RABBIT STASIS PROBLEMS

[FlopsyBunnies4]

Hi every-bun!

A few weeks ago, I posted a thread about my bun, Stormy, getting GI Stasis. We took him to the emergency vet and he made a strong recovery and is back to his hoppy self. However, earlier this week, one of my other bun-muffins Flopsy, also had a bout of GI Stasis. Luckily, I caught it really quick and we were able to treat it at home after consulting with our vet and giving her Stormy's left-over painkillers and lots of fluids/critical care. She is doing great now and her full energy & appetite has returned. Yay! I am very grateful that they both made a strong recovery and that my other two bunnies, Beatrix and Heidi are doing well and staying healthy.

Now, you maybe recall a similar thread last fall/winter I made about Beatrix getting a blockage and Heidi and Flopsy having minor GI Stasis: GI Stasis Concerns

It seems very odd and abnormal that in the last 6ish months all my bunnies have had GI Stasis/blockage when I have never had a problem with it in the past 2 years of owning rabbits. All my bunnies are pretty young, Flopsy being the oldest at 2.5 years old and as far as I know, are healthy (we have their annual checkups scheduled for the end of this month). They are Holland Lops and their weight ranges from 4-5 Ibs, in case that's important . The only thing I can think of that has changed is giving them more treats and switching hay brands from Small Pet Select to Standlee.

Here is their diet:

• AM - Handful greens each (lettuce, parsley, cilantro, spring mix), fresh water/timothy hay each, 1 Sherwood Digestive Tablet each, Beatrix & Flopsy & Heidi 1/4 scoop Sherwood Timothy/Alfalfa Pellet (stormy doesn't get any pellets AM, he's on a slightly different kind).
• PM- fresh timothy hay/water, Beatrix & Flopsy & Heidi 1/4 scoop Sherwood Timothy/Alfalfa Pellet, Stormy 1/8 cup Sherwood Timothy Pellet (I was giving everyone a 1/2 teaspoon of oats but am giving it a break and only giving as an occasional treato to see if that was causing the upset), and a treat at night such as occasional fruit, greens, homemade cookies, ect.

I am thinking perhaps I was giving them too many fruit/cookie treats so have been giving them a piece of green (and I am ordering some healthy herbs and stuff too) most days and other not-so-healthy treats 2-3 times a week.

I would love it if you guys have any suggestions or comments (please keep it nice I know it's not perfect but I'm really trying). My buns mean so much to me and I just want them to stay as healthy as possible. Thank you!!!!

 

[Blue eyes]

Stop all treats. No fruit, no oats, no cookies. Let their tummies get settled again with plenty of hay and the normal pellets and greens. For the greens, remember that fresh herbs (basil, dill, cilantro, etc) fall into the category of greens. Parsley is not ideal for daily feeding. Take a look at the following page for a list (scroll down) that shows which greens are good for daily offering and which should be limited.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html
I don't know what a "scoop" is. What quantity is that? Sherwood is a good food though.

How much hay do they eat? The brand shouldn't make any difference so long as it is fresh and not old or bad. With 4 rabbits, I'd suspect it would be to your advantage to buy hay by the bale. Feed stores typically carry hay bales. I would buy hay by the bale for just 2 rabbits.

 

[John Wick]

I agree with @Blue eyes that stopping all treats is a good first attempt, whether they are the ongoing source of GI distress or the simple elimination now is going to help get their GI systems back to "normal" following these events-- either way, it's a good idea.

If after doing so for a while you are still noticing issues, I would cut out the veggies (since healthy hay appetite + good-quality pellets + water bowl use will ensure fine daily nutrition and hydration) and do a one-at-a-time approach to see if you can identify what may be an "upsetting" veggie. Even within rabbit-safe veggies, some rabbits seem particularly non-agreeable to some. I'm not familiar with all your rabbits' ages, but if some are "pretty young", it could be their GI systems just aren't ready for such varied fresh veggies at the moment.

 

[FlopsyBunnies4]

Hi guys. Thank you for the suggestions! I have stopped giving them all treats and limited their parsley intake as I didn’t realize it wasn’t healthy to give it to them so often. So far so good! Also, my youngest rabbit is 1 1/2 years old and my oldest is 2 1/2 years old in case that helps.

I wasn’t super clear on their pellets, so let me redo that because I also have a question.

The three girl buns (Flopsy, Beatrix, Heidi) - Sherwood Timothy/Alfalfa (blue bag) get a 1/4 cup in the morning and a 1/4 cup in the evening.

Stormy - Sherwood Timothy Pellet (green bag) gets 1/8 cup at night.

There really is no reason why they are on separate foods except that stormy’s food is his favorite thing in the world and the girls do okay with theirs too. I was thinking of maybe switching the girls over to Stormy’s as it is more concentrated and they get a smaller amount so whenever their hungry their go-to could be hay. What do you guys think?

Thank you!!!!

 

[Blue eyes]

For the 3 girls, is that 1/4 cup for each of them or is that shared among them?

Sherwood's adult blue bag is intended for rabbits that do not eat hay (or enough hay). The green bag is the normal food to be fed with unlimited hay. If your girls are eating hay, then they should be on the green bag. The limited pellets (about 1/4 cup per rabbit per day-- for a 5-7 lb rabbit) should encourage unlimited hay eating. We want a rabbit to eat its body size in hay every day for good gut health.

 

[FlopsyBunnies4]

1/4 cup for each. They are not bonded yet. I will start switching the girls over to the green bag, thanks!

Also, I’m sorry for all the questions, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. I just have one more question; Flopsy, who had Stasis last week has been having a couple tiny poops. 99.9% of her poops are normal and healthy looking. However, I have noticed that when I have let her out the past few days she tends to have a few super small poops and then start pooping normally. Is this her poos getting back to normal from last Tuesday? Should I be concerned? I looked it up and read it can happen when a rabbit is recovering from GI Stasis or appetite loss, but I just wanted to see what you guys think. She has been doing great otherwise. Thank you so much