Does anyone have experience with a persistent hair ball that lasts for months?

[Raploz]

I've just left my baby Caiú (reads as Caillou) at the vet overnight. He's a New Zealand White, a year and a half old. Just for context, I live in Brazil. He has been having frequent GI Stasis symptoms since August 2025. Since then he had 3 stasis episodes that were solved with fluids and medication, plus an unrelated surgery for an abscess in the belly (caused by mishandling at another clinic). He got dental work last week because he was becoming super selective with his food, and his poop was becoming smaller and smaller (everything started at the beginning of May. We tried treating him ay home for weeks to no avail). This week he was slowly recovering from the anesthesia and all the trauma, but unfortunately he started getting very selective with his diet again. Tonight we went to the same vet and she said his symptoms are compatible with a partial obstruction (lots of mucus in poop, selective appetite, high blood glucose), even though he is pooping better for the first time in days after the dental work.

She told us she suspects he could have this partial blockage since August, and that it would explain why he's having episodes of stasis and changes in poop size more and more frequently each time. Last time he had stasis they already said it could be a partial blockage, and wanted to do surgery, but we opted for a conservative approach, which did solve the issue for a while. That was 2 months ago, in March.

Does anyone else have experience with a persistent hair ball/tricobezoar that just won't dissolve and just stays there even when the stasis gets better?

I really didn't believe her when she told me it could be the same hairball since August. I thought it had dissolved after so many treatments. He had periods of over a month totally fine, so I'm at a loss. I'm really scared he might need surgery and not make it, especially after he just had one for his teeth last week. It really hurts seeing him deteriorate like this. He didn't even finish his full course of meds this time, and even was improving with the exception of his appetite. Today the only thing he eats is Kale. She also checked his mouth and said it's healing very well, and discarded the possibility it could be related to his recent dental work.

I'm attaching a picture I took of him at the vet a couple hours ago. Other than his appetite he seems much better, his behavior is like 80%, he eats all the Kale you can give him (And only Kale!), and didn't seem to be in pain (though she said he did show pain symptoms when she pressed on his belly).

If any of you could share your experiences, or even some words of support, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

PS: I forgot to say what they plan to do to him. He will stay there for 2 days because they will give him contrast and frequent x-rays to check if there really is an obstruction. I'm hoping his appetite gets better in the meantime. I really hope he doesn't need surgery, but I'm also afraid he will keep getting worse and worse if we just keep giving him fluids and meds.

 

[tonibun]

Aw what a shame! Can you not get him some Hay as this usually helps to drive other food through the system. Grass is good also. Do you make sure his kale is wet? Kale is high in calcium so he needs to be eating other foods as well. I hope you can resolve this problem. He looks like a lovely Rabbit.

 

[Raploz]

Aw what a shame! Can you not get him some Hay as this usually helps to drive other food through the system. Grass is good also. Do you make sure his kale is wet? Kale is high in calcium so he needs to be eating other foods as well. I hope you can resolve this problem. He looks like a lovely Rabbit.

He eats oat hay but never ate enough. I tried multiple types of hay. My hope is that he will start eating more now that he got his teeth trimmed. This morning they called saying he had a sudden worsening, his oxygen saturation dropped, he started getting blue and his blood pressure increased. We rushed to the vet and thought we would lose him. Thankfully they managed to stabilize him and by the time we arrived he was feeling better. I talked to the vet and they thought there was a chance of liver lobe torsion but it seems less likely now that he's better. They will keep giving him contrast to check whether he has a hairball or not, but it seems the contrast is going through, so we're hopeful. He also said he thinks the hairball couldn't possibly stay there since August, but that he likely got another the last time he had stasis 2 months ago and it might be there. He will stay at the vet, I don't think this is something I can treat at home, but after he gets better I'll definitely try to give him more hay and keep brushing him frequently. Thanks!

 

[bunny momma]

I have had bunnies with frequent gut stasis, often related to dental . Vet prescribed pain relief and fluids (sub q once home), along with gut motility meds and syringe feeds once an obstruction is ruled out. Often the stomach had a combination of fur and retained food that may break up and pass through the gi system with supportive care.
Gut surgery is a serious operation for a bunny, especially one who had low oxygen and blood pressure issues, so a scan to see if it is a liver torsion which would likely require surgery is suggested.
In my experience with GI stasis, it is important to continue treatment with fluids, pain meds, motility meds and possibly syringe feeds for a short period after they seem to be improving.
Lastly, dental issues may need regular trimming/burring, plus it is hard to see the back teeth without anesthesia. Sending lots of positive vibes.

 

[Raploz]

I have had bunnies with frequent gut stasis, often related to dental . Vet prescribed pain relief and fluids (sub q once home), along with gut motility meds and syringe feeds once an obstruction is ruled out. Often the stomach had a combination of fur and retained food that may break up and pass through the gi system with supportive care.
Gut surgery is a serious operation for a bunny, especially one who had low oxygen and blood pressure issues, so a scan to see if it is a liver torsion which would likely require surgery is suggested.
In my experience with GI stasis, it is important to continue treatment with fluids, pain meds, motility meds and possibly syringe feeds for a short period after they seem to be improving.
Lastly, dental issues may need regular trimming/burring, plus it is hard to see the back teeth without anesthesia. Sending lots of positive vibes.

