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Stasis back: Spartacus

Griffski

Warren Scout
Over a year ago I received help for dealing with/preventing stasis in my 3 year old bunny Spartacus. Following advice, his diet is now hay (standard horse hay supplemented with smaller amounts of timothy and oat hay), galens garden forage (leaf/flower mixes), a little dill or parsley, science select (15g per day) and (in summer) as much grass as he chooses to eat.

He has been stasis free for over a year but over the summer has occasionally dropped caecotrophs and loose output (i think caecotroph-based) and this week produced a single abnormally large ovoid pellet which i think was faeces (no strong smell). The day of the large ovoid pellet he had mini-stasis episode - stopped eating his food and withdrew. When this didn;t resolve I dosed him with ranitidine and he recovered within a few hours. Today he produced loose output (diarrhoea-like) but is fine in himself, has eaten breakfast and is currently munching grass.

With his limited diet (and no episodes of untoward output when he's indoors for winter) the only thing i can think of is the new hays (all fresh cuts this summer .. though i reduced the timothy and oat amount just in case) or grass. There is no rhyme nor reason to when he has digestive symptoms - one was after 5 days of no grass access. Does anyone have any ideas how i can 'stabilise' him again .. he had one episode where he had to be seriously cleaned up and he was rearguarded due to increased risk of flystrike, which is an added concern.

thanks
 
Hi, sorry that Spartacus is having some problems again.

I'm sorry I can't remember in detail what you tried for him previously. I would be thinking of introducing some fresh Bramble and/or Rose leaves, in addition to any tree leaves and sticks to nibble.

He's not by any chance currently experiencing a long drawn out moult is he?
 
Hi, sorry that Spartacus is having some problems again.

I'm sorry I can't remember in detail what you tried for him previously. I would be thinking of introducing some fresh Bramble and/or Rose leaves, in addition to any tree leaves and sticks to nibble.

He's not by any chance currently experiencing a long drawn out moult is he?

Thanks Omi - the remedy was all diet based - he had a hard time with treats, greens and readigrass, all of which were removed and his pellet intake reduced to encourage more hay eating (he's a good hay eater). Leaves/flowers were introduced to increase diversity.

He's not moulting overtly just now (he tends to have huge clumps sticking out of him in transition from winter to summer) but the morning he was 'suffering' there was a considerable amount of fur lying in the hutch (in a bunny shaped clump - presumably where his wingbun was sleeping). She is low level moulting just now (well maybe not low level as that amount was a one time occurrence)..
he doesn't groom her that much but might you be thinking fur ingestion ?

thanks
 
Thanks Omi - the remedy was all diet based - he had a hard time with treats, greens and readigrass, all of which were removed and his pellet intake reduced to encourage more hay eating (he's a good hay eater). Leaves/flowers were introduced to increase diversity.

He's not moulting overtly just now (he tends to have huge clumps sticking out of him in transition from winter to summer) but the morning he was 'suffering' there was a considerable amount of fur lying in the hutch (in a bunny shaped clump - presumably where his wingbun was sleeping). She is low level moulting just now (well maybe not low level as that amount was a one time occurrence)..
he doesn't groom her that much but might you be thinking fur ingestion ?

thanks

Yes, at this time of the year I've found this to be an issue worth considering, either the rabbit's own fur or a partner's. You can usually find evidence of this though as some of the poos will be joined by a string. There's also another issue regarding moulting and that's the view that a rabbit's immune system can be compromised during moulting.

I'm still thinking that a trial of some additional bulky, high fibre foods might help settle his digestive system and for that I would try fresh leaves and/or bark.
 
Yes, at this time of the year I've found this to be an issue worth considering, either the rabbit's own fur or a partner's. You can usually find evidence of this though as some of the poos will be joined by a string. There's also another issue regarding moulting and that's the view that a rabbit's immune system can be compromised during moulting.

I'm still thinking that a trial of some additional bulky, high fibre foods might help settle his digestive system and for that I would try fresh leaves and/or bark.

Thanks Omi .. no sign of stringy output but happy to try leaves /bark if can source .. not sure I trust myself to forage so if anyone has any tips re where/what to purchase would be appreciative :)
 
Sending lots of vibes for him xx

Thanks Zoobec - he's doing okay - it's just exasperating that this issue has recurred .. and on top of that because of flystrike risk I have had to handle him more and the (long in development) bond of trust has been disrupted ..
 
