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Gut issues / GI stasis - after the emergency?

WelshBunny

Young Bun
We've had a vile night as our boy was unwell yesterday morning (taken to emergency vet then monitored at home) and then rapidly went downhill in the evening after brightening up in the day. I was actually typing out a list of what happened here when I thought, "I'll see how he's doing now", and went to check. That was quickly deleted as we went to the out of hours vet.

Symptoms:
- Lethargy
- Unwilling to eat
- Relieved bladder lying down (always good at going in his tray)
- Found small, malformed droppings (3-4)
- Pressed to floor
- Pale
- Looked suddenly thin/skinny/light (empty stomach)
- Losing fur

He improved at the first emergency vet (however, they tried to tell me nothing was wrong and I had to push for treatment) after two injections (painkiller plus one for the gut) and also had critical care food, which I syringed throughout the day. He had a tiny bit of dandelion and some parsley of his own free will too but mostly slept in his litterbox. He was fighting me for the syringe feeding but that was a good sign, until he stopped fighting me, went completely limp and floppy, lethargic to the extreme.

So, we went to a different out of hours vet as the rabbit rescue recommended this one and I thought they would be more savvy to rabbits. Top quality, did far more, checked blood glucose etc and found some swelling in the abdomen that I guess I mistook for his stomach filling up during the day and syringe feeding. He'd not passed droppings by this point and was put on a drip and kept in overnight, syringe fed through the night. Temperature was fine and so was blood glucose.

No one seems to be very good at telling me what's going on here (probably more concerned with treating him - I'd rather they did all that was needed, they know way more than me) but I am assuming gut / early GI stasis as a generally common bunny issue. He received a new buddy last weekend and, while they settled, there's still a lot going on for him and I was concerned he was so active that he wasn't taking time to rest and eat. She's gone super sweet and was grooming him all through the trouble. When he went on the drip, of course, they had to be separated but, well, I can't preserve a bond while putting his life in jeopardy. They can be re-bonded but I put them together today when transferring between surgeries and he went to snooze and she went to wash him, no drama or aggression in the slightest.

He's produced small, malformed droppings with me today, is eating well at the vets where he is being monitored (hay) and looks like he will come home tonight and not need another overnight stay. My question is, how do you care for a rabbit after this? What warning signs do I look out for? Should I separate him and his buddy? It is usually obvious when he's going to the bathroom as he sits, eats and goes to the loo. She's been calm, just happy to have a break from him pestering her, BUT I have a second pen that can be set up, no problem.

I know I've missed out information and events above - bear with me. Any insight on what happens "after" would be great, thank you so much, but please understand that I've done the best I can here, gone on a rescue recommendation of an emergency vet that is good with rabbits, kept monitoring him and acted as soon as his condition changed.

I appreciate any advice in the aftercare that I may utilise alongside the vet discharge notes and thank you in advance!


Edit: found a gut stasis thread now and reading through also.
 
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We've had a vile night as our boy was unwell yesterday morning (taken to emergency vet then monitored at home) and then rapidly went downhill in the evening after brightening up in the day. I was actually typing out a list of what happened here when I thought, "I'll see how he's doing now", and went to check. That was quickly deleted as we went to the out of hours vet.

Symptoms:
- Lethargy
- Unwilling to eat
- Relieved bladder lying down (always good at going in his tray)
- Found small, malformed droppings (3-4)
- Pressed to floor
- Pale
- Looked suddenly thin/skinny/light (empty stomach)
- Losing fur

He improved at the first emergency vet (however, they tried to tell me nothing was wrong and I had to push for treatment) after two injections (painkiller plus one for the gut) and also had critical care food, which I syringed throughout the day. He had a tiny bit of dandelion and some parsley of his own free will too but mostly slept in his litterbox. He was fighting me for the syringe feeding but that was a good sign, until he stopped fighting me, went completely limp and floppy, lethargic to the extreme.

So, we went to a different out of hours vet as the rabbit rescue recommended this one and I thought they would be more savvy to rabbits. Top quality, did far more, checked blood glucose etc and found some swelling in the abdomen that I guess I mistook for his stomach filling up during the day and syringe feeding. He'd not passed droppings by this point and was put on a drip and kept in overnight, syringe fed through the night. Temperature was fine and so was blood glucose.

