doesn't usually cause stasis, but it can help slow down gut motility. Also, moulting takes a lot of energy out of a rabbit, so it can be a tricky time for some. Lots of rabbits have 'stringed' faeces with no stasis episode, and some moulters have stasis without stringed poo ..... Difficult to be sure.

Did the vet give a possible cause? How is she now?

Griffski · May 6, 2017

Hi - thanks so much everyone - I've been wondering, as they've both come down at around the same time if it's moulting-related so really useful to hear your thoughts Omi and MM. I was able to groom them indoors (with pellet bribery) but perhaps it wasn't soon or often enough? Crixus is chief groomer so would be ingesting Spartacus' fur as well as her own.

She's 100% now but it took two vet visits and she was due to be admitted if no change by Thursday morning (thankfully she started eating in the wee small hours

). Was really worried something else was going on (as no prior GI-triggered stasis) but the vet thought GI tract associated with unknown cause.

Ponymad21 - yes they had total sudden abstinence from grass when I brought them indoors 2 weeks ago when Spartacus had stasis (with possibility that his episode might be grass related- he is not really a 'made for purpose' bunny

).

RR - re pellets, am so glad that's working for Sylar

They've been on Burgess since I've had them. A pellet-free diet is my last resort - they love their pellets and get so excited before feeding that it serves as a useful early warning system [hay does not elicit that response

]- but if needs be ...
BTW thanks for the Galens Garden recommendation - have some dried leaves on the way to keep their diet varied (and safe).

I'm putting them back outdoors today with grass access on a more restricted basis for a while. I am braced for more drama but they are happier outdoors ...

MightyMax · May 6, 2017

Griffski said:
Hi - thanks so much everyone - I've been wondering, as they've both come down at around the same time if it's moulting-related so really useful to hear your thoughts Omi and MM. I was able to groom them indoors (with pellet bribery) but perhaps it wasn't soon or often enough? Crixus is chief groomer so would be ingesting Spartacus' fur as well as her own.

She's 100% now but it took two vet visits and she was due to be admitted if no change by Thursday morning (thankfully she started eating in the wee small hours ). Was really worried something else was going on (as no prior GI-triggered stasis) but the vet thought GI tract associated with unknown cause.

Ponymad21 - yes they had total sudden abstinence from grass when I brought them indoors 2 weeks ago when Spartacus had stasis (with possibility that his episode might be grass related- he is not really a 'made for purpose' bunny ).

RR - re pellets, am so glad that's working for Sylar They've been on Burgess since I've had them. A pellet-free diet is my last resort - they love their pellets and get so excited before feeding that it serves as a useful early warning system [hay does not elicit that response ]- but if needs be ...
BTW thanks for the Galens Garden recommendation - have some dried leaves on the way to keep their diet varied (and safe).

I'm putting them back outdoors today with grass access on a more restricted basis for a while. I am braced for more drama but they are happier outdoors ...

It's amazing how much fur a moulting bun can produce. Grooming 24/7 by a human isn't possible, and rabbit friends (and themselves) ingest most of the hair.

Glad to hear of the improvement

bunny momma · May 6, 2017

Griffski said:
Hi - thanks so much everyone - I've been wondering, as they've both come down at around the same time if it's moulting-related so really useful to hear your thoughts Omi and MM. I was able to groom them indoors (with pellet bribery) but perhaps it wasn't soon or often enough? Crixus is chief groomer so would be ingesting Spartacus' fur as well as her own.

She's 100% now but it took two vet visits and she was due to be admitted if no change by Thursday morning (thankfully she started eating in the wee small hours ). Was really worried something else was going on (as no prior GI-triggered stasis) but the vet thought GI tract associated with unknown cause.

Ponymad21 - yes they had total sudden abstinence from grass when I brought them indoors 2 weeks ago when Spartacus had stasis (with possibility that his episode might be grass related- he is not really a 'made for purpose' bunny ).

RR - re pellets, am so glad that's working for Sylar They've been on Burgess since I've had them. A pellet-free diet is my last resort - they love their pellets and get so excited before feeding that it serves as a useful early warning system [hay does not elicit that response ]- but if needs be ...
BTW thanks for the Galens Garden recommendation - have some dried leaves on the way to keep their diet varied (and safe).

