Gut issues (again)... What could I be missing/not doing?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Jenk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
2,619
Reaction score
3
Location
, Illinois, USA
I wonder if anyone might have advice for how I might handle the current (impending?) stasis issue I seem to be facing with my 4-year-old Mini Rex, Emma. She's shedding; I'd been brushing her twice daily and syringing her extra water (w/ some Critical Care) whenever her fecals became smaller and/or drier.

Yesterday, she drank much less water than normal, and her fecals became bone-dry almost immediately. I gave her sub-Q's last night and this morning. I also gave her Metacam and Simethicone yesterday and today. I've been giving her Bromelain daily (to help with the ingested fur) since 7/10, as well as Pro Bi (a prebiotic/probiotic/enzyme supplement). Once her fecals started getting a bit smaller, I also started giving her Phytomucil (a Western herbal supplement that soothes the digestive tract).

This morning, Emma behaved normally; tonight, she looked at her greens and lay back down. I dread the idea that she's again having problems; she had serious issues during her shed this past April and wound up on Reglan and sub-Q's for far longer than I'd have liked. :(

I've not altered her diet. The only thing different is that she may be eating less hay. (I never know if that's because she doesn't like the hay from a particular flake, or if she may be eating less due to feeling unwell. Either way, the result is the same. *sigh*)

Jenk

PS: Her greens were gone when I checked in on her 45 minutes later. But then I saw a tiny fecal that she passed in her litter box. I'm reaching the panic point; I go through this so often with her. And playing the wait-and-see game doesn't seem to work well with her.


 
Just a brief update: I called the vet to ask about starting motility drugs (yes, again :(). She was with a client/patient, but the receptionist said the doctor would likely want to see Emma, since I've tried stuff at home for several days' time. I wasn't thrilled at the idea; Emma winds up at the vet's at least four times per year, it seems, and no test run ever changes the treatment protocol. *sigh*

The vet is supposed to call me back later tonight yet; if she's unable to, well, at least there's the exam scheduled for tomorrow.


Jenk
 
Has Emma ever had trouble with her teeth? Have the vet check for spurs or other teeth issues. Or maybe try different hay.

I did notice my mini-rex Elby is shedding like crazy. No issues with eating though.
 
pla725 wrote:
Has Emma ever had trouble with her teeth? Have the vet check for spurs or other teeth issues. Or maybe try different hay.

I did notice my mini-rex Elby is shedding like crazy. No issues with eating though.
Her mouth's not been checked under anesthesia, but all oral exams haven't revealed reason to go that far. Plus, she still eats pellets and greens fine. (If she were avoiding them, dropping food, and/or salivating, then I'd be thinking teeth issues.)

Emma's stasis issues always coincide with her shedding periods. I figure that she either doesn't like her current Oxbow timothy hay--which would be odd, since she was eating it before--or her gut got upset and put her off of her hay.

It gets rather maddening to go through this roller coaster 2-4 times per year. My heart is literally in my throat each time. The last time was in April during her shed, and even oral motility drugs weren't enough. (I think she had too much ingesta material in her stomach by then.) So she wound up on injectable Reglan nearly two weeks', then had oral Reglan for another week. And she was getting Critical Care and sub-Q's during this time.

I love Emma dearly, but I am emotionally/physically drained. And I can't imagine that she's too thrilled about having gut issues so frequently.
 
pla725 wrote:
I did notice my mini-rex Elby is shedding like crazy. No issues with eating though.
When Elby sheds, do you groom her (or him?) daily--or even multiple times per day?

I sometimes wonder if I overdo it by grooming Emma twice daily. She dislikes the process, and the stress of it could even be the cause of her most recent and current stasis woes.
 
Have you taken on board and tried what has been suggested to you on the other forum?
 
Flashy wrote:
Have you taken on board and tried what has been suggested to you on the other forum?
Hi, Flashy.

I joined the other forum due to Zoe's issues, not Emma's. ;) Not that I couldn't ask about Emma's issues, too. Heh-heh... I suppose I could post Emma's symptoms there and see what U.K. bun owners think of it all.


Jenk
 
Nancy McClelland wrote:
Thank you, Nancy.

Here's irony for you: I made a vet appointment for today--against every fiber of my being due to the cost of frequent vet visits/tests/meds.--and found close-to-normal fecals in Emma's box this morning. They're still a bit smaller than normal, but not tiny. And they're not bone-dry, either.

At this point, I'll probably keep the vet visit to see how Emma's vitals are, as well as to learn the vet's assessment of the feel/sound of Emma's gut. She might suggest x-rays, based on the Emma's symptoms and what she feels/hears inside of Emma; I don't think it's worth it at this point.
 
Jenk wrote:
Flashy wrote:
Have you taken on board and tried what has been suggested to you on the other forum?
Hi, Flashy.

I joined the other forum due to Zoe's issues, not Emma's. ;) Not that I couldn't ask about Emma's issues, too. Heh-heh... I suppose I could post Emma's symptoms there and see what U.K. bun owners think of it all.


Jenk
All the theory is the same :) It's about a slow and misfunctioning gut and ways to improve it and get more fibre and get things more stable :) Like the bramble leaves, apple sticks, apple leaves, hawthorn, etc. :)
 
You just need to get the gut moving again.
Plenty of hay - I am not sure about your place, we still getting APD winter hay (flaky and dry too). ..sigh. Binky keeps throwing them out.

