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Constant gut stasis

nona_bones

New Kit
Hi,

I am in turmoil what to do about my 2 rabbit's constant gut stasis which makes them stop eating. Within the space of 3 days both my rabbits have been taken to the vets and it's costing a fortune.

After consulting my lovely rabbit savvy vet who has now moved away I have them on a strict diet of timothy hay and 3 pellets a day, nothing else. They get sick every 2-3months with this and NOTHING seems to work to keep them healthy.

I have all the drugs and critical care that the vets have, the only thing I don't have is the fluids they are given. My bunnies are only 4 and I sometimes feel like I can't cope with the uncertainty of this condition.

Has anyone got any ideas or had similar experiences?

Nona_Bones
 
Hi,

I am in turmoil what to do about my 2 rabbit's constant gut stasis which makes them stop eating. Within the space of 3 days both my rabbits have been taken to the vets and it's costing a fortune.

After consulting my lovely rabbit savvy vet who has now moved away I have them on a strict diet of timothy hay and 3 pellets a day, nothing else. They get sick every 2-3months with this and NOTHING seems to work to keep them healthy.

I have all the drugs and critical care that the vets have, the only thing I don't have is the fluids they are given. My bunnies are only 4 and I sometimes feel like I can't cope with the uncertainty of this condition.

Has anyone got any ideas or had similar experiences?

Nona_Bones

Has the Vet suggested running any diagnostics ?

Are they both maintaining their weight and have either of them any other underlying health problems ?

Do they both have a good water intake daily ? No history of 'bladder sludge' for either of them ?

What is the living accomodation like, do they have lots of room to exercise all day every day ?

Sorry for all the questions but a few more details would be useful.

Not sure if you will already have read these links :

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv

https://vetgrad.com/show10MinuteTopUp.php?type=&Entity=10MinuteTopUps&ID=41

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ac07/9915d6e64fe1afe442204871cb21c282f31b.pdf

http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROWinter10p7.pdf

http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/wsava/2008/lecture10/70.pdf?LA=1
 
Hi,

They both have at least 4 hours of roaming time a day and they always drink water after eating.The vets have always said that tests would be the next step if they didn't start eating and I can't afford any extra, I literally have spent thousands!!

The bunnies are indoor in a large house and run about everywhere, when I am on holiday they are out constantly. I will def have a look at your links and will read up on bladder sludge....sounds horrible.
 
Hi,

I am in turmoil what to do about my 2 rabbit's constant gut stasis which makes them stop eating. Within the space of 3 days both my rabbits have been taken to the vets and it's costing a fortune.

After consulting my lovely rabbit savvy vet who has now moved away I have them on a strict diet of timothy hay and 3 pellets a day, nothing else. They get sick every 2-3months with this and NOTHING seems to work to keep them healthy.

I have all the drugs and critical care that the vets have, the only thing I don't have is the fluids they are given. My bunnies are only 4 and I sometimes feel like I can't cope with the uncertainty of this condition.

Has anyone got any ideas or had similar experiences?

Nona_Bones


Hi there

I know that you were looking for another vet, and that Arby was feeling better so I didn't continue the search for you right then.

Perhaps now would be a good time to look for a vet?

Do they have a water bowl? Rabbits who use a bowl drink more water than those using a bottle.

Are you saying they are still getting sick even with the strict diet of only timothy hay and three pellets a day?
 
Hello,

Today my other bunny stopped eating and was hospitalised and I just got her home. The vets I went to is trying to get some advice for me but no advice was given about how long to give her the drugs for so I am just going on what I remember from my old bunny savvie vet. She is eating a little but not really herself. The nurse thinks it must be to do with diet as they both had the same thing at the same time but that's the first time that has happened.
 
New vet

Hello once again, I am still on the hunt for a rabbit savvy vet in South London near SE27, I have phoned around but can't seem to find one yet. CJ Hall is so far away as they HATE travelling and I think the journey would unsettle them.

Out of interest how much hay do you feed your buns? my partner is always topping up their hay(seems like every 5 minutes) and I am now wondering is this in a way force feeding them and the reason they may get gut stasis so often.

Advice would be appreciated,
Nona_Bones
 
Eating lots of hay is a good thing :thumb: do they have plenty of space in their house area that they are in when they aren’t supervised? They should have at least 60sqft permanently available to them. I’m assuming you don’t feed treats? Some things like fenugreek crunchies have been known to cause some bunnies stasis.

For a vet recommendation you could post a new thread asking for rabbit savvy vets in your area. The rwaf also has a list https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/
 
I give my buns breakfast, lunch and dinner hay. Big pile, the more the better!

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk
 
Are you sure you or your partner do not give them anything else other than hay and 3 pellets each? Did they come from he same litter and what breed are they?
 
This is sounding similar to my experience. I had two bunnies who went in and out of stasis constantly. It seemed clear to me that there was something infectious going on, since I'd ruled out anything dietary as a cause, and they'd been thoroughly checked over multiple times by various vets. It turned out that it was likely that E Cuniculi was the cause.

I'm sorry I didn't see your thread in August.
 
I didn’t know this - do you know why that is? I give my buns fenugreek crunchies so feeling a little worried now?

Grain treats (and pellets) can cause stasis. With my bunnies I mentioned earlier, I got to the stage that they couldn't tolerate even one single pellet, let alone things like fenugreek crunchies.
 
Hello once again, I am still on the hunt for a rabbit savvy vet in South London near SE27, I have phoned around but can't seem to find one yet. CJ Hall is so far away as they HATE travelling and I think the journey would unsettle them.

Out of interest how much hay do you feed your buns? my partner is always topping up their hay(seems like every 5 minutes) and I am now wondering is this in a way force feeding them and the reason they may get gut stasis so often.

Advice would be appreciated,
Nona_Bones


Hay is to be free fed, and the largest part of a rabbit's diet.

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/components-rabbit-diet.asp
 
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