Need some advise for GI stasis! Getting desperate and losing hope:(

So this all started a little over 2 weeks ago when my bun stopped eating. Had the run around with a couple vets in my local area until I decided to make the 3 hour trek to a rabbit savvy vet in Calgary. Anyways she diagnosed my lil guy with gi stasis but we are unsure of the underlying issue (it seemed to have started suddenly when I bought a new bag of food). Also she did take blood and his levels came back normal, checked his teeth and they are fine. He stayed 2 nights and got fluids/ meds (metacam, cisapride) and syringe fed critical care 20mls 3x day, which I am still doing. Well it has been a week since I brought him home and he still isn't really eating on his own I let him out for about 1 1/2-2 hours a day for exercise and he does munch on some hay which is good to see, but hes not really eating any pellets maybe a few every couple days. He seems to be acting pretty much normal otherwise. Im now giving him probiotics (bene-bac) which I started yesterday, trying as much as I can to get him back to eating normal. Im losing hope that things aren't going to get back to normal again. I've read stories about it taking a few weeks and I even talked to the receptionist at that vet that said a bun took 6 weeks of syringe feeding before it was normal again. The vet does recommend the next step to take xrays to see if there are any masses or such but all this has cost about $1000 and my mom has paid for all of it. Does ANYONE have any advice on what I can do to make him better again?! Please help!!

Is he still on meds or just being syringe fed? Is he getting enough when you force feed him? How's his hydration status? Will he drink on his own? Have you offered him any veggies?

missyscove said:

Is he still on meds or just being syringe fed? Is he getting enough when you force feed him? How's his hydration status? Will he drink on his own? Have you offered him any veggies?

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He finished the cisapride on Wednesday evening and the meatcam on Thursday afternoon. Im still giving him 20mls 3x/day of critical care. I might cut back 5mls or so at night if I see he was munching on some hay while he was out to see if he will eat anything overnight. I'm assuming if he's munching on hay when he is out he is when he is in his cage. As far as I can tell I think he is still drinking water, he is still peeing. I've tried giving him some parsley and dill and he did munch a little bit, but as my vet said, although it is good if he is eating vegies it doesn't provide the caloric intake that the pellets and hay would provide, so I would have to continue the critical care. I think Im going to buy some different vegies just to see if he's interested.

You mentioned you bought a new type of food...are you still using that or did you revert to his previous brand?

Also, did they check his teeth for any problems at the vet?

KeltonB said:

You mentioned you bought a new type of food...are you still using that or did you revert to his previous brand?

Also, did they check his teeth for any problems at the vet?

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It was the same type of food just a new bag I bought I quit using it, I should have never been using it in the first place because its an alfalfa based pellet but I didn't know any different until the vet told me, but she said to maybe try some of those pellets if that's what he's use to. The vet did check his teeth and she said they looked fine.

I'd definitely try offering him some of the diet he's used to. You can worry about changing his diet once he's actually eating.

My worry was that maybe you weren't syringing enough and he wasn't getting enough energy. Hydration is really important. If he's usually on a bottle, add a bowl to entice him to drink more water.

I'd definitely try veggies. When my stasis-prone Timmy would stop eating, I'd poke him in the face with some parsley until he got fed up enough to eat it. Sometimes they just need a little something in their systems to get them going.

It can take some time for them to get back to normal. My rabbit that had stasis, took 2 weeks of going in and out of stasis, before he stabilized. Is your rabbit eating very much hay or just eating small amounts? And were you trying to change your rabbit to a timothy pellet now, since the stasis happened? If so, that could very well be why your rabbit isn't now eating pellets, cause they aren't the ones he's used to.

missyscove said:

I'd definitely try offering him some of the diet he's used to. You can worry about changing his diet once he's actually eating.

My worry was that maybe you weren't syringing enough and he wasn't getting enough energy. Hydration is really important. If he's usually on a bottle, add a bowl to entice him to drink more water.

I'd definitely try veggies. When my stasis-prone Timmy would stop eating, I'd poke him in the face with some parsley until he got fed up enough to eat it. Sometimes they just need a little something in their systems to get them going.

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Im going to try and give him the pellets he was on with some apple juice on a few of them. Im syringe feeding him what the vet has told me to. He is only 3lb. I've always used a bowl for water. I offered him some parsley, dill, and kale lastnight and he ate the 2 leaves of parsley I gave him, along with a small amount of hay.

I am currently treating one of my buns for GI stasis. Try syringe feeding him some pineapple juice (not canned, just look for a pineapple core in the grocery and feed the juice that has accumulated on the bottom). It helps to get his system going again.

Well I hope my bun is on the mend. I tried some apple juice on pellets before work this am and came home at noon and he ate 5. And now he's eaten about 10 more. Hoping his poops start get back to normal and same with his appetite.


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