I need some help on a sluggish recovery from a mild GI stasis

[Happy Hopping]

I am dealing with a sluggish recovery on a mild GI stasis. My bun Andi (a Rex) is at least 8 yr. old, she could be 10 to 12 yr. old, but my guess is just over Age 8. The day of adoption is Aug. 13, 2019, and at the time, SPCA said her age is btwn. 2 to 6, so that doesn't help at all. 2 days ago (Fri), at 8 am, she didn't touch her blackberry treats, but at the time, she's eating her hay on her own. By 4 pm, it's clear she has a mild GI stasis, She's in the midst of bonding w/ my other bun, so she lives in a metal pen, with just a few towels, 1 bowl of water, 1 bowl of hay, and a piece of wood that she's been chewing for ages. So the only element that can cause a GI stasis is the fact that she's shedding some fur. I gave 0.4 cc of metacam at 4:30pm, and 50 cc of NaCl sub-Q at 8:30 pm. Around 11 pm, she's eating some green on her own, and some bunny poo come out.

I have been dealing w/ rabbit's GI stasis for 28 yr., for all my other rabbits, once they have some poo comes out, eat some stuff on their own, that would be the end of the GI stasis. With Andi, in her last GI stasis last yr., even after she eats green on her own, and has poo come out, it still takes say 6+ hr. to be back to normal, in other words, her state of GI stasis recovery takes longer.

On Sat. at 4 pm, exactly 24 hr. later, I gave her a 2nd dosage of metacam at 0.4 cc, as well as 70 cc of sub-Q, as she is still not eating everything on her own. By Sat. evening, I start hand feeding her timothy hay. And she does eat all of them. It's now just passed midnight into Sun. morning, her condition is: she eats some pellet on her own, eats most green, banana on her own, but not the hay. So I do hand feed hay every 2 hr.

Now she does have some acute sign of arthritis, I don't know if it's typical for an age 8 bun to have arthritis. For those of you who has seen rabbit having arthritis, feel free to jump in and tell me the typical age for a bun to show signs of arthritis.

Her arthritis symptoms is she no longer hop to higher ground. My last bridge bun who had arthritis occurred at age 12. So she could be older than age 8, there is no way to know. Diet is excellent prior to Fri., w/ lots and lots of rabbit poo, normal consumption of water.

In the past 1 to 1.5 yr, there are 2 other odd sign:

1) there is a small wt. loss. Back in Apr. 24, 2025, she weighs 2.3KG, the other month at the clinic, it shows she weighs 2.06KG.

2) Her lower body muscle is constantly moving up and down in the past 1 to 1.5 yr., this could be early sign of heart disease, as stated here:

Heart Disease in Companion Rabbits: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

As companion rabbits live longer, the diagnosis of cardiac disease has become more common, influenced by factors such as age, genetics, concurrent diseases, and diet, affecting various parts of the heart including muscles, valves, and electrical conduction.

rabbit.org

but the other symptoms does not match, except the wt. loss

The AI google search engine said if a bun has heart problem, she'll breath w/ her nose up. But Andi never done that. So there some conflict signals.

Her appointment is set at Mon. afternoon w/ her regular vet on holiday at 1 clinic, and the other vet clinic closed on Sun.

The current rabbit poo amt. is low, smaller, but the color is excellent, the goldish yellow color. If anyone have seen the above symptoms, let me know

 

[bunny momma]

In my decades of experience the duration of stasis varied a lot depending on the cause. Sending positive vibes that the vet can diagnose your bunny and she will recover quickly.

 

[Happy Hopping]

update: she has fully recovery on Sun. around noon. So I'll be taking her to her regular vet on Sep. 9 as he's on holidays. It all goes back to the abdominal muscle moving up/down, we need to check if it's a heart issue

 

[bunny momma]

Well done catching it and treating it early. Sending vibes for Sept 9 appt with your regular vet.

 

[Happy Hopping]

thank you. I look back at the incident, it's not just fur shedding that she lick her fur, it could very well be the 4 piece of nectarine that I give to each of the 3 buns daily. The sugar upset her GI tract. I thought 4 piece is a small amt., but clearly it isn't

what's the longest GI stasis recovery you have seen?

 

[Shimmer]

I wouldn't recommend nectarine for rabbits. It's not part of their natural diet and has no positive nutritional value to them. Hay is best, especially with a stasis-prone rabbit where the fibre is essential for normal gut function.

