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

[Moonstone]

Should I syringe feed even though he's eating, but not eating as much as usual? I think I should start weighing him actually, it's the only measure I have, then I'll know if enough is going in. He ate three pellets this morning, the bigger Science selective ones and then chewed a bit on hay but never eats for long.

 

[Shimmer]

It’s a good idea to check his weight weekly. Checking poo output is also useful. Any reduction in size, quantity or shape / texture indicate that you need to intervene. If you know he’s really not eating properly but is still pooing, I would offer additional syringe feeds. There’s a risk of gut stasis if input is reduced as the guts have nothing to work with - it’s a bit like a sausage making machine. You only get decent output with consistent input, otherwise the whole thing goes wrong.

If there’s no poo output, check with a vet as an emergency before syringe feeding - there may be a blockage.

 

[bunny momma]

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.

Sending lots of vibes for Toffee.

 

[Moonstone]

Thank you. He is still pooing, his poos are smaller than normal (mostly, some are normal) and I would like him to poo more, I have told the vet those things. He was choosing to only eat fresh leaves today and only grape and hazelnut, but I have been doing 4-5 hourly syringe feeds and he's only spitting about a quarter of it out now. He's 1.6kg, he has lost weight but not worryingly, I think I just have to be patient and plough on but my timings have gone wrong as he is due his next emeprid at 2.30am!

 

[bunny momma]

Thank you. He is still pooing, his poos are smaller than normal (mostly, some are normal) and I would like him to poo more, I have told the vet those things. He was choosing to only eat fresh leaves today and only grape and hazelnut, but I have been doing 4-5 hourly syringe feeds and he's only spitting about a quarter of it out now. He's 1.6kg, he has lost weight but not worryingly, I think I just have to be patient and plough on but my timings have gone wrong as he is due his next emeprid at 2.30am!

It can take a long time to syringe feed a bunny and have them swallow most of it. So you are doing well to have the patience to do it 4-5 times a day.
I hope he takes his overnight meds well so you can get back to sleep quickly.

 

[Omi]

How has Toffee been today?

 

[Moonstone]

He ate four science selective pellets this morning, which is as many as he eats on a normal morning. He seems more himself but it is a bit hard to tell because he's now running and hiding whenever he sees me. He is syringe feeding well and has eaten a little grass, no hay as far as I know though. I was really low on critical care, so drove around today trying to find some in a pet shop, no joy but the only vet's that were open were willing to supply me the Science Selective recovery mix. So the last feed was a mix of them both, the next one will be too. He is pooing more but not as much as normal and they are still small, teardrop shaped. He's maintaining his temperature now, no longer using the heat mat except at night. I don't know what else to do but we'll go back to the vet if he isn't pooing like normal when we run out of emeprid.

 

[Omi]

Fingers crossed he continues to improve. Pooing more is good, I imagine the shape and size is because he's not eating hay. Was he previously a good hay-eater? It's also OK to use the dust out of the pellet bag to mix up for syringe-feeding, if you run out again.

 

[Moonstone]

Yes, hay was what he mainly ate before. Loved dried marigolds and camomile but didn't really like much that was fresh. At one of the pet shops I visited they were selling a critical care formula that said it was suitable for fish, birds and rabbits. I told the salesperson I thought that unlikely and when I read the ingredients, it was basically half whey powder and half glucose syrup. It's made by a company called 'Vetark". The sales person went to get someone who knows about rabbits and she checked mine had seen a vet, sympathised and explained that Oxbow critical care is restricted so you need a licence to sell it which they didn't have (even though you don't need a prescription). Apparently Pets at Home do have this licence because they also have vets working in the shops. She did agree that I shouldn't give him whey powder and sugar but the other one was more defensive saying that it was just if you were desperate. I was very polite but I did say I wasn't going to be that desperate because rabbits need fibre, I said I'd crush up pellets if I had to, as you were saying, Omi, about using the dust from the bag.

 

[Shimmer]

You can soak the pellets in hot water and then mash them if you don't have any dust from the packet. Science Selective are better than some at going mushy without too much effort. Allow to cool before feeding it. I find a small jar is useful for making it up and then you can keep it in the fridge for 24 hrs. It may flow through the syringe better with a bit of apple / pear / carrot puree (eg baby food).

Critical Care and similar suitable products are readily available online. Some may deliver next day (eg Amazon).

Definitely don't use a whey & sugar based one - it could make the situation a whole lot worse very quickly.

 

[bunny momma]

Yes, hay was what he mainly ate before. Loved dried marigolds and camomile but didn't really like much that was fresh. At one of the pet shops I visited they were selling a critical care formula that said it was suitable for fish, birds and rabbits. I told the salesperson I thought that unlikely and when I read the ingredients, it was basically half whey powder and half glucose syrup. It's made by a company called 'Vetark". The sales person went to get someone who knows about rabbits and she checked mine had seen a vet, sympathised and explained that Oxbow critical care is restricted so you need a licence to sell it which they didn't have (even though you don't need a prescription). Apparently Pets at Home do have this licence because they also have vets working in the shops. She did agree that I shouldn't give him whey powder and sugar but the other one was more defensive saying that it was just if you were desperate. I was very polite but I did say I wasn't going to be that desperate because rabbits need fibre, I said I'd crush up pellets if I had to, as you were saying, Omi, about using the dust from the bag.

