Question about GI stasis symptoms

[LoveCrumb]

As mentioned in my previous thread, my little guy was diagnosed with GI stasis and I'm giving him the treatment he needs (meds to get the gut moving as well as oxbow critical care). Before I took him to the animal clinic last night, he was getting all squirmy in his cage, like he couldn't find a comfortable position for himself. For about 30 minutes he was constantly squirming and adjusting himself. He started to do it again about an hour ago. This isn't a symptom I'm familiar with- does anyone else know if this sounds normal?

I know that I get all squirmy and uncomfortable when I have bad gas, so I was thinking he might be experiencing that, but the vet told me that his gut was very quiet and he didn't say anything about gas being a potential problem.

My bunny is still very young, only a year and a half old (and neutered), and as the vet confirmed, he looks to be in wonderful health in every other aspect (ideal weight, no fever, good muscle tone, healthy fur and teeth etc..)

 

[lyndym]

My little Dora was experiencing gas, and she was a little squirmy. Mostly I had started noticing her stretching across the floor to rub her tummy on the carpet, probably because she was uncomfortable. I could definitely hear a lot of tummy noises, is your bun making tummy noises now that he's squirmy again? I would guess that it's a positive sign that the medication is starting to work and maybe he's feeling some of the stubborn food moving its way through his system. Positive thoughts from me and my buns!

 

[JBun]

He's probably trying to find a comfortable postition cause his stomach is hurting. Did the vet give you metacam to give to him? That should help some with any pain. Is he pooping at all yet or eating anything on his own? Does he seem bloated at all or is his belly really firm? You may want to give your bun some simethicone(infant gas relief liquid suspension). If he is having gas then it will help out a lot. The dosage is 1cc every hour for 3 hours then 1cc every 3-8 hours as needed. I also noticed in your other thread that you mentioned your rabbit drinks out of a bottle. If you haven't already you may want to also give him a water dish. Rabbits drink a lot better from a dish, and with a rabbit with stasis, adequate water is really important to get the blockage broken up and the gut moving again. When my bun had stasis I also offered leafy greens cause it was the only food he would eat on his own. I gave green leaf lettuce and cilantro. Make sure to stay away from sugars, starches, grains, and carbs, and also any veggies that may cause gas, as all these things will just make the stasis worse. Also tummy rubs help and letting your bun run around also helps get the digestion moving.

Have you figured out what caused the stasis to begin with? Usually it has to do with something causing stress to your rabbit, a medical condition, but the most common reason is that there are too many carbs and sugars in the rabbits diet. This article helped me out a lot when my rabbit got stasis.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

 

[LoveCrumb]

Yes, the vet gave me metacam for pain and inflammation! I give him 0.3ml every 12 hours.
He started pooping a bit yesterday around dinnertime and nibbling on a bit of hay for the rest of the evening. He seems to go through about 40 minutes or so of discomfort where he squirms and lies flat on his stomach- I tried listening to his stomach, and I heard a little bit of activity, but not anything obvious. I felt his stomach and it seemed a bit fuller or potentially a little bloated, but that was also shortly after I fed him. I will feel his tummy again the next time I bring him out before I feed him.

I just gave him some fresh romaine and parsley soaked in water and was thrilled to see him chomp through it like a pro!!

Jbun, I have a small bowl of water for him to drink out of as well as his bottle, but even in the summer when it gets really warm and I put tempting icecubes in the bowl, he still tends to prefer his bottle! He usually drinks a very good amount, always more than enough for his size, but he hasn't since he's been sick. I do syringe feed him a bit of water after his meds and food and soak his veggies to make sure he's getting the bare minimum for now.

