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Adopted rabbit from rescue for bond developed stasis

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drmag

Young Bun
HI all,

I posted about bonding my house rabbit Maggie (neutered female 7 months) with a bunny I adopted from a rescue approx. 1 year old neutered male Teddy.

Initially they were getting along positively but Teddy was eating less until separated from Maggie overnight when he ate everything I left him. They were in side by side enclosures originally.

They unfortunately had a fight during the bonding process the following day and his eating just steadily went downhill over next 2 days with slowing stool movements so I took him to the vet as was worried about stasis and vet recommended critical care syringe feeding.
I also separated both buns into different rooms in case Maggie was adding stress to Teddy.

Has been difficult as Teddy is only just getting to know me, has not formed a bond with me yet and looks really depressed with the syringe feeding and vet trips. Syringe feeding has been difficult as initially he was so distressed by it and cowering afterwards, broke my heart. The second time I took him to the vet was similar shaking like a leaf and cowering. His eyes looked sad - I really don't think I've seen a rabbit look that sad before.
They admitted him yesterday for monitoring, feeding and IV fluids and when he came home last night after 3 hours he finally pooped but didn't really eat anything other than cardboard then didn't poo all night.

Had to syringe feed him critical care 5am overnight, which he seems to have either gotten used to or not fighting anymore due to tiredness/depression. (Or maybe I have got better at holding him?)

He is at the vets all day admitted today again - finding it really difficult. Feel like I have adopted him thinking I was doing the right thing but he just looks like he is being tortured.

Maggie nearly went into stasis following her spay but we had a bond with her so she let us hand feed her basil and syringe fed her medicine with ease (she just took whatever we gave her just on holding near her face without having to handle her.) This stopped her developing stasis. She trusts us so much that it may have strengthened our bond with her when we nursed her back to health. Feel it is the complete opposite with Teddy and has been hard on us and him.

Has anyone else been through this and did their rabbit get over this psychologically? I know stasis is common.
 
Aww poor chap :( Do you know anything about his history? Did the rescue consider him a nervous bunny? I think, obviously the main consideration atm is to get him completely over this Stasis episode. Hopefully, after another day at the vets he'll have improved a bit.

I think, depending on his history and whether this current situation is purely as a result of the bonding/fighting, it will be possible for him to get over this completely. I, personally, would hold off with any bonding attempts for a few weeks though and get him to a stage where he is much more comfortable with his new home.

Sending him lots of vibes. I can understand how you are feeling about wanting to help him and having this happen.
 
drmag said:
HI all,

I posted about bonding my house rabbit Maggie (neutered female 7 months) with a bunny I adopted from a rescue approx. 1 year old neutered male Teddy.

Initially they were getting along positively but Teddy was eating less until separated from Maggie overnight when he ate everything I left him. They were in side by side enclosures originally.

They unfortunately had a fight during the bonding process the following day and his eating just steadily went downhill over next 2 days with slowing stool movements so I took him to the vet as was worried about stasis and vet recommended critical care syringe feeding.
I also separated both buns into different rooms in case Maggie was adding stress to Teddy.

Has been difficult as Teddy is only just getting to know me, has not formed a bond with me yet and looks really depressed with the syringe feeding and vet trips. Syringe feeding has been difficult as initially he was so distressed by it and cowering afterwards, broke my heart. The second time I took him to the vet was similar shaking like a leaf and cowering. His eyes looked sad - I really don't think I've seen a rabbit look that sad before.
They admitted him yesterday for monitoring, feeding and IV fluids and when he came home last night after 3 hours he finally pooped but didn't really eat anything other than cardboard then didn't poo all night.

Had to syringe feed him critical care 5am overnight, which he seems to have either gotten used to or not fighting anymore due to tiredness/depression. (Or maybe I have got better at holding him?)

He is at the vets all day admitted today again - finding it really difficult. Feel like I have adopted him thinking I was doing the right thing but he just looks like he is being tortured.

Maggie nearly went into stasis following her spay but we had a bond with her so she let us hand feed her basil and syringe fed her medicine with ease (she just took whatever we gave her just on holding near her face without having to handle her.) This stopped her developing stasis. She trusts us so much that it may have strengthened our bond with her when we nursed her back to health. Feel it is the complete opposite with Teddy and has been hard on us and him.

Has anyone else been through this and did their rabbit get over this psychologically? I know stasis is common.
Click to expand...

Oh dear poor Teddy :cry: I am assuming that he has had his teeth checked ? Whilst stress can certainly lead to gut slow down/stasis, the slow eating he initially exhibited could be due to dental problems, So a double whammy- stress from a new environment/bond and a sore mouth. Personally I would leave attempting to bond Teddy with Maggie for a few weeks to allow him to settle in and get to know you, his new environment and his new routine.

Do you know what prokinetics (gut motility meds) the Vet is giving ? Chewing/eating cardboard can be indicative of reduced motility of the cecum. So a gut motility drug that specifically acts on the hind gut should be given, not just Metoclopramide which acts on the upper GI tract. The other drugs are usually Ranitidine (AKA Zantac) and/or Cisapride (AKA Prepulsid).