 

[Happy Hopping]

I agree. I always thought I would have mistreated them if I don't give them some summer treats, now it turns out to be the sugar causing all these problem. Apparently, 4 slice is still too much. So no more nectarine from now on

 

[Omi]

My view has always been that it is really not good practice to give ANY fruit to bunnies. The sugar content is to be avoided. People think that they are giving treats to bunnies by providing such foods, but in reality the foods could do harm. Not to all bunnies agreed, but even where it does no harm, it also provides no benefits.

I would also include all commercial treats within this and regard them in the same basket of foods to avoid for my bunnies. Natural is, in my view, always healthier.

 

[Happy Hopping]

different berries have different levels of phenolic compounds. W/i phenolic compound, there is a substance called ellagic acid, which prevents cellular changes which leads to cancer, i.e., it stops a cancer cell from forming.

Blackberries phenolic compounds level mounts at 435 mg/100g. Raspberry range from 100 to 660 mg/100g. So I do give them blackberries in the past 20 year, as it is a prevention against cancer. This is why when you search under books like "Berries And Cancer Prevention" by Dr. Gary Stoner, you'll notice Dr. Stoner use Blackberries only (not raspberry) to his patient against cancer.

Blackberries is also used by hospital to diabetes patient, so the sugar level is very low.

I also wrote a thread here back in 2007 that I use blackberries to cure my bun's bone cancer. So I'll dig out blackberry as an exception

 

[InspectorMorse]

Chronic pain due to arthritis is a very common cause of recurring gut stasis. Arthritis can occur at any age. I would want the Vet to investigate arthritis before going down the cardiac route of diagnostics

Rabbit Arthritis Signs, Symptoms & Treatment | RWAF

Recognise arthritis symptoms in rabbits of all ages. Discover warning signs like stiffness, mobility issues, and behavioural changes, plus when to seek vet...

rabbitwelfare.co.uk

 

[Happy Hopping]

but does chronic pain due to arthritis cause weight loss? An old record back in 2025 shows she is 2.3KG, the other month she is at 2.06KG. And this is her first GI stasis going back many months.

The link you give above, the only match symptom of arthritis Andi has is wobbling. It's quite rare, say a few times per mth. So I imagine she's at the very early stage of arthritis.

By contrast, she has that "panting" on the abdomen muscle, it flaps up and down regularly , and when I do a search on that symptom, I got that link from rabbit.org, that's why I suspect it's heart disease. But I fully admit that Andi only match 2 of those symptoms: weight loss and abdominal distension

Heart Disease in Companion Rabbits: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

As companion rabbits live longer, the diagnosis of cardiac disease has become more common, influenced by factors such as age, genetics, concurrent diseases, and diet, affecting various parts of the heart including muscles, valves, and electrical conduction.

rabbit.org

I'll present both cases to the vet and see what she says

 

[bunny momma]

My view has always been that it is really not good practice to give ANY fruit to bunnies. The sugar content is to be avoided. People think that they are giving treats to bunnies by providing such foods, but in reality the foods could do harm. Not to all bunnies agreed, but even where it does no harm, it also provides no benefits.

I would also include all commercial treats within this and regard them in the same basket of foods to avoid for my bunnies. Natural is, in my view, always healthier.

I agree with Omi. Most fruits contain too much sugar which can lead to imbalances in the microbes in the cecum, though some bunnies on RU do fine with small quantities.

 

[Shimmer]

The ‘panting’ may be a sign of pain.
Pretty much anything can stop a rabbit eating properly. Pain certainly will. That will cause weight loss.

Ageing often results in loss of muscle, and therefore loss in weight.

An older rabbit is likely to have arthritis. They may move around less and lose muscle mass (and therefore lose weight).

Getting her examined by a vet is a good call. Rabbits hide their symptoms until they become too advanced not to, so it’s well worth trying to find out what’s wrong.

 

[Happy Hopping]

1 quick question: when human have arthritis, the pain level doesn't realistically affect their daily life. My dad has arthritis for 20+ years, he's quite happy. So does arthritis on a rabbit affect be painful enough to cause them to eat less?

the other thing is, there is a lot of rabbit poo that I pickup everyday on Andi's pen. Definitely the same range compares to the past, easily a few hundred per day. And all the treats + veggies, she finished off at the same speed as before

 

[Omi]

1 quick question: when human have arthritis, the pain level doesn't realistically affect their daily life. My dad has arthritis for 20+ years, he's quite happy. So does arthritis on a rabbit affect be painful enough to cause them to eat less?

the other thing is, there is a lot of rabbit poo that I pickup everyday on Andi's pen. Definitely the same range compares to the past, easily a few hundred per day. And all the treats + veggies, she finished off at the same speed as before

Hahahahahahahaha 'the pain level doesn't affect their daily life' I might add, a person can be quite happy and still experience the affect on their daily life.