Thank you! They will do an ultrasound to rule out a liver lobe torsion and to also look at his stomach. I talked to the vet this morning and asked about possibilities of what could have happened, and he said there's a chance he had hypermotility of the GI tract due to the motility drugs and an extremely painful contraction. He's been taking them for a long time and they actually reduced the amount they're giving him now. That would explain the mucus too, though a partial obstruction cannot be ruled out until later when we get more x-rays with contrast. Basically they're still investigating what's happening, and I'm expecting news tonight about his progress. I do agree surgery is something to not be taken lightly, and with other GI episodes I always advocated for a conservative approach, which did work but apparently didn't fully solve the issue. The vet said surgery sometimes it's the best option when the mass cannot be broken down, when it would take too much time (because it also deteriorates the rabbit's well being) or when it only partially dissolves. Before and after the surgery they did in total 5 days of IV fluids and gave him motility drugs too because he was already having small poo. Basically the treatment he should be getting if he had a partial blockage, so I'd expect it to be gone by now. If it isn't, I'll still advocate to give him more days to recover before surgery. It's still only one of the possibilities though, he also said it could be gastritis or even an ulcer from all the meds he's been taking. I guess we'll need to keep investigating but I'll add updates as I get them.

 

[Raploz]

I got updates now. It seems he had another episode of low oxygen saturation but it improved with morphine. He's now eating, drinking well and pooping well. His ultrasound showed he does have gastritis, and the contents of the stomach are softer now. Most of his blood markers improved but for some reason his platelets increased to double of what they should be. They started administering heparin to avoid blood clots. They still don't discard a partial blockage but they still need more x-rays to confirm whether there's something inside or not. I'm not happy with the news about the platelets but they're still investigating what's happening. I really hope my baby gets better soon, but everything is really strange. There's something else going on but I really hope he can get better.

 

[William]

I'm sorry he's not feeling good but it sounds like he's in good care. You're doing well by noticing in time and getting him hospitalized

I might be wrong but I wonder if he's getting repeated stasis episodes due to not eating hay or grass well? This keeps their gut moving (which helps with hairballs too), plus keeps their teeth in good shape, which also prevents stasis. Getting uncomfortable or in pain from teeth issues causes less eating, which slows the gut down.

With some rabbits, you might need to brush them regularly and pull out loose fur when they're moulting. It depends on the rabbit but I know some struggle more with hairballs.

 

[Raploz]

I'm sorry he's not feeling good but it sounds like he's in good care. You're doing well by noticing in time and getting him hospitalized

I might be wrong but I wonder if he's getting repeated stasis episodes due to not eating hay or grass well? This keeps their gut moving (which helps with hairballs too), plus keeps their teeth in good shape, which also prevents stasis. Getting uncomfortable or in pain from teeth issues causes less eating, which slows the gut down.

With some rabbits, you might need to brush them regularly and pull out loose fur when they're moulting. It depends on the rabbit but I know some struggle more with hairballs.

Thanks. It's a possibility. No matter how much I tried he never ate enough hay, I even tried adding a forage mix, herbs and trying multiple hay types. The only hay he likes somewhat is oat hay, which I always offered in unlimited amounts in multiple places (he's free roam, I only put him in his pen at night), but he was never too keen on eating hay. Once he got soft cecotropes and we cut all greens and pellets to try to to make him go back to normal. The next day he ended up getting tiny misshapen poops because he just didn't eat enough. Since he had his first stasis in August and got an x-ray I knew he had some small teeth spurs, but the vets always assured me they shouldn't cause problems because they were too small. Now that he got dental work I was really hoping he would start to feel better and stop getting stasis, but instead everything I said started happening.

About brushing, up until his second stasis episode I didn't brush him, I only used my hands to remove loose fur, but after it I started brushing him at least once a day, and since the start of the month, when he started shedding heavily again I started brushing him relentlessly, up to 3 times a day, often for over an hour in the morning. He sheds A LOT of fur, so at least for this last month when he started getting small poops I tried everything to stop him from licking fur.

To be honest I'm not even sure if a hairball is the issue anymore. Maybe it played a role, but I doubt it would cause the new issues he's having now. Even though he showed improvement today, he's been deteriorating slowly for months for some unexplained reason, with more and more frequent gastric episodes (he had multiple gas and appetite problems between the stasis episodes, no matter what I changed in his diet or how much exercise he did). I'm afraid of what might happen to my baby, but I know I'm doing everything I can to help him.

My first bunny lived for healthy 9 years. Caillou is not even 2, he's so young. I'm trying to stay calm but deep down this feels exactly the same way it felt when I realized I was losing my first bun. Sorry I had to vent. I hope they find out what's wrong but I'm really scared of losing him.

 

[Raploz]

Update: Great news! He's improving and the vet thinks he doesn't need surgery. She does still think there could be something inside, but whatever it is seems to be dissolving with fluids and surgery won't be necessary. All the contrast went through as well. We'll take him home tomorrow and keep treating with Sucralfate for the gastritis, pain, motility meds and suplements for his liver. He will also need a medication to help with his increased platelet count (it went up again, from 800 thousand to over a million) but the vet doesn't seem too worried. He'll get another blood test in a week. His poop is still misshapen but in good quantity, and he's eating and drinking well. This is the best outcome I could've hoped for. I'm still a bit scared of the future but I'll do my best to give all the care my baby needs. <3

 

[bunny momma]

I was glad to read he is improving with supportive care and does not need surgery.
Sending vibes he continues to do well.

 

[Raploz]

I was glad to read he is improving with supportive care and does not need surgery.
Sending vibes he continues to do well.

Thanks for the good vibes . He's still improving. His behavior is normal now, he still needs to take motility and pain meds until next tuesday (and supplements for his liver, a medicine to lower blood clots and medication to protect his stomach for a whole month). His poop is still not back to normal, still pointy like a teardrop and varying in size, but considering he's been dealing with GI issues for a whole month I'm hopeful it will improve slowly but steadily. They want to do another blood test in a week to check if his platelet count dropped back to normal levels too. All in all he's making great progress and I can't wait for everything to go back to normal. Also, he stopped shedding, which is great news. I really hope whatever mass of hair he ingested leaves his body as soon as possible