Toffee is lucky you checked the ingredients on the syringe feed. I
Like Omi said, I used crushed pellets when I did not have Critical care. I still mix crushed pellets with critical care to give the bunny a familiar taste.
Sending vibes for you and Toffee.

 

[Moonstone]

Yes, I think it's really wrong that whey/glucose stuff is advertised as being for rabbits. It's okay though, I was able to get some SS Recovery food from the only local vet that was open. I decided to cut down a little on the syringe feeding today to see if he eats more. I've kept all of yesterday's poo and intend to weigh it so I can get a measure of whether we're making progress. Hard to tell how much he's not happy because he feels ill or he's not happy because I keep squirting things into his mouth. Overnight he ate three pellets, some coriander and half a fruit loop, and this morning he nibbled on hay after his 10ml syringe feed.

 

[Omi]

Yes, I think it's really wrong that whey/glucose stuff is advertised as being for rabbits. It's okay though, I was able to get some SS Recovery food from the only local vet that was open. I decided to cut down a little on the syringe feeding today to see if he eats more. I've kept all of yesterday's poo and intend to weigh it so I can get a measure of whether we're making progress. Hard to tell how much he's not happy because he feels ill or he's not happy because I keep squirting things into his mouth. Overnight he ate three pellets, some coriander and half a fruit loop, and this morning he nibbled on hay after his 10ml syringe feed.

I think it's a worthwhile test to cut down a little on the syringe feed and I can understand why you would want to do it. Does he drink much? Obviously his fluid intake might go down a bit with the reduced syring-feeding. I would try to encourage some fresh food to compensate as well.

Good that he is at least nibbling some hay. Have you got any of the dried marigold and coriander to try scattering a bit amongst the hay?

Your poo weighing experiment is great

 

[Moonstone]

Yes, he's drinking a quite a lot, and yes marigold is in there. The coriander is fresh so I'm just offering it at intervals. Poo weighed 18 grams for the whole of yesterday (at some point I need to get a life).

 

[Omi]

I think the poo weighing is useful. The difference in weights day to day of the bunny can simply be the difference between before and after a wee. How is he today?

 

[Happy Hopping]

Thank you. He is still pooing, his poos are smaller than normal (mostly, some are normal) and I would like him to poo more, I have told the vet those things. He was choosing to only eat fresh leaves today and only grape and hazelnut, but I have been doing 4-5 hourly syringe feeds and he's only spitting about a quarter of it out now. He's 1.6kg, he has lost weight but not worryingly, I think I just have to be patient and plough on but my timings have gone wrong as he is due his next emeprid at 2.30am!

grapes are very bad for rabbits, I don't even eat it myself. Grape produces gas, no rabbit should eat grapes. Go for carrot leaves and the carrot itself, along w/ Oxbow Organic bounty

 

[Shimmer]

Grape vine leaves are fine for rabbits, but the fruit isn't.

Carrot leaves can be fed in moderation - they are higher in calcium, so can cause issues in some rabbits. Carrot in small amounts is really only OK as a treat, although it can be useful as a puree to add to standard recovery powders if it makes it more palatable / flow better.

 

[bunny momma]

Yes, he's drinking a quite a lot, and yes marigold is in there. The coriander is fresh so I'm just offering it at intervals. Poo weighed 18 grams for the whole of yesterday (at some point I need to get a life).

It is good he is drinking well and staying hydrate.
I admit I collected, counted and then saved a days worth of pellets to visually compare it to the input, yet I never thought of weighing it. It is better than counting since size does matter.
Sending more vibes.

 

[Moonstone]

I said he was only eating leaves, and only grape and hazelnut, meaning he was having fresh grape leaves and hazelnut leaves from the garden. I wasn't feeding him grapes or carrot (or hazelnuts!).

Toffee's better!

I was told that weighing poo may not be accurate as unhealthy poo is wetter and weighs more than crumbly healthy poo. Also it's hard to judge the transit time and it varies anyway, even more so with statis, so it's not necessarily a reflection of what they ate the previous day. That said, I personally found the weight increased significantly as he got better. I found photographs of all the poo in one day really helpful, when you have pictures side by side you can judge the difference in volume, size, shape and colour, much more easily. This is the progression over three days:




Now I have to show you a picture of his lovely face because I made you look at poo.



I think it's a shame that the syringe feeding is the only way through this. Toffee came to live here less than two years ago and has been clear that he doesn't appreciate being touched by humans. For the first few months he regularly bit me, drawing blood (Me: *holds out arm with a treat* Him: Attack!) He doesn't bite now, even when being held down and syringed he wasn't going to bite me but it was really challenging for him, his little heart was going really fast and I think the stress probably slowed his recovery.

 

[Shimmer]

That's really good news. I hope he remains well.