 

[Shimmer]

Arthritis definitely affect quality of life. The affected joints hurt and won't work as they did before - so movement becomes restricted. People can choose to do things differently and can slow down / compensate without it being quite so obvious at first. Rabbits will also find their normal movement restricted, so there will be subtle changes - like not running and jumping as enthusiastically, or being unable to groom themselves as thoroughly. You get indications like sore hocks or mites as secondary effects of arthritis.

 

[Moonstone]

I am also dealing with a sluggish recovery from stasis. Toffee came here from a rescue a couple of years ago and I haven't experienced it in him before, my other bunnies have normally recovered quite quickly. Toffee made a good recovery over about 34 hours, eating, pooing and binkying on Tuesday then by Wednesday morning that had unravelled. No poo or urine from him all day and we went back the vet who said he was gurgling, and his temperature was on the low side but he was only moderately ill and I could go on doing what I'm doing with a view to seeing a specialist if it's ongoing or reoccuring. He did give him fluids and opioids though (he said Toffee was in pain, the metacam wasn't doing enough to cover it) which enabled us to sleep through the night. Today: six poos so far, reasonably large and healthy looking. No pellets, no hay but he has eaten some basil and parsley. When I syringe feed him, he doesn't chew and swallow it, it sits in his mouth so I can't put much in at a time (it just starts coming out again). A few times I've seen him wake up, realise he has recovery food in his mouth and chew on it, other times he just spits it out. He is seven years old. His teeth are okay, no sign of arthritis (unlike my other one). No idea what his diet was like before he came here though.

I'm glad Andi is feeling better.

 

[Omi]

I am also dealing with a sluggish recovery from stasis. Toffee came here from a rescue a couple of years ago and I haven't experienced it in him before, my other bunnies have normally recovered quite quickly. Toffee made a good recovery over about 34 hours, eating, pooing and binkying on Tuesday then by Wednesday morning that had unravelled. No poo or urine from him all day and we went back the vet who said he was gurgling, and his temperature was on the low side but he was only moderately ill and I could go on doing what I'm doing with a view to seeing a specialist if it's ongoing or reoccuring. He did give him fluids and opioids though (he said Toffee was in pain, the metacam wasn't doing enough to cover it) which enabled us to sleep through the night. Today: six poos so far, reasonably large and healthy looking. No pellets, no hay but he has eaten some basil and parsley. When I syringe feed him, he doesn't chew and swallow it, it sits in his mouth so I can't put much in at a time (it just starts coming out again). A few times I've seen him wake up, realise he has recovery food in his mouth and chew on it, other times he just spits it out. He is seven years old. His teeth are okay, no sign of arthritis (unlike my other one). No idea what his diet was like before he came here though.

I'm glad Andi is feeling better.

I would start a new thread with this issue, as you will probably get more replies.

What other meds has Toffee been given? Were you given gut motility and pain relief to continue at home the first time you went to the vets? It's usually best to continue with the medication for a few days, even if the bunny appears to be eating again. Fluids are usually helpful. The opioid could still be having a mildly sedating effect, which would account for his sleepiness when you are syringe-feeding.

 

[Moonstone]

Thank you, Omi, I did wonder if the opioid was still having an impact. He seems a bit brighter this evening, he chewed and swallowed four mouthfuls of recovery mix, and there were six more poos. I just went in to feed him again and he was chewing on leaves so I backed out again. Yes, he's still on Metacam and Emerid. Oh Wednesday morning there was a hiccup with the Emeprid and he had some about three hours late (I ran out, my vet didn't have any so I did a long drive to its parent company) so that could have been a factor in him going downhill again.

 

[Omi]

Thank you, Omi, I did wonder if the opioid was still having an impact. He seems a bit brighter this evening, he chewed and swallowed four mouthfuls of recovery mix, and there were six more poos. I just went in to feed him again and he was chewing on leaves so I backed out again. Yes, he's still on Metacam and Emerid. Oh Wednesday morning there was a hiccup with the Emeprid and he had some about three hours late (I ran out, my vet didn't have any so I did a long drive to its parent company) so that could have been a factor in him going downhill again.

Fingers crossed, he maintains the improvement. Sometimes it just takes a bit longer for them to get back to being completely OK and it's best to just keep on with the meds and syringe-feeding.