Thanks Omi .. no sign of stringy output but happy to try leaves /bark if can source .. not sure I trust myself to forage so if anyone has any tips re where/what to purchase would be appreciative :)

I think it would be better if they could be used fresh, so probably difficult to purchase. Do you or any close friends/relatives have a garden with trees or rose bushes? I appreciate that foraging can be daunting, but sometimes these plants are actually in our gardens.
 
I think it would be better if they could be used fresh, so probably difficult to purchase. Do you or any close friends/relatives have a garden with trees or rose bushes? I appreciate that foraging can be daunting, but sometimes these plants are actually in our gardens.

Thanks Omi - I have a rose (climber) bush so I can pick leaves from that starting tonight:) Plenty of trees around .. just need to brush up on my identifications ..
 
I'm no expert by any means but black berry leaves are easy to identify can you get any Apple branches my Pete loves stripping the bark off or hawthorn hope this helps good luck and hope he's ok
 
I'm no expert by any means but black berry leaves are easy to identify can you get any Apple branches my Pete loves stripping the bark off or hawthorn hope this helps good luck and hope he's ok

thanks Mista Pete - he loves apple branches:) will google the others and see what can be rustled up..
 
I am sorry to hear the stasis has returned. How stressful :(

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Thanks loobers - he's absolutely fine just now - his guts are still playing up but he's eating well and being his normal self. Just all a bit unpredictable :(
 
I have one rabbit who cannot stomach the new hay, so he has last years and from a different place where their hay is very coarse. He also cannot have carrot although he loves it, but the next morning he will have made a mess, also broccoli, and he has 1/2 the amount of pellets that the rest have. Kept on this regime he is fine 99% of the time. I feel a little sorry for him though. Does Spartacus get about 1 tbsp. of SS as not sure what 15 gms looks like? Maybe with the new hay etc it is too much.
 
I have one rabbit who cannot stomach the new hay, so he has last years and from a different place where their hay is very coarse. He also cannot have carrot although he loves it, but the next morning he will have made a mess, also broccoli, and he has 1/2 the amount of pellets that the rest have. Kept on this regime he is fine 99% of the time. I feel a little sorry for him though. Does Spartacus get about 1 tbsp. of SS as not sure what 15 gms looks like? Maybe with the new hay etc it is too much.


hi tonibun - thanks ... it does sound like our bunnies have a lot in common:(

1tbsp SS is pretty much 15g ... total pellet removal is something i've never tried as i feel it's the only thing he gets (apart from galen's garden forage) that he gets excited about ( I know exactly what you mean when you feel a bit sorry for yours) and it allows me to monitor how he's feeling throughout a day (disinterest=red flag) . .. he gets his 15g split between first thing and last thing feeds with a few throughout the day so not all in one dose (and little opportunity for stealing his wingbun's share). I could try reducing amount if you think worth a try ?

The changes recommended by Forum experts last year have made such a difference to his life (and mine) with regular stasis scares a thing of the past .. maybe i just need to be more careful within his modified diet and assume nothing (e.g. different hay batches) is safe for him and introduce more gradually?
 
It might be the hay is very rich being this year's, together with grass, all adding up to too much carbohydrate. My rabbit doesn't get 1 tbsp. pellets, more like 1/2 tbsp. as he just can't tolerate that much. Maybe 10 g, see how he is then. Poor bunnies. Mine doesn't even have a friend to cuddle up with. I did try to bond him with Madam Sophie but she was very aggressive.
 
It might be the hay is very rich being this year's, together with grass, all adding up to too much carbohydrate. My rabbit doesn't get 1 tbsp. pellets, more like 1/2 tbsp. as he just can't tolerate that much. Maybe 10 g, see how he is then. Poor bunnies. Mine doesn't even have a friend to cuddle up with. I did try to bond him with Madam Sophie but she was very aggressive.

Thanks - worth a try - his ration has been duly reduced (I've told him it was your idea ;) but since you provided me with encouragement to continue with his (very successful) bonding (when it seemed hopeless) - I figure he will realise that on balance he owes you :))
 
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Thanks - worth a try - his ration has been duly reduced (I've told him it was your idea ;) but since you provided me with encouragement to continue with his (very successful) bonding (when it seemed hopeless) - I figure he will realise that on balance he owes you :))

:D
 
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