I'm putting them back outdoors today with grass access on a more restricted basis for a while. I am braced for more drama but they are happier outdoors ...

I am glad your bunny is back 100% after a few stressful days of good care. Pellets are fine for some bunnies and the type, brand and quantity of pellets can make a difference. In the past I had a bunny who got persistent stasis attacks. She would eat everything I gave her as soon as possible. She was overweight too. When I split her food and gave it to her in two or three sessions she had fewer attacks. It also gave me a chance to see her dancing for her food two or three times a day.

One factor that can promote stasis is a lack of exercise. When Spartacus got ill maybe Crixus got less exercise/chase time.
My Gemini is currently having a persistent stasis attack and I wonder if it was the result of his having a moult a couple weeks ago even though he only had a small amount of shedding prior to his stasis attack. I hope I can have the success you had with your bunnies.

Sending your positive vibes for all of your bunnies.

Griffski · May 6, 2017

MightyMax said:
It's amazing how much fur a moulting bun can produce. Grooming 24/7 by a human isn't possible, and rabbit friends (and themselves) ingest most of the hair.

Glad to hear of the improvement

Thanks MM - that assuages my guilt somewhat .. (two in two weeks = I must be a bad bunny guardian ....

)

MightyMax · May 6, 2017

Griffski said:
Thanks MM - that assuages my guilt somewhat .. (two in two weeks = I must be a bad bunny guardian ....)

You're welcome

You wouldn't be on RU if that were the case

Griffski · May 6, 2017

bunny momma said:
I am glad your bunny is back 100% after a few stressful days of good care. Pellets are fine for some bunnies and the type, brand and quantity of pellets can make a difference. In the past I had a bunny who got persistent stasis attacks. She would eat everything I gave her as soon as possible. She was overweight too. When I split her food and gave it to her in two or three sessions she had fewer attacks. It also gave me a chance to see her dancing for her food two or three times a day.

One factor that can promote stasis is a lack of exercise. When Spartacus got ill maybe Crixus got less exercise/chase time.
My Gemini is currently having a persistent stasis attack and I wonder if it was the result of his having a moult a couple weeks ago even though he only had a small amount of shedding prior to his stasis attack. I hope I can have the success you had with your bunnies.

Sending your positive vibes for all of your bunnies.

Thanks Bunny Momma - you're having a tough time - what a roller coaster with Gemini .. I hope he bounces back soon. It seems strange we've had multiple bunnies with stasis around the same time.

Thanks to this forum and the generosity of some very experienced bunnyphiles I feel i'm getting there with Spartacus .. I just need to maintain his strict diet, stop trying to reintroduce any veg, and monitor him with grass for the next while. Crixus, I just don't know .. she does get less exercise when they're indoors (they have space but not as much as when they free roam outdoors) but she was fine indoors for 3 months over winter .. maybe it was the moult. I now have two bunnies to monitor like a hawk ! It's so difficult to pin cause down when it may have been something building up over past few days/weeks - and so easy to potentially blame the wrong thing(s).

I do the pellets 3x a day too .. it gives excitement and routine to their day and makes it easy to get them back into their hutch when necessary

Sending more vibes for Gemini and hoping for some good news on your thread soon ..

bunny momma · May 7, 2017

Griffski said:
Thanks Bunny Momma - you're having a tough time - what a roller coaster with Gemini .. I hope he bounces back soon. It seems strange we've had multiple bunnies with stasis around the same time.

Thanks to this forum and the generosity of some very experienced bunnyphiles I feel i'm getting there with Spartacus .. I just need to maintain his strict diet, stop trying to reintroduce any veg, and monitor him with grass for the next while. Crixus, I just don't know .. she does get less exercise when they're indoors (they have space but not as much as when they free roam outdoors) but she was fine indoors for 3 months over winter .. maybe it was the moult. I now have two bunnies to monitor like a hawk ! It's so difficult to pin cause down when it may have been something building up over past few days/weeks - and so easy to potentially blame the wrong thing(s).

