Elderly bunny with GI stasis

:hello

I'd welcome any advice about elderly bunnies and how long it can take to recover from GI stasis.

Sparky is a 10 year old Lionhead - he's always been a very healthy bunny, with a healthy appetite!

He suddenly stopped eating his rabbit food and veggies a week ago. He was still drinking, but his tummy started gurgling like a drain and he looked very uncomfortable.

We took Sparky to the vets on Friday afternoon, and the vet couldn't feel any hard lumps, just a soft gurgling tummy. Sparky was given a gut stimulating injection, Fibreplex and Metacam. He responded really well to the treatment over the weekend, and even started nibbling dry food - and then he stopped eating again yesterday morning.

We sent to the vets again this morning for a follow-up appointment. Sparky was given another gut stimulating injection, and the vet has suggested that we continue with the Fibreplex for a few more days. We also have another bottle of Metacam in case of emergencies.

Sparky is definitely perkier and brighter today, but the vet has suggested that recovery will be a slow process because of Sparky's age.

All thoughts/advice gratefully received!
Thanks :bunnyhug:

Ask your vet about simethecone for him too, to prevent gas since rabbits have a hard time passing gas. Also if he will eat hay at all, that's better than pellets. He needs the fiber.

I give free choice hay and 1 TSP per day Calf Manna to any of mine that go into stasis - they love Calf manna and it is packed with nutrients, then the hay is the fiber they need. Ask your vet, but I think that might help.

Hopefully Jbun will be along as she is our go to for medical issues. I have limited experience myself with GI stasis. I do know that fiber is important so push the hay.

I would also try using simethicone if it appears he may have gas. It is very safe for rabbits. It is also known as baby gas drops and can be purchased at most stores where you can also purchase aspirin or cough medicine.

Hydration is also important. If your bun drinks from a bottle you may want to offer water in a bowl because rabbits usually drink more from a bowl then a bottle. You would want a bowl that is too heavy to be tipped over by your bun or one that attaches to the cage.

Often buns will stop eating when they are in pain. Is your vet rabbit savvy? Did he check your buns teeth? Anything else?

From what I have read most buns when starting to eat again after going through stasis seem to prefer veggies over pellets. Although if your bun does not normally get veggies it might not be a good idea as introducing new foods can cause tummy issues.

I really hope your bun pulls through and recovers soon. I do know how stressful and worrying a ill bun can be.

My Holland got GI stasis last Thursday (due to moderate gas)... I gave her BeneBac Plus probiotics (not necessarily needed, but always helpful when there are digestive issues of any sort) and took her to the vet where she was put on metacam, metoclopramide (gut-stimulating medication) and Critical Care food (which I'm assuming is equivalent to Fibreplex), plus I was giving her simethicone (infant gas drops) for the gas. She was eating on her own pretty well by Saturday, so I stopped the Critical Care and I believe Sunday was the last day I gave her medication.

The thing about GI stasis is that it's a symptom, NOT a diagnosis. Has your vet done anything to test/check for potential causes? My vet checked for gas and obstructions, asked questions to make sure she couldn't have ingested a foreign object and did a thorough inspection of her teeth to make sure that tooth issues weren't making it uncomfortable to eat.

Stasis is pretty much always a result of pain - when a rabbit is hurting, they stop wanting to eat... and since their digestive tracts are designed in a way that requires them to always be moving, their GI tract slows down when they stop eating (or suddenly start eating very little) - the start of stasis. Without proper treatment, their digestive system can come to a complete stop (which is usually fatal). Even if the stasis is treated correctly (which is being done in your case), a rabbit will NOT make a full recovery until the underlying cause has been remedied.

You can try simethicone, as it's *very* safe for rabbits (dosing is 1-2 ccs per hour for three hours, then 1 cc every 3-8h as needed, assuming a 20 mg suspension (which is standard in the US, not sure about other countries))... however, gas can potentially resolve itself, so I wouldn't bet on the simethicone helping given that it's been a few days since the problems started. If you give a few doses of it and aren't seeing any improvement, you need to have a vet diagnose the underlying cause of the stasis.

I hope Sparky feels better soon! ray:

Age can be a factor to some extent, but really, anything besides a mild case of GI stasis, can take some time to stabilize and resolve itself. When my 1 1/2 year old bun had it, it took a couple of weeks for him to get back to normal. He would start eating on his own and pooping, and looking like he was getting better, then he would regress, and stop eating and pooping again. it was really back and forth like this, especially the first week.

It's really best for a stasis bun to be on daily metacam and motility meds, unless there's evidence of a negative reaction to the meds. Were you not given oral metaclop to give daily? Are you also syringing recovery food and water when he's not eating or isn't eating enough?

As suggested, simethicone can also be helpful. I believe it's called infacol where you are. All it does is reduce foaming and make gas bubbles easier to pass, and so less painful. Since pain is the main reason for a rabbit not eating on it's own, simethicone can be pretty important, as well as the metacam.

Fiber is extremely important to help with motility and helping digestive function to get back to normal. What type and amount of pellets and veg does your bun get each day, normally? Do you also free feed a grass hay? If so what kind, and is it mostly leafy, stalky, or a mix?

Essential to recovery is fiber, moisture, and limited carbs/sugars. Loud gurgling can be due to gas and an imbalance of the guts microflora, often from a sensitivity to a certain food, or too many sugars and starches in the diet. So it's best to feed only grass hay and leafy veggies while your bun is recovering, to minimize sugars and starches contributing to the bad bacteria overgrowth, as well as providing lots of fiber to help increase gut motility. A pinch of pellets is usually fine, but it's best not to feed much as the sugars and grains in pellets, often contribute to the gut slowdown and continued imbalance. Non cruciferous dark leafy veggies/herbs are best, preferably ones your bun is already used to. Cruciferous veggies can sometimes be a cause of the gas and digestive problems, which is why it's usually best to hold off on them. You also don't want to give starchy veg, fruit, grains, or any treats that have lots of sugars and carbs. But these are all foods to feed and not feed, if your bun is eating on his own. If not, you need to be feeding recovery food.

Yes, hopefully your vet checked for dental problems being a possible cause. Do you happen to know what may have set the stasis off? There are many things that can cause stasis to occur. Diet and dental issues are usually the most common causes. But it's important to try and figure out what may have caused it, so you can try to prevent it from happening again.

This link is pretty good at explaining what leads to a gut slowdown in rabbits if you would like to read a bit about it.
http://rabbit.org/sluggish-motility-in-the-gastrointestinal-tract-2/

ETA: fibreplex is actually more of a probiotic like benebac.

JBun said:

ETA: fibreplex is actually more of a probiotic like benebac.

Click to expand...

*Facepalm* now that you've jogged my memory, I realize I actually knew that, lol. My head hurts, I forgot I knew what it was and I was being too lazy to google it... so I went with my first guess, based off the "fibre" part, and assumed it was a recovery food ><

Fibreplex is good stuff - like BeneBac Plus, it's got prebiotics in addition to probiotics. A recovery food like Critical Care or a homemade pellet slurry is *really* important as well, though.