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Amy, GI Stasis, What Can I Do?

SJ_R

Mama Doe
Hello. About half past ten tonight, I noticed that while Amy was out, next to me on the couch, she was getting increasingly restless and uncomfortable. She had been absolutely fine up until then, and had last eaten her usual half a tablespoon of pellets at half past five earlier. Worried, I put her back in her cage with her other half a tablespoon of pellets and a clean litter tray. After my shower, she had done a few poos but had not eaten anything. The poos looked normal.

If it matters any, Wednesday was her Gotcha Day, so she got a carrot, which she does not often get, and a couple of extra treats. She’s on Excel Timothy hay and pellets.

She’s back beside me now, unhappy and uncomfortable. I could literally see the moment she started to get sick; she was absolutely fine and normal until ten.

The vets opens at nine in the morning. Slightly complicating matters is that my father is staying overnight in the hospital; he slipped and broke his arm Monday, got treatment, and it was worse today. I’m hoping that a family friend that runs a taxi service will be willing to drive us up tomorrow.

It’s eight hours until we can even call the vet’s. I do have some Supreme Science fibre recovery paste thingy left over from the last time she had stasis. Should I make some up and feed it to her now? Like I said, she won’t eat but she has passed a few poos. I’m not sure if it would help or not. It’s going to be a long night.
 
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I would not syringe anything other than fluids. Her stomach can only empty downwards, if it can't empty because of a potential blockage then forcing more in it could cause it to rupture. Eight hours of no food is a far safer option. However if it is a blockage time could still be of the essence.
 
I would not syringe anything other than fluids. Her stomach can only empty downwards, if it can't empty because of a potential blockage then forcing more in it could cause it to rupture. Eight hours of no food is a far safer option. However if it is a blockage time could still be of the essence.

Thank you; I wasn’t sure. I’m trying to gently massage her tummy, and I’m going to try and tempt her with some kale and water later. I’ll also get her Snuggle Safe; it’s a cold night. She keeps trying to get comfy. I can hear some gurgling. I’m planning on sleeping next to her on the couch.
 
She hasn’t eaten or drunk anything yet, but is tearing up paper. I found a hot water bottle that seems to have helped a little.
 
She seems mostly back to normal now. What the hell? I’m still taking her to the vet’s tomorrow, but I think I’ll put her back in her cage for now.
 
Just woke up; she’s back to normal, having eaten some more kale and pellets, and doing poos, which seem to range from smaller and darker to normal. She’s begging for treats.

Is it possible to have stasis for a few hours, and for it to resolve itself like this? It seemed really bad last night. I’m still worried she could get worse, but I don’t think it’s an emergency anymore. I’m going to get some more sleep and call in a couple of hours.
 
From reading your post she obviously ate something which "didn't go down very well" so be careful when you give her more treats. I hope she is fine now, she is lucky not to have to go to the Vets.
 
Hello. About half past ten tonight, I noticed that while Amy was out, next to me on the couch, she was getting increasingly restless and uncomfortable. She had been absolutely fine up until then, and had last eaten her usual half a tablespoon of pellets at half past five earlier. Worried, I put her back in her cage with her other half a tablespoon of pellets and a clean litter tray. After my shower, she had done a few poos but had not eaten anything. The poos looked normal.

If it matters any, Wednesday was her Gotcha Day, so she got a carrot, which she does not often get, and a couple of extra treats. She’s on Excel Timothy hay and pellets.

She’s back beside me now, unhappy and uncomfortable. I could literally see the moment she started to get sick; she was absolutely fine and normal until ten.

The vets opens at nine in the morning. Slightly complicating matters is that my father is staying overnight in the hospital; he slipped and broke his arm Monday, got treatment, and it was worse today. I’m hoping that a family friend that runs a taxi service will be willing to drive us up tomorrow.

It’s eight hours until we can even call the vet’s. I do have some Supreme Science fibre recovery paste thingy left over from the last time she had stasis. Should I make some up and feed it to her now? Like I said, she won’t eat but she has passed a few poos. I’m not sure if it would help or not. It’s going to be a long night.


Hi there and sorry to hear about Amy but glad to see you've a better update.

In these situations, and before I get to the vet, I give Infacol:

Infcol.co.uk

Whilst it's not generally advisable to force feed until a blockage has been ruled out, you can always give the Infacol and some gentle tummy rubs. Lots of folk have found it very useful on here.

For future reference, here's a couple of articles I find very useful:

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

http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/diagnosing-and-treating-gastric-ileusstasis-rabbits-proceedings

Good luck and I hope everything continues to go well :)
 
Just woke up; she’s back to normal, having eaten some more kale and pellets, and doing poos, which seem to range from smaller and darker to normal. She’s begging for treats.

Is it possible to have stasis for a few hours, and for it to resolve itself like this?
It seemed really bad last night. I’m still worried she could get worse, but I don’t think it’s an emergency anymore. I’m going to get some more sleep and call in a couple of hours.


Yes. My vets usually x-ray rabbit patients in stasis on admission and they often tell me there is something moving slowly through the gut, so it's not a blockage but has the potential for being one. Depending on how serious it is they give gut stimulants to help it move but if it's practically a blockage then gut stimulants may make it worse (which is why the x-ray is so useful, they know exactly what they are dealing with). Elijah has now had 30 to 40 admissions for stasis and if I know it's only just started and is a reasonable time of day I monitor him for a few hours, about 50% of the time he just clicks out of it, much as you have described with Amy. From my vet's description I assume it's the slow moving item has moved on and he is more comfortable ... and if it continues to move normally then he's over it.. though it might just block further down. I have a few bunnies that can go from looking like they are really unwell to 10 minutes later all bright and racing over for a treat.
 
Well, Amy is now as normal as she ever is. Little beggar did me a concern for nothing. I’ll keep an eye on her, but I don’t think we need the vet’s now. Thanks for all the help. I’m so tired.
 
Well, Amy is now as normal as she ever is. Little beggar did me a concern for nothing. I’ll keep an eye on her, but I don’t think we need the vet’s now. Thanks for all the help. I’m so tired.

Well, I'm glad that she is fine now. Rabbits sure do know how to test our stress threshold !!
 
Well, Amy is now as normal as she ever is. Little beggar did me a concern for nothing. I’ll keep an eye on her, but I don’t think we need the vet’s now. Thanks for all the help. I’m so tired.


Good news! I hope you manage to get some sleep :)
 
Yes. My vets usually x-ray rabbit patients in stasis on admission and they often tell me there is something moving slowly through the gut, so it's not a blockage but has the potential for being one. Depending on how serious it is they give gut stimulants to help it move but if it's practically a blockage then gut stimulants may make it worse (which is why the x-ray is so useful, they know exactly what they are dealing with). Elijah has now had 30 to 40 admissions for stasis and if I know it's only just started and is a reasonable time of day I monitor him for a few hours, about 50% of the time he just clicks out of it, much as you have described with Amy. From my vet's description I assume it's the slow moving item has moved on and he is more comfortable ... and if it continues to move normally then he's over it.. though it might just block further down. I have a few bunnies that can go from looking like they are really unwell to 10 minutes later all bright and racing over for a treat.

Do they x-ray while awake?
 
Do they x-ray while awake?

Yes, they've never needed to sedate them. They use the "immobility response" (not to be confused with tonic immobility, which is different) then place sandbags round/over them while the x-ray is taken.
 
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Well, Amy is now as normal as she ever is. Little beggar did me a concern for nothing. I’ll keep an eye on her, but I don’t think we need the vet’s now. Thanks for all the help. I’m so tired.

I'm pleased she's doing ok now :) x
 
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