I would also want to look at the pellets. I seems to have some small poo problem when I start a new bag. I do cut down on their pellets and forced them to feed on the hay.

There seems to be a lot of medication and probiotics....lol. You might want to try some natural remedies. I have always tried dandelion leaves. It works marvelously with the gut.


 
I would seriously consider putting her back of alfalfa hay if one of the problems is that she doesn't like timothy grass hay. You can deal with the "fatty "issue later and just make sure that you don't give her alot of calcium rich greens like spinach. We had a french angora that had 2 sets of surgeries to remove a fur ball because of slow gut and blockage. We got in the habit of grooming him twice a day and giving him a small syringe of plain vaseline or cat fur ball medicine ( malt flavoured ) I pluck a lot of Benjamins loss fur because he objects to being brushed. Some people have suggested to me that I use dish washing rubber gloves to stroke and groom him as it attracts the hair. I also has a grooming mitt that I wear, set him on the table or for most normal sized rabbits your lap and brush away. Then I take damp hands and remove any of the loss hair. Have to do the damp hands bit several times over to get rid of it all. Boy I sure can relate to your stress, Timothy was one of the cutest little french angoras going, but I lost some much sleep worrying and praying over that little guy. Every time I turned around he was in trouble. You can get dandelion greens in the produce department of some bigger food chains. They are usually in the exoctic green section along with endive lettuce. Just ask them to bring them in if nothing else. I would gladly send you several acres full if I could Or find a farmer that has some if you don't.
 
my bunnies have had GI problems like this before and usually a handful of green leefy veggies clears it right up ( At least all three times my bunnies have had this issue its worked.) then just keep them eating. Sounds like you've been doing the right thing with giving critical care- always has helped my bunnies too.

Check out this article if you haven't read it about GI stasis:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
 
gmas rabbit wrote:
I would seriously consider putting her back of alfalfa hay if one of the problems is that she doesn't like timothy grass hay. You can deal with the "fatty "issue later and just make sure that you don't give her alot of calcium rich greens like spinach. We had a french angora that had 2 sets of surgeries to remove a fur ball because of slow gut and blockage. We got in the habit of grooming him twice a day and giving him a small syringe of plain vaseline or cat fur ball medicine ( malt flavoured )

It's not that she dislikes timothy hay, but she can get picky about it at times; other times, she seems fine with the first serving from a new flake or even a new bale.

I'm just curious: were you ever concerned that the vaseline might coat a hair mass, so that fluid couldn't reach it and help break it up? I know some people suspect that Laxatone (essentially vaseline) could have that adverse affect; it's the one reason why I'm scared to use it.


I pluck a lot of Benjamins loss fur because he objects to being brushed. Some people have suggested to me that I use dish washing rubber gloves to stroke and groom him as it attracts the hair. I also has a grooming mitt that I wear, set him on the table or for most normal sized rabbits your lap and brush away. Then I take damp hands and remove any of the loss hair. Have to do the damp hands bit several times over to get rid of it all.

I've been brushing Emma more gently with the Zoom-Groom brush, sweet talking to her all the while. Like you, I also use damp hands to remove all the loose fur I've just brushed off of her.


Boy I sure can relate to your stress, Timothy was one of the cutest little french angoras going, but I lost some much sleep worrying and praying over that little guy. Every time I turned around he was in trouble.

On the one hand, it's nice to know that you're not alone in your particular level of worry; at the same time, I'm sorry that any of us need stress this much, when we should just be able to enjoy the time that we have with our bun charges.


You can get dandelion greens in the produce department of some bigger food chains. They are usually in the exoctic green section along with endive lettuce. Just ask them to bring them in if nothing else. I would gladly send you several acres full if I could Or find a farmer that has some if you don't.
I do buy dandelion greens for our Cali boy from our local produce store (as long as they look fresh, that is). My concern about dandelion is that it acts as a diuretic. I think that it would make a bun lose bodily fluid that it would otherwise retain better--i.e., fluid that would otherwise remain in the digestive tract to help moisten, break up and move along fecal material. Then again, maybe my view of how diuretics work is incorrect. :p
 
The one time that Timothy was really bad the vet gave him mineral oil. That scared me as I worried that he would asperate it. The vaseline just seemed to melt in his gut and you could see great pieces of hair being passed. I guess if the fur ball gets really big then it would just coat it. I have never thought of dandelions as a diuretic for rabbits. They eat so many of them in the wild and are so high in fiber that one balances the other. I know that they have a directic effect but so does parsley. Benjamin eats handfuls of them everyday. AT that point the only thing I wanted to do was to get his gut moving and fresh food certainly helped. I would also hand feed him, lying on the floor in front of him with endive lettuce ( the big course stuff) carrot tops, romaine lettuce, dandelion anything green that I could get him to eat. We also put him on a small syringe of fur ball treatment for cats ( basically just vaseline - thats why we opted for the vaseline because it is tasteless ) everyday when he was shedding heavily.)
 
The other thing I forgot was to feed her fresh pineapple as the acid in pineapple help break down the fur. Much more effective than bromelian tablets at this point. Remove any pineapple she doesn't eat after 1/2 hour. Also most important Get her out somewhere that she can run for at least one hour a day. That really gets the gut moving. Take her out in the yard, play tag around your living room, anything. That is just about the most important thing that you can do.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top