GI stasis

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Becky D

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Hello. My bunny grooms himself a LOT by licking himself. I'm sure he swallows some hair. I brush him every day. Also, his hair gets in his water even though I clean it every day. He developed stasis 2 months ago...went to the vet & got 2 meds which cleared it up. Now he's developed the stasis again. Any suggestions?? Thanks, Becky
 
If he's not eating, drinking, or pooping and you haven't already taken him to your vet, I would recommend doing so immediately.

If you've already been to the vet and he's already being treated for stasis, it could be a dietary issue or environmental issue contributing to the repeated bouts with stasis. Can you describe what your rabbits specific diet is, the type and amount of pellets, hay, veggies, greens, treats, etc and what weight your bun is? Also could there be any foreign objects in his environment that could be contributing such as ingesting carpet fibers, cardboard, paper, cat litter, etc?
 
Thanks for your reply, Jenny. Widget is a purebred Holland Lop, 2 yr old male. He weighs 5 lbs. He's been to the vet 4 days ago...got same meds. He gets 1/3 cup pellets, constant Timothy hay or Orchard grass, about 2 cups total of carrots, green beans and Romaine lettuce, and fresh water. (no treats) The only thing he ingests is cardboard from TP rolls and paper plates. I know there's hair in his belly bc the poop pellets are "strung together". He's eating and urinating ok, but the poop is much less than normal.
 
I just got done posting some good info here regarding stasis-prone bunnies. Your situation differs from that one, as the other rabbit had gas issues and you've got hairball issues, but a lot of the basic info is the same. Correction, I *thought* when I posted that it was gas, but an update from the owner indicates it may also have been a hairball... regardless, I listed some good things to keep handy for stasis-prone bunns :).

Anyway, the specifics for your situation... first of all, when you say "2 cups total of carrots, green beans and Romaine"... Romaine is a leafy green veggie and two cups of that is GREAT... but carrots/green beans are both non-leafy greens and should be limited to no more than 1 tbsp per 2 lbs body weight combined. More great diet info can be found here. 1/3 c pellets is actually a little high for a 5 lb rabbit (and for a purebred lop, even one lacking the dwarf gene, he's just a wee bit on the heavy side (4-4.5 lbs is more where he should be).

For a Holland Lop, I recommend (per day):
~ 1/8-1/4 c pellets
~ 2 tsp fruit/treats (max)
~ 2 tbsp non-leafy greens (or edible flowers)(max)
~ about 2 cups (packed) of leafy green veggies
and, of course, unlimited grass hay

You need to brush or groom him thoroughly on a regular basis, especially during a molt. Personally, I love the Furminator, but any non-wire-tipped pet brush or comb will work. You can also dampen your hands with water, run them over him, rinse and repeat. A little more tedious than the Furminator but has the added perks of being both effective and free.

During bouts of stasis/decreased appetite where he is eating but eating less and/or pooping less, cut out or dramatically reduce both pellets and leafy greens. Don't feed non-leafy greens, fruit or treats at all. Push hay and water. The fiber in hay and moisture from water will help the hairball break up and make its way out of his system. If he stops eating and/or pooping entirely, it's vet time.
 
Ok, what I would do to help increase gut movement and help push that fur through is decrease pellets like Imbrium mentioned, at least to a 1/4 cup but you may even need to reduce it more if his poops still don't look good. This will help increase hay consumption which is what you want The indigestible fiber in the hay is what helps increase gut movement. Whichever type of hay has more of the stalky stems, I would feed the most of as long as your bun eats the stalky stems, as it's the indigestible fiber in the stalky stems that you want. I would also closely monitor how much of the hay is consumed. If he's not eating it well there could be a reason why like a dental problem. But as long as he is eating the hay really well then the decreased pellet amount and increased hay consumption should help. There will always be some fur in the poop while they shed, but as long as the poop size remains good then it means the gut motility is good and the fur shouldn't cause a problem.

I actually opt for feeding plenty of rabbit appropriate leafy greens as they help increase the moisture content in the gut and that is a good thing, but I do agree with very little to no starchy veg like the carrot and beans.

Try and see how much of the cardboard and paper he is actually consuming. Often they are just ripping it up. But if he seems to actually be consuming a significant amount, I would remove those things from his enclosure. Reason is because paper and cardboard don't break down in the digestive tract, so if large clumps of it are consumed it could affect gastric movement and possibly slow it down and even cause a blockage. Alternative chewing toys that are good for the gut would be rabbit safe wood like willow and apple branches.

Just a caution, if you get a furminator you need to be very careful as rabbit skin can be very delicate and there have been instances of the furminator ripping a rabbits skin.
 
I didn't think about the water content on the leafy greens... I'm tired and was going off the top of my head, heh... in retrospect, I agree with JBun about continuing to feed the leafy greens for the moisture even during the early warning signs of stasis.
 
Again Jenny & Jennifer....Thank you so much for the most needed and welcomed advice. I continue learning about pet rabbits and these forums are great. Widget is my first!
 
I have some papaya tablets that my babies get here and there as it is supposed to help with digestion plus they love them! http://rabbitresource.org/care-and-health/nutrition/papaya-and-prozyme/ I get that it can be difficult to get a rabbit to eat hay once it's used to lots of other good stuff. I've been bringing in green grass (weeds!) from my yard and adding that to the mix and they really like it. I would think exercise would also help keep the gut moving. I run around the house with mine. I don't chase them, I call them and start running and they follow suit. I'm sure I look ridiculous but it's fun for all of us! LOL!
 
Umm... Not sure, haven't looked... But I am looking at the site right now from an Android phone using a browser and it runs fine. it's actually easier to upload pictures from the phone then from the computer, too.
 
It's on there, but under the name "Rabbit Forum"
 
Thanks! Found it easily. It's... interesting... While it's clearly more mobile friendly, I think I actually prefer to just view it in a normal browser on the phone. Maybe it's because I hate change, LOL. I like things the way I'm used to them and in the browser it's the same setup as on the computer. Also, I like the color scheme better on the regular site.

I did just discover that it gives push notifications... I think it'll take me some time to decide whether or not I actually like that. At times, it could be quite handy... But I can also see it getting distracting. I guess I'll try the app for a while and see what I think of it. It never hurts to give new things a chance, darn it (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Edit: I do NOT like that there doesn't seem to be an edit option. I had to go to my desktop to edit my post (well, I could've opened chrome, but getting up seemed easier).
 
Hi! Does anyone use Prozyme with their buns, and if so, mow much do you give? I switched from giving the sugary ones I take, but I've seem this should be given by weight and I'm not sure how to use. All four of my buns are about 5lbs, Any suggestions?
 
Hi! Does anyone use Prozyme with their buns, and if so, mow much do you give? I switched from giving the sugary ones I take, but I've seem this should be given by weight and I'm not sure how to use. All four of my buns are about 5lbs, Any suggestions?
You should start a new thread to get more replies. This thread is over a year old. ;)
 

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