No one seems to be very good at telling me what's going on here (probably more concerned with treating him - I'd rather they did all that was needed, they know way more than me) but I am assuming gut / early GI stasis as a generally common bunny issue. He received a new buddy last weekend and, while they settled, there's still a lot going on for him and I was concerned he was so active that he wasn't taking time to rest and eat. She's gone super sweet and was grooming him all through the trouble. When he went on the drip, of course, they had to be separated but, well, I can't preserve a bond while putting his life in jeopardy. They can be re-bonded but I put them together today when transferring between surgeries and he went to snooze and she went to wash him, no drama or aggression in the slightest.

He's produced small, malformed droppings with me today, is eating well at the vets where he is being monitored (hay) and looks like he will come home tonight and not need another overnight stay. My question is, how do you care for a rabbit after this? What warning signs do I look out for? Should I separate him and his buddy? It is usually obvious when he's going to the bathroom as he sits, eats and goes to the loo. She's been calm, just happy to have a break from him pestering her, BUT I have a second pen that can be set up, no problem.

I know I've missed out information and events above - bear with me. Any insight on what happens "after" would be great, thank you so much, but please understand that I've done the best I can here, gone on a rescue recommendation of an emergency vet that is good with rabbits, kept monitoring him and acted as soon as his condition changed.

I appreciate any advice in the aftercare that I may utilise alongside the vet discharge notes and thank you in advance!


Edit: found a gut stasis thread now and reading through also.

Are both your Bunnies fully vaccinated ?

How far into the bonding process are they-days/weeks ??

Did the Rabbit savvy Vet check your Buck's bladder/take a urine sample ?? A UTI can cause similar symptoms to those you describe

Usually good on going analgesia, prokinetics, fluids and encouraging eating (especially hay) are needed after an episode of gut stasis. But gut stasis can be a secondary symptom to another problem (eg a UTI) so that would need to be treated too.

If keeping your Rabbits together makes for a lot of stress (chasing/humping/fur pulling etc) then personally I would keep them apart until your Buck is 100% recovered x
 
An episode of stasis can take up to a couple of weeks to overcome, assuming there is nothing else going in.
As JJ says, ongoing pain relief and gut meds will probably be needed for several days - at least a couple of days after normal eating resumes and poo is back to normal size / quantity. You may well have to syringe feed several times a day to ensure that there is enough volume of food going in to keep the guts going. I wouldn't reduce it until you are certain he is eating normal quantities by himself.

Often it is easier to monitor output if the rabbit is on its own - so you know for definite which is theirs, at least for a couple of days. There may be some benefit to keeping well bonded bunnies together if there is mutual benefit and no stress to either. Poorly bun may need access to a heat source if he has no companion (maybe not so much in this weather, but access to a heat pad if he wants it)

Having been through several sets of stasis, I have learned not to withdraw treatment too soon - basically keep going until after everything seems back to normal, rather than stop as soon as things start to pick up, as they can easily slip back again and it is much harder to make progress again.

Pain relief usually works wonders for improving appetite.
You need food input in order to get any output - whether syringe fed or normal eating. Syringed food will contain more water as well.
Only syringe feed if your vet has checked for blockages - which yours has.
Gut meds will keep it moving through.

Have you got any antibiotics as well?
 
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Are both your Bunnies fully vaccinated ?

How far into the bonding process are they-days/weeks ??

Did the Rabbit savvy Vet check your Buck's bladder/take a urine sample ?? A UTI can cause similar symptoms to those you describe

Usually good on going analgesia, prokinetics, fluids and encouraging eating (especially hay) are needed after an episode of gut stasis. But gut stasis can be a secondary symptom to another problem (eg a UTI) so that would need to be treated too.

If keeping your Rabbits together makes for a lot of stress (chasing/humping/fur pulling etc) then personally I would keep them apart until your Buck is 100% recovered x

I'm not sure where these relate to my questions but I'll give it a go!

They are 8 days into the bonding process and now nice and calm. He is sitting and she is grooming him, although he's also been in his litter box and done a pee and droppings and eaten hay. No, they didn't take a urine sample but now molar spurs on the teeth have been found, which I'm going to assume was part of the cause (the other part stress/bonding related). He will have these treated shortly, no problem.

They've not given further gut medication to take home as it has given him diarrhea and he is eating and drinking on his own (hay, the tiny amount of pellets, the greens - everything I left for him at the vet).

I think I got everything but apologies if I missed one.
 
An episode of stasis can take up to a couple of weeks to overcome, assuming there is nothing else going in.
As JJ says, ongoing pain relief and gut meds will probably be needed for several days - at least a couple of days after normal eating resumes and poo is back to normal size / quantity. You may well have to syringe feed several times a day to ensure that there is enough volume of food going in to keep the guts going. I wouldn't reduce it until you are certain he is eating normal quantities by himself.