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Caecal_Impaction.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Ranitidine.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Cisapride.htm

I hope that Teddy feels better soon x
 
I do not know much about him other than that he was at the rescue for 5 months (in a standard hutch.) He is used to be handled for brushing so I imagine he was docile by personality - he is hesitant to jump up onto a box or jump down from small boxes so I think he will need a lot of TLC to come out of his shell which I did not consider when I first got him.

I have tried to emulate that by making a small enclosure with grids as I think the smaller space makes him feel safer. Again complete opposite to other buns I've had who needed lots of space.
I have mentally prepared myself for keeping them in separate rooms for at least a month - get him to bond with us first, get him to open up and get confident. If he gets through this stasis that is... :(
 
His teeth look ok according to the two vets he has seen this week thankfully, however he has had a sniffly nose since we got him no sneeze apparently his chest sounds clear and they think it may be allergy related.
He has been given metoclopramide and today ranitidine.
It has been difficult weighing what best to do for him as I feel like it is stress related, vicious cycle of vet visits and syringe feeding treat him but also stress him. Thank you for your post, it at least helped me understand rationale of treatments the vet is giving.
 
Omi said:
Aww poor chap :( Do you know anything about his history? Did the rescue consider him a nervous bunny? I think, obviously the main consideration atm is to get him completely over this Stasis episode. Hopefully, after another day at the vets he'll have improved a bit.

I think, depending on his history and whether this current situation is purely as a result of the bonding/fighting, it will be possible for him to get over this completely. I, personally, would hold off with any bonding attempts for a few weeks though and get him to a stage where he is much more comfortable with his new home.

Sending him lots of vibes. I can understand how you are feeling about wanting to help him and having this happen.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with Omi. Give him a few weeks to settle and be eating well and then try again. Let us know when you feel he is much happier in himself then we can support you through the bonding.
 
How long do we expect stasis to last if we are only concerned about stress?
It has been a week since Teddy was admitted for IV fluids and critical care. He is eating with encouragement (every 2 hours I push something under his face to eat - wet kale, hay, some pellets.) He won't eat it all in one go but maybe 1/3 of anything I hand him. I stopped syringe feeding him as it was stressing him so much and destroying any chance of a relationship with us. Felt it was becoming a vicious cycle, syringe him then he didn't eat. Started giving his motility and pain relief inside mashed banana and noted he started eating a bit more.
He won't eat very much of his own accord if I leave food in bowls.
Haven't seen him drink but he is peeing overnight.
Pooing twice a day mostly in evenings. He is off the motility drugs now for 24 hours. (Will liaise with vet now)
Just wondering from experience out there 1 week post symptoms - is all of this explained by stress of change in environment?
Looks like he was used to being in a small cage his whole life as he mostly sits in the corner. He is currently in a large room free roamed with some corners to hide in and hooded cat litter box. Difficult to say if his corner sitting is tummy related or that he is used to small dark spaces.
 
I'm still wondering whether a tooth problem is at the bottom of this. It is almost impossible for a vet to examine the back teeth with 100% degree of certainty. Does he seem to favour some foods over others or is it all treated the same? Do his poos appear normal in size and consistency?

I think that the longer this continues, the less likely it would seem to be stress-induced. I think if it were due to stress he would be less likely to take from you, than when left by himself. I'll be interested to hear what your vet suggests.
 
Maybe if he has always been outside then he feels scared/uncomfortable being indoors. I don't know what you can do about this though and it might not be this. I have a rabbit Dixie who is not happy indoors as he had a bad experience at his previous home. I hope he starts to relax more and eat normally.
 
Plan is weaning him off medicine (has been 24 hours without motility drugs already) now trial without Metacam today. Asked to weigh him to check if weight loss (doesn't seem to have lost weight.)
The poo looks normal round shape, there is just a small mound of them (maybe 20 poos max) per day. (I'm used to rabbits being poop machines.) He only poos at night or after 7pm.
In total in last 24 hours he has eaten the amount I would expect, but 80% of it is with encouragement. Today he ate all his pellets (I have had to keep moving them to whichever corner he is hiding in and put under his face) has eaten kale - again my partner popped them in front of where he was hiding and he took a few out of his hand maybe overall ate 2/3. Hay I do see him picking up off the floor where he is sitting and in his litter box. Again I pick up a ball of hay and waft it in his face to encourage him to eat it.
I just don't see normal behaviours such as food excitement or coming out from corner to eat.
He seems to only like kale or banana from veggies - have tried celery parsley coriander rocket spinach and apple.
Regards to teeth - he is eating pellets (hard) and kale and hay.

Some things that do make me think anxiety is an issue is he is hiding a lot - particularly afraid of me which I think is because of all the syringe feeding...
We have a follow up with vet visit in a few days time due to his sniffly nose, who may consider antibiotics if he doesn't pick up.
 
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