I do the pellets 3x a day too .. it gives excitement and routine to their day and makes it easy to get them back into their hutch when necessary

Sending more vibes for Gemini and hoping for some good news on your thread soon ..

IMy brain tells me I cannot blame myself for Gemini having such a difficult time recovering from stasis, yet I still feel I dd not do right by him when I niticed the smaller droppings when he was moulting which then returned to near normal after lots of human and self grooming before they wet back to being smaller.
He is my third bunny in as many weeks who had stasis attacks. Dash has a congenital problem with his GI system and it was his second cecal impaction in about six weeks. Each time Dash went from eating everything itons of hay and a large handful of greens, to having a huge bloated belly where he does not even want to more. I was close to losing Dash the first time and no emergency vet was available so I was in a panic. With Dash once he started passing huge quantities of material, he immeditly started to eat dandelion greens and he was jumping around. Raven suddenly stopped eating pooing and within a few days he had a dental with minor spurs . Even after his dental he needed hand feedings and fluids for a few days before he ate regular quantities. Then a week later Raven had another attack which took severl more days of care. With Gemini it is different. He was eating and drinking, just less than usual. He was never much of a hay eater and was eating less when he was moulting. His droppings were alarmingly small and hard on Tuesday, yet on Tuesday morning I gave him more pellets because he ate every pellet he was giving the evening before. His was always a big drinker, but I noticed he was drinking less. He is not recovering as quickly as I would like and it is very worrying. I started to chart his fluids, meds, feedings and am trying to determine why he will make a small quantity of close to normal poos before the cycle begins again. I am caring for him around the clock so there are no gaps in his feedings/fluid/meds.
Sorry for such a long post on your thread. What I am trying to say iis that every one of my stasis cases has a potentially different cause, method of attack, and recovery phase. You are right that we may never know the reasons our bunnies had their attacks. Welcome to the poo patrol! May both your bunnies be free of stasis for a long time.

Griffski · May 7, 2017

bunny momma said:
IMy brain tells me I cannot blame myself for Gemini having such a difficult time recovering from stasis, yet I still feel I dd not do right by him when I niticed the smaller droppings when he was moulting which then returned to near normal after lots of human and self grooming before they wet back to being smaller.
He is my third bunny in as many weeks who had stasis attacks. Dash has a congenital problem with his GI system and it was his second cecal impaction in about six weeks. Each time Dash went from eating everything itons of hay and a large handful of greens, to having a huge bloated belly where he does not even want to more. I was close to losing Dash the first time and no emergency vet was available so I was in a panic. With Dash once he started passing huge quantities of material, he immeditly started to eat dandelion greens and he was jumping around. Raven suddenly stopped eating pooing and within a few days he had a dental with minor spurs . Even after his dental he needed hand feedings and fluids for a few days before he ate regular quantities. Then a week later Raven had another attack which took severl more days of care. With Gemini it is different. He was eating and drinking, just less than usual. He was never much of a hay eater and was eating less when he was moulting. His droppings were alarmingly small and hard on Tuesday, yet on Tuesday morning I gave him more pellets because he ate every pellet he was giving the evening before. His was always a big drinker, but I noticed he was drinking less. He is not recovering as quickly as I would like and it is very worrying. I started to chart his fluids, meds, feedings and am trying to determine why he will make a small quantity of close to normal poos before the cycle begins again. I am caring for him around the clock so there are no gaps in his feedings/fluid/meds.
Sorry for such a long post on your thread. What I am trying to say iis that every one of my stasis cases has a potentially different cause, method of attack, and recovery phase. You are right that we may never know the reasons our bunnies had their attacks. Welcome to the poo patrol! May both your bunnies be free of stasis for a long time.