Often it is easier to monitor output if the rabbit is on its own - so you know for definite which is theirs, at least for a couple of days. There may be some benefit to keeping well bonded bunnies together if there is mutual benefit and no stress to either. Poorly bun may need access to a heat source if he has no companion (maybe not so much in this weather, but access to a heat pad if he wants it)

Having been through several sets of stasis, I have learned not to withdraw treatment too soon - basically keep going until after everything seems back to normal, rather than stop as soon as things start to pick up, as they can easily slip back again and it is much harder to make progress again.

Pain relief usually works wonders for improving appetite.
You need food input in order to get any output - whether syringe fed or normal eating. Syringed food will contain more water as well.
Only syringe feed if your vet has checked for blockages - which yours has.
Gut meds will keep it moving through.

Have you got any antibiotics as well?

That's interesting, I didn't consider it taking up to two weeks (a friend had one coming through it in one week, nearing 100% now) and that's really helpful to have more information there. I've not been directed to syringe feed as he's eating a lot on his own so I will talk to the vet in the morning about that when I pop back in - I still have the critical care food so it's all ready to use, no worry at all. No gut meds continuing as he has diarrhea from it and they said it would make it worse so I'll keep that in mind, may have to go back on those. (I stress that everything medical has come through the vets here, not me making decisions for him.) He has had antibiotics though.

It's difficult to know "what" to do when opinions conflict with the vets but I'll speak to them again tomorrow and see if the other one that the rescue recommended for specialist help has more information.
 
Sending lots of vibes for your bunny, really hope he gets through this bout of stasis soon.
 
That's interesting, I didn't consider it taking up to two weeks (a friend had one coming through it in one week, nearing 100% now) and that's really helpful to have more information there. I've not been directed to syringe feed as he's eating a lot on his own so I will talk to the vet in the morning about that when I pop back in - I still have the critical care food so it's all ready to use, no worry at all. No gut meds continuing as he has diarrhea from it and they said it would make it worse so I'll keep that in mind, may have to go back on those. (I stress that everything medical has come through the vets here, not me making decisions for him.) He has had antibiotics though.

It's difficult to know "what" to do when opinions conflict with the vets but I'll speak to them again tomorrow and see if the other one that the rescue recommended for specialist help has more information.
My bun recently had stasis she's moulting and ate a load of fur and cardboard took two weeks for her to be back to normal and it wasn't even as severe as previous stasis episodes I've dealt with, with my other rabbits. She never stopped fully eating etc whereas before I've had rabbits completely stop and have to be syringe fed (she wasn't this time). My boy didn't eat alone for 2 weeks once when he had it, then in week 3 he started to eat and recover but wasn't back to normal for another week or so.. So I think it can really depend.

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Thanks to all and for the well wishes too - I've now collected him and he's no longer on the drip and has been scoffing food all day (hay, greens, herbs etc), now had a tiny amount of pellets at home also and looks himself, just more tired but not lethargic if that makes sense. We checked his teeth there and molar spurs were found so that's likely to be a contributing factor along with the bonding, I would assume (using what I know of him personally and his stress levels). He is substantially brighter than he was even this morning coming out of the emergency vet clinic and his eyes look "normal" again (not sure how to put that).

I guess the main thing is for everything to pass through him now. He's had a pee, done some more normal looking droppings (it's the soft ones that they eat that are going diarrhea-like, it appears) and sat down to eat hay. He tried to have a little run around then realised it was hard work and flopped in his tunnel. He's more active and "fighting" his bottom being washed, which is normal for him. If he doesn't struggle, that's different to the norm. He's also not "walking" or pressing his belly down now. The vet said that the swelling had gone down. His buddy is with him currently as they are chilled out and relaxing together, no fuss at all (which I am shocked by, considering vet smells and unbonding problems linked to separation). I'll see how they go later whether they need to go side by side separately.

So, syringe-feed will be ready as needed but I'm going to double check that one with the vet in the morning whether they'd like me to continue or not and to see if they want to try the gut meds again, as I do think that that would be a more important one (keeping it moving is key, with no blockages).

Are there any early warning signs that may be helpful to pick up on if things change? Or book on rabbit illnesses that I can add to my collection? (Someone recomemnded a behaviour and body language one before and it was fantastic, so can't hurt to ask here too!)
 
My bun recently had stasis she's moulting and ate a load of fur and cardboard took two weeks for her to be back to normal and it wasn't even as severe as previous stasis episodes I've dealt with, with my other rabbits. She never stopped fully eating etc whereas before I've had rabbits completely stop and have to be syringe fed (she wasn't this time). My boy didn't eat alone for 2 weeks once when he had it, then in week 3 he started to eat and recover but wasn't back to normal for another week or so.. So I think it can really depend.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

I'm fairly sure I may have read your thread on this too!

