Socrates - GI stasis & recovery

[kristianaspinall]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the first post being a cry for help - and please don't laugh too hard at my rabbits name!

Socrates is a dwarf lop, and a trained house rabbit - he just has alitter tray. Normally, his diet consist of pellets, 3 different typesof different veg a day, and a lot of hay. Last wednesday, we changedhis hay and feed. On monday evening, we noticed that by about 11:00pm,he was quite listless and lethargic, which is unusual for him - and hedidn't eat any of the food we put out for him before bed. By morning,he was definitely in pain and unhappy, and hadn't poo'ed or eaten atall for about 10 hours, so we took him to the vets immediately. Theyput him in their little hospital for the day, and gave him some painrelief, some anti-biotics and some gut stimulant. (Can't remember whichdrug I'm afraid). They also massaged his tummy, and force few him someliquid food through a syringe.

By the afternoon he was feeling a lot more happy, and was even nibblingon a bit of hay. We took him home in the evening, and as soon as we gothim home he started pooing and eating hay. He even tried a few pellets,but mostly hay and fresh veg. (leafy greens mostly and the odd carrot).He had a follow up visit to the vets yesterday afternoon, where shesaid that the bloated feeling in his tummy was much reduced.

However, since returning from the vets (where he seemed distinctlyuhappy at being there), he's gone down a bit. He's still eating hay,carrot tops, kale, parsely and coriander