GI Stasis

[molly]

His teeth weren't x-rayed but were they visually checked?

When Chantale was in stasis she got to the point where she hated me and would hide from me and bite me when I picked her up. When I mixed the pumpkin in with her force feed she started eating it on her own (with gusto) and that helped her overall mood and outlook. She slowly started eating hay again and once she did, I started decreasing the force feed. If Barley did not eat a lot of hay to begin with, it may take longer but it's more important he get enough to eat at this point. If you can get him to eat the force feed on his own, you can work on developing his taste for hay.

 

[Zeroshero]

It is a catch 22, my bun and I have been on a similar path. He's a big hay eater (he eats 3 piles of hay larger than he is every day) and thankfully even being in stasis he ate his Critical Care from the bowl. I am still feeding him the recommended dosage of Critical Care twice a day regardless of how much hay he is eating. I wouldn't stop or limit the Critical Care until he is eating more of his normal diet on his own.

This morning I woke up at 2 am because he was too quiet. He was laying in his litter box waiting for me to notice he ate all his hay I filled the bowl at 9:30pm! Dr K reminded me that the best thing for him is hydration, I discovered Zero likes his water warm, perhaps warming up your bunny's will encourage more drinking.

 

[tonyshuman]

You can't see the roots of the teeth or the back molars really well, and they can be really problematic. My Muffin sometimes gets little points on her molars--I can tell because she's such a chow hound and will eat less than usual. I try to keep it in check by growing wheat grass and feeding it to them once or twice a week (also pretty fun for them) and using a variety of hays--orchard and oat in addition to timothy. These things should help.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Thanks very much for your responses, everyone!
Molly, yes, she checked his teeth visually but didn't x-ray them. I'm thinking that if this pattern with Barley hasn't improved by this time next week, I'll ask her again about dental problems. I tried offering Barley the Critical Care mixed with pumpkin but the instant he got a whiff of it, he backed off so I don't think he'll be eating it on his own any time soon. They gave me the anise flavoured stuff so I think I'll see if they have the apple/banana kind instead. If I have to syringe-feed him for awhile, it would be nice if he liked the flavour somewhat!

Zeroshero, that's an amazing amount of hay that Zero eats! I wish Barley would eat half that! I will try the warm water trick. I often see him hovering his nose of the bowl for a moment but then he changes his mind and hops away. I saw him drink only once from the bowl, but I try to make sure his greens are quite wet - and I've been washing them in warm water as well. (edit - He likes the warm water! Yay!)

Tonyshuman, I like the idea of the wheat grass so maybe I'll try that too. I've given Barley the usual timothy hay as well as some orchard grass hay and meadow hay (both Oxbow). He seems to prefer the meadow hay. I'll keep my eyes peeled for some oat hay too.

Thanks again! It's so supportive to have access to your knowledge and experience!

 

[Zeroshero]

Between 9:00pm and 4:00am when Zero telepathically LOL woke me up to tell him he wanted more "fresh" hay he had eaten most of this huge handful of hay!

Zero does that too, he checks the temp of the water before he drinks. I know he is thirsty when I pour it he goes crazy like a baby bunny wanting to nurse. Poor guy it is really frustrating that he isn't drinking all day until I get home to constantly dump and warm up his water. I was thinking of getting a reptile light to shine on it to keep it warm through the day. Hopefully warming his water helps.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

OMG, it would take Barley a week to eat all that! Is that ever lovely and green though. Apparently a "first cutting" should be available soon locally and I'd like to hunt around and see how to get some. One outlet sells it, but it's by the bale (45-50 lbs!) and I just have no place to store that much, and it would go bad before Barley ate a fraction of it. Surely someone around here buys and re-bags it. Currently, I'm pretty much forced to buy whatever I can find from the pet shop.

I watched Barley hovering over his water dish again so I took it and dumped it and put warm water in and offered it to him, and he lapped some up right away! I care for my mom so I'm home most of the day and can keep tabs on it. Your idea of a reptile lamp might just be the thing to solve your situation!

 

[molly]

Have you checked with the Small Animal Rescue Society in BC? They may know of somewhere to get some or someone you can split with. http://www.smallanimalrescue.org There's the Vancouver Rabbit Rescue/HRS chapter that may be able to suggest something as well, although they are a little far from you. http://www.vrra.org/wp-beta1/

 

[Zeroshero]

Wow, I would be a nervous wreak if Zero only ate that much in a day let alone a week! He has eaten a full big bag of Oxbow timothy hay in one week. He is maybe two pounds according to the chart on the bag the hay is supposed to last him three weeks. He's eating as much as a 7 lb rabbit! (Granted there is some wasted everyday but not that much!) I am glad the warm water helped get him to drink, hopefully his appetite comes back soon. My roommates love giving me a hard time about how I care for Z. She saw me pouring water in his bowl and asked "what did you warm up his water?" Guess I got caught.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Thanks for those links, Molly! I've been searching for such information but somehow didn't spot those so I'll sniff around and see what I can find out.

Zeroshero, little Zero has quite the appetite! That's wonderful! And let your roommates tease - they're probably jealous! 8))

I'm hoping to pick up some apple/banana flavoured Critical Care today from the vet's office. They ordered some in for me and said it should be in today. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that Barley likes it and will lap it up on his own!

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

A quick update: Barley is his old self! He didn't like the Apple/Banana Critical Care any more than the anise flavoured stuff, even mixed with pumpkin, but he seems to be eating well on his own now so as of yesterday, I quit syringe-feeding him. He's much happier, bouncing all over, scrambling into my office to see what I have to offer him. No more store treats, he gets a piece of a flat pea-pod instead and he's getting pretty stoked over getting that! Also, at bedtime he gets a grape or a small slice of banana instead of a store treat and he's begging for that too now. I've got quite a selection of hays for him now: timothy, orchard grass, meadow, oat and botanical. I think he prefers the meadow and the oat. Personally, I think the botanical smells awesome and I think if he won't eat it, I'll brew it up for tea! :roflmao: He's eating more hay now too, although still not the pile he's supposed to, but I think he'll get there with encouragement.

Thanks so very much to all of you who responded to my posts. We have a wonderful vet, but nothing beats ownership and experience on top of medical expertise!