Hm, that is useful to know too, thank you. Another case of knowing the animal (though I am more used to horses). No singular right answer but the basic things (drinking, eating, going to the bathroom, gut moving etc) are the same. I will double check with the vet in the morning with an update on how he's doing and thanks for passing that information on to me also, it wasn't something I'd considered in this state of mind. :)
 
I'm fairly sure I may have read your thread on this too!

Hm, that is useful to know too, thank you. Another case of knowing the animal (though I am more used to horses). No singular right answer but the basic things (drinking, eating, going to the bathroom, gut moving etc) are the same. I will double check with the vet in the morning with an update on how he's doing and thanks for passing that information on to me also, it wasn't something I'd considered in this state of mind. :)

Probably I do tend to freak out and post a lot [emoji38] it was Apricot that recently had it :)

I hope your bunny will be okay, I know they're small but I felt the same when I got my hamster I was like omg.. I actually know nothing about these weird little creatures [emoji38] was same when I got my first two buns, I'd had rabbits as a kid but everything had changed or I'd got everything wrong and I'd only experienced dogs really, now I don't have any but we're planning on getting a dog in next year or so, so I'm starting to research them again because I feel like I've forgotten everything [emoji38][emoji38] animals ay! Nightmare [emoji38] there's so much info and special things to look out for and remember.


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Over the decades, I have dealt with GI stasis as both a digestive/primary issue (bacteria imbalance, viral, congenital issues) and as a secondary issue when the bunny does not eat enough fiber or drink enough fluids as the result of other medical issues (bladder stones, UTI's, dental issues, head tilt/ear infections, overweight, lack of activity/exercise from arthritis, and more)..
Because of this I know how stressful this ordeal must be for you. I commend you for advocating for your bunny so he got the care he needed to recover.
It also makes me smile to learn that he has found a bunny companion who is so attentive.
Others have already given you excellent advice; so I will only add one thing medically. Make sure your bunny continues to drink well. If not, his body may pull fluids out of his digestive system and make passing poos even more difficult. It also will have the added benefit of diluting his pee so it is less irritating to his bladder or urinary tract.
Allow me to send you a zillion positive vibes that he will make a full recovery.
 
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Hope all is OK today. I thought bladder type issue when I read your first message too... Pain from that could cause the stasis.

An early warning sign that I used to notice with my stasis bunnies was the ear temperature going low. It's hard not to get paranoid at poo content and worrying they've stopped, since bunnies don't poo consistently all day long. Smaller poos would be an obvious sign though.
 
A lot of people are saying bladder issues but he's always been pretty good at "going" consistently but I will keep a close eye on that and investigate that next if it turns out not to be a stress/spurs combination, thank you for highlighting it. The bit about ear temperature is very interesting too and I'll keep an eye on that very closely too as I have been feeling his ears more when it's been hot. His ears were definitely colder, however, when he was sick as I remember being surprised that they weren't warm or even hot. :)

He's doing really well now, loads of poo and going to pee well, no soft droppings/runny poo, drinking okay but I'm syringing a drop of water too and giving the greens with a good water content. He's scoffing the grass and eating his hay well too, bothering his buddy who is still being very tolerant and sweet of him. He's getting antibiotics still.
 
A lot of people are saying bladder issues but he's always been pretty good at "going" consistently but I will keep a close eye on that and investigate that next if it turns out not to be a stress/spurs combination, thank you for highlighting it. The bit about ear temperature is very interesting too and I'll keep an eye on that very closely too as I have been feeling his ears more when it's been hot. His ears were definitely colder, however, when he was sick as I remember being surprised that they weren't warm or even hot. :)

He's doing really well now, loads of poo and going to pee well, no soft droppings/runny poo, drinking okay but I'm syringing a drop of water too and giving the greens with a good water content. He's scoffing the grass and eating his hay well too, bothering his buddy who is still being very tolerant and sweet of him. He's getting antibiotics still.

I am so glad your boy continues to improve.

As SarahP mentioned, a bunny in stasis (or even with other illness) can have a low body temp. From what I have seen, a bunny with a low body temp that is not the result of outside/room temperatures is cause for further investigation. I am not sure, but I think it is a sign the bunny is going into shock or experiencing pain. It is the one time I may slightly warm the fluids before giving them sub Q fluids and a smaller quantity of fluids. High body temps should also be addressed.
 
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