I'm not entirely sure what caused the stasis. The only thing I can think of is stress- I went home for two nights and left my rabbit in the care of a friend. I had her come to top up his food and give him his veggies the day I was gone (ie. I left monday afternoon, my friend came by tuesday afternoon, and I got back wednesday afternoon). Maybe being alone stressed him out? It was right when I got back that I noticed he hadn't eaten very much of the food left for him, and I thought he was just throwing a hissy fit. I then became concerned the next day when he still hadn't eaten and that's when I took him to the vet.
I left him once for a week with my brother, who really only checked on him once or twice a day and never even brought him out of his cage. When I got back, he was very happy to see me of course, but he didn't go through any strange eating or pooping behaviours like this time.
I also caught him nibbling on a bit of carpet last week before I left and although I stopped him, I can't guarantee that he didn't eat some of it. He has eaten a small amount of other fibers in the past like from a towel or my shirt, which I of course don't encourage, but it has never adversely effected him in the past. I used a flashlight to look under my bed and I couldn't see any noticeable patches of chewed carpet.
About two weeks ago, I accidentally left my bedroom door open and my roommates cat (who my rabbit hates even though the cat loves him) jumped into his cage. I came upstairs 20 minutes later and found her casually stretched out on the floor of his cage while he grunted at her from his litterbox. I usually never let them interact unless I'm RIGHT there to supervise so I was pretty shocked and worried. My bunny seemed fine after the fact, but I can imagine it would be pretty alarming having that happen!

 

[JBun]

Try and pay attention to when he's feeling uncomfortable and you might be able to pinpoint if it's a certain food that is causing it. My bun that had stasis, kept getting it again after he had gotten better the first time. I noticed that he would lay down on his belly like he was feeling uncomfortable, and it would always happen shortly after I fed him his pellets. I realized that it was the pellets that were now making him feel sick, so I cut them out of his diet, and now he is on a hay only diet, with green leafy veggies and supplemental vitamins, and he hasn't gotten sick with stasis since then. If you notice that your rabbit is feeling uncomfortable after being fed the critical care, you might try and give him less of that and more of green veggies since he seemed to like eating them and would eat them on his own. Try and feed the veggies and critical care at different times so that if one upsets his stomach, then you will be able to know which one is causing the upset. It could also be his medications that are causing some of the stomach upset. If you are giving gut motility meds then that may be making him feel uncomfortable for a short amount of time.

It sounds like he could have developed the stasis from any of those things. My rabbit developed stasis because of stress, but I think that it permanently damaged his digestive system, so now he can't eat pellets, or anything with sugar or grain. Once your rabbit is better, you may just want to keep an eye on him for a few days after, and make sure that his food isn't causing him any trouble. Geez, rabbits are such sensitive little creatures, aren't they

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

As mentioned in my previous thread, my little guy was diagnosed with GI stasis and I'm giving him the treatment he needs (meds to get the gut moving as well as oxbow critical care). Before I took him to the animal clinic last night, he was getting all squirmy in his cage, like he couldn't find a comfortable position for himself. For about 30 minutes he was constantly squirming and adjusting himself. He started to do it again about an hour ago. This isn't a symptom I'm familiar with- does anyone else know if this sounds normal?

I know that I get all squirmy and uncomfortable when I have bad gas, so I was thinking he might be experiencing that, but the vet told me that his gut was very quiet and he didn't say anything about gas being a potential problem.

My bunny is still very young, only a year and a half old (and neutered), and as the vet confirmed, he looks to be in wonderful health in every other aspect (ideal weight, no fever, good muscle tone, healthy fur and teeth etc..)

--there should always be a mild/moderate gurgle in the tummy--too much is painful--infant simethicone will calm it down.,,--tummy when relaxed should feel kinda doughy,--rabbits are strictly herbivores and require grasses like timothy/orchard,--lots of water or juices -papaya,pineapple,--to break up any collection in the stomach,,--rabbits are prey animals therefore subject to stress,excitability--pooping is a must,,regular poops and cecotropes,-- http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html hereis a link that will give you alot of data to work with,,--let us know how she goes,--sincerely james waller :mrsthumper::yeahthat::welcome1