Seems to me like you're doing everything you can for Gemini - he's lucky you're on his case and keeping such a close eye on him - you must be exhausted from the interrupted sleep and the worry caused by all your bunnies recently. Sending more vibes for Gemini and hoping your household stasis-free zone for the foreseeable

CometLucy195 · May 7, 2017

My bun Lavender is prone to stasis, I'm reading all of the above trying to work out why she gets it. I noticed she didn't go out yesterday when I attached the run tunnel to their run, so I checked her later and she's back to not eating and looked very sorry for herself. I gave her the 2 doses of gut mobility drug I had from the vet in March, 2 hours apart, and some metacam, and some recovery through a syringe. Just been to see her and she looks a bit brighter and ate some cabbage. Ill give her the last of the gut drugs today, luckily I had 2days left from last month and see how she is tomorrow.
I don't know why she gets this, the other 2 in with her are ok, I haven't changed her diet, they have fresh hay, 3 types, daily and a small bowl of pellets at night. They go out on the grass most days and have fresh veg. She's a mini Rex so not long haired. She's 6 now and has had this 4 times, but twice in as many months, I hope this is just a coincidence!

Griffski · May 7, 2017

CometLucy195 said:
My bun Lavender is prone to stasis, I'm reading all of the above trying to work out why she gets it. I noticed she didn't go out yesterday when I attached the run tunnel to their run, so I checked her later and she's back to not eating and looked very sorry for herself. I gave her the 2 doses of gut mobility drug I had from the vet in March, 2 hours apart, and some metacam, and some recovery through a syringe. Just been to see her and she looks a bit brighter and ate some cabbage. Ill give her the last of the gut drugs today, luckily I had 2days left from last month and see how she is tomorrow.
I don't know why she gets this, the other 2 in with her are ok, I haven't changed her diet, they have fresh hay, 3 types, daily and a small bowl of pellets at night. They go out on the grass most days and have fresh veg. She's a mini Rex so not long haired. She's 6 now and has had this 4 times, but twice in as many months, I hope this is just a coincidence!

Hi comet lucy - sorry to hear Lavender is poorly ... i hope she responds to meds fast. My recurrent stasis bunny spartacus doesn't seem to tolerate veg well and possibly grass (!) and some forum posters have reported success removing pellets from their stasis bun's diet. I don't know what might work for your bunny but with spartacus,so far, he has been healthiest on hay, small amounts of herbs and pellets with occasional dried forage. He has been back outdoors with deliberately limited grass access for two days but today dropped two caecotrophs so grass access will be further restricted. He is well but this has been an early warning sign in the past.

bunny momma · May 8, 2017

Griffski said:
Seems to me like you're doing everything you can for Gemini - he's lucky you're on his case and keeping such a close eye on him - you must be exhausted from the interrupted sleep and the worry caused by all your bunnies recently. Sending more vibes for Gemini and hoping your household stasis-free zone for the foreseeable

Thank you for the vote of confidence.

bunny momma · May 8, 2017

CometLucy195 said:
My bun Lavender is prone to stasis, I'm reading all of the above trying to work out why she gets it. I noticed she didn't go out yesterday when I attached the run tunnel to their run, so I checked her later and she's back to not eating and looked very sorry for herself. I gave her the 2 doses of gut mobility drug I had from the vet in March, 2 hours apart, and some metacam, and some recovery through a syringe. Just been to see her and she looks a bit brighter and ate some cabbage. Ill give her the last of the gut drugs today, luckily I had 2days left from last month and see how she is tomorrow.
I don't know why she gets this, the other 2 in with her are ok, I haven't changed her diet, they have fresh hay, 3 types, daily and a small bowl of pellets at night. They go out on the grass most days and have fresh veg. She's a mini Rex so not long haired. She's 6 now and has had this 4 times, but twice in as many months, I hope this is just a coincidence!

I sorry Lavender's stasis is such a mystery. My late mini Rex Black Velvet was prone to stasis too. Is your bunny spayed? Uterine tumors are very common in unsprayed bunnies.
Gemini's friend is my current mini Rex, Heidi. They do not live together (Heidi would eat all the food), yet she is watching him constantly.
Sending your positive vibes that Lavender continues to make progress. It is always good to have meds on hand so they can be given promptly, especially the medicam, gut motility, fluids and recovery food.

Any idea what caused stasis in my 'bullet proof' bunny ?

Griffski

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