GI Stasis or something else?

[MATH]

Location Massachusetts
Description (Breed, color, weight) unknown, tan, about 8 lbs (healthy weight)
Age 4
Sex male (not neutered)
Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition:


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST: (Please fill in relevant info).

Fecal and Urinary Output

- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? yes
- when did they last use their litterbox? recently (last 4 hours max)
- any unusual behavior? straining to pee? unusual litter habits? no
- what litter and/or bedding do you use? paper plates/hay

Medical History

- spayed/neutered? no
- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? yes...for ileus
- is s/he on any medications?

Diet

- what specifically does your bunny eat? free choice hay, 2 servings of fresh leafy greens a day, 1/4 cup of pellets at night
- when and what did s/he eat last? ate pellets in last 4 hours on his own. Was force feed critical care
- any changes in the way s/he eats? (ie: not eating a particular food, odd chewing motions, etc) not eating veggies, not eating a lot of hay, often disinterested in food


Other

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? no/yes
- is the rabbit molting? no
- any weight loss? no
- any sign of drooling? wet face? no
- runny eyes? no
- wet nose? coughing? sneezing? no
- is s/he breathing normally yes

Additional

- any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? outside grass
- has the rabbit been outdoors? yes
- any other pets? if so, have they been ill? no



Hi, looking for some help on my rabbit. My bun was perfectly fine on Tuesday of this week. I was gone for three days due to work. My father watched him, as he often does. Yesterday (Friday night), I discovered when I got home from work that he had not touched his food all day. He had not used the litter box extremely recently (that I could tell). My rabbit was not himself. He would not come out for about 15 minutes, which is very strange for him. He was still perky, but I could not entice him to eat anything. Of course, I was out of everything: smithecone, probiotic, critical care feed etc. etc. & it was late so nothing was open. Rather than wait until morning, I took him to the 24 hour vet.

They diagnosed it as Ileus. Gave him fluids, pain meds etc. He definitely perked up extra after that. He was grooming himself and he even took a nibble hay. With all my supplies, we went home. I woke up at 6:00 am today to check on him. In last 4 hours, he ate 1/4 cup of pellets (yay) & he used the litterbox a normal amount (yay). And everything looks good. BUT, my rabbit would not touch veggies, critical care or more pellets this morning (strange). I force fed him some critical care & gave him 1 dose of reglan (metoclopromide) used to jumpstart GI track.

I find it strange that his litterbox habits seem so completely normal, but he is not eating this morning. The stores should open soon so I'm going to go buy fresh veggies/the expensive hay he likes to see if new things can entice him to eat.

I was also given enrofloxacin/baytril to be given as an antibiotic and Buprenex to be given as a pain medicine. He is due for those in 2 hours. I'm debating giving these because some of the side effects listed is gi stasis, which is what I'm trying to avoid here.

Basically my question is about whether normal litterbox habits is a good sign & I just need to be patient with him getting his appetite back. Or should I be looking to treat something else. Should I take him out of his environment to see if something is bothering him in his cage/area? Should I give the pain medicine/antibiotic. He doesn't seem to be in pain at this moment.

Thanks!

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm always suspicious of veggies first, as they are variable while the hay, pellets & water are not. I think I'd reduce the veggies a bit & not give that are for giving occasionally only, such as kale. I would try hand feeding him hay & pellets until things get back to normal.

If you've given him any antibiotics at all, I certainly would give probiotics such as benebac immediately. I wish vets would stop handing out antibiotics as though they were harmless & might just help. It really can make things worse by killing off the good bacteria & causing the problem it was supposed to fix.

I would do some mild stomach massage. It would help with any beginnings of gas & touching the area would help in knowing if he was in pain or not. Other than that I would watch & wait. Rabbits sometimes don't want food for awhile, so there may have been nothing wrong to begin with, especially if he ate lots of grass outside.

Speaking of grass, are there wild rabbits in the outside areas where he is? If so, it should have diatomaceous earth sprinkled on it from time to time to kill of the parasites those rabbits might have. This will prevent their passing anything along to your rabbit.

 

[MATH]

Thanks, I talked to my vet again & decided not to give the antibiotic. I'm going to give bene-bac. He's definitely not full as he hasn't eaten anything but 1/4 of cup of pellets amd about 40 ml of critical care in over 24 hours. This is a big rabbit so he eats a lot! He has pooped this morning a little, which good though they are a bit smaller & dryer than normal. Hopefully, if I keep doing what I'm doing he'll eat soon

 

[MATH]

As an update, he is still perky. But looks to be in more pain, though I did give him the pain medicine. Today, I've forced him another 10 ml of critical care. He ate one piece of parsley on his own... I've decided along with my vet not to give the antibiotic. Is there anything else I can do besides force feed, meds, tummy rubs? I'm so worried

 

[LakeCondo]

Pumpkin or squash baby food is always good & also raw pineapple. I just recently saw a Dr Oz repeat & he mentioned the center part of a pineapple was especially good for people & I bet the same is true for rabbits. Lots of fiber, for one thing, but he mentioned something else that I didn't catch.

 

[MATH]

Thank you Lakecondo! I will have to do this in the morning.

UPDATE: My rabbit pooped! Yay! But... besides 2 or 3 small (but normal)poops, the rest are a giant clump. There are cecotropes stuck along with regular poop. I'm not sure if maybe he is overproducing cecals because critical care is very rich or if this is diarrhea (I've never experienced this with bunnies before, OR if he is just not eating his cecals for some reason ...Need to give him his pain meds in about 40 minutes. Will continue monitoring...

Question: Is he getting a lot of fluid from the water in the critical care? or should I try to syringe some water down his throat?

Thanks again!

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm not sure what to do now. Understandably, you've tried a number of things, so it's hard to know what has been doing what.

My inclination would be to hand feed but stop force feeding. You can't do it forever & he may start associating any food with unpleasantness. I would try putting a leaf of lettuce on your hand & putting the pineapple or pumpkin on it & hope he'll eat it. Both should contain enough liquid, or dilute either one & put in a water bowl.