GI stasis shortly after recovering????

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BearBear2020

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Hi has anyone's bun get stasis again shortly after recovering?

I have a 3 year old Holland Lop name Bear that developed signs of GI stasis this past Monday, June 1st. We went to the vet and she gave him subq fluids and vitamin B as well as Reglan. Bear started eating/pooping again Monday evening. The last 2 days he had seemed back to normal and we gave him his last dose of Reglan yesterday morning. This morning at around 10 am I tried to give him his pellets and vegetables but he refused both. Although he did eat his Oxbow digestive tablet but nothing else. The last time he ate his hay and acted normal was around 8:40 am. I contacted the vet and she said to start him on Reglan again. I was just wondering has anyone else's bun develop stasis so quickly again.

This past Sunday evening we had moved bear to his own room which he now free roams. Since getting him he has always lived in an X-pen. Do you think that changing his environment can be causing him stress which is leading to stasis? We also moved around furniture in the room last night so not sure if that was another stressor for him.

Thank you!
 
Stress is one of the contributors that can lead to GI issues. Are there any other factors? Too many treats? A new green? Other household changes?

I have a rabbit that is prone to GI stress. If he stops eating, I'll give him some baby gas drops (simethicone) and within a few hours he's back to normal. I've yet to have to take him to a vet for it, nor get RX meds. The gas drops are enough to get him back on track -- usually one dosage is all he needs, but several years back he had to get 3 doses before recuperating.

Once your guy is back to normal after you follow the vet recommendations, if he seems to relapse in the future, you may want to consider trying the baby gas drops first to see if that's enough to get him back to eating.
 
Thanks..so another big change was that i was trying to bond Bear with another bun for the last 2 weeks. But the bonding didn't work out since the other bun was pretty aggressive to Bear. I decided to stop the bonding since Bear seemed to be very stressed from it and I was worried he would get hurt. I decided to return the bun back to the rescue this past Sunday. So I'm not sure if Bear is sad that his potential friend is gone. The weird thing is he always seems fine at night. Hes been doing zoomies and binkies in the room at night so I didn't think he was that stressed.

Also, I'm not sure if going from an X-pen to having his own room to free roam is also a major stressor.

So how long would you wait after giving gas-X to go to the vet or start Reglan (I have some at home). Today, he ate hay and ran around at 8:40 am and then at 10 am is when he started refusing his food. Would you give him baby gas drops right away or would you wait a few hours? I get super nervous and always try to treat right away when I notice it but not sure if I'm just jumping the gun.
 
The good thing about the baby gas drops is that it is harmless to rabbits. It is ok to give it at the first sign of refusing food.

Pediatric Simethicone 1cc (20mg/ml suspension) can be given orally as often as every hour for 3 hours and then 1cc every 3-8 hours.

Sounds like he's had a number of stress factors which may be contributing to this. Where in the house is he used to being (the location of the ex-pen)? If it was in a place where there was activity in the household and people, he may not like having a room to himself if it is a room that no one really goes in.

Another thing to consider is that if you intend, at some point, to try again to bond him with a rabbit, you will need neutral space to do that. It is also ideal if, once they are bonded, their new 'together home' is someplace new to both of them. So if you hoped to eventually have both of them sharing this roaming room, then it is better to keep your boy out of it until the bond is complete. That way there is far less chance that he will consider it "his" territory when he moves back in with his new bondmate.
 
The good thing about the baby gas drops is that it is harmless to rabbits. It is ok to give it at the first sign of refusing food.

Pediatric Simethicone 1cc (20mg/ml suspension) can be given orally as often as every hour for 3 hours and then 1cc every 3-8 hours.

Sounds like he's had a number of stress factors which may be contributing to this. Where in the house is he used to being (the location of the ex-pen)? If it was in a place where there was activity in the household and people, he may not like having a room to himself if it is a room that no one really goes in.

Another thing to consider is that if you intend, at some point, to try again to bond him with a rabbit, you will need neutral space to do that. It is also ideal if, once they are bonded, their new 'together home' is someplace new to both of them. So if you hoped to eventually have both of them sharing this roaming room, then it is better to keep your boy out of it until the bond is complete. That way there is far less chance that he will consider it "his" territory when he moves back in with his new bondmate.

The ex-pen was in the hallway so it might be more activity than his current room, although I do go into his current room many times throughout the day. . I wasn't planning on bonding him again unless he becomes too depressed alone. I'm hoping hes not depress/stressed because he lost his potential bonded friend. If so, I'm not sure if he will get better over time or if it means I need to find another bun asap. He still not eating his pellets and veg but he has pooped a little. Its so weird how within an hour this morning he went from normal to showing signs of stasis.
 
If he never bonded with the other rabbit, he won't be missing it. Did the Rescue offer for you to try another?

I don't think they fully bonded but they did have long bonding sessions. Although they never groomed each other. Bear just tried to mount the other rabbit but the other rabbit would just get mad. I told the rescue I was holding off on trying another one. I didn't realize it was going to be such a stressful process. It was really hard seeing how stressed Bear was and to see him get bitten.

I'm really hoping its just the change in environment that is causing the stasis. People online have suggested that I bring him to another vet for a full blood panel and xrays but its really expensive so I would like to hold off on it especially if its just stress related. Its just so crazy to me how fast they can get from normal to sick.
 
It could be stress, it could be many other things. I would keep him on the gut stimulants for longer. Then if he doesn't improve or it happens again, the vet should do more investigations to try and figure out the cause. I have a bunny who often suddenly refuses all food and is in pain - because it's happened so many times and we had all possible investigations including CT scans, we deal with it at home. At the first sign, we give painkiller, gut stimulants, simethicone, belly massage. If necessary we repeat the simethicone and belly massage. I would always go to the vet after 6 hours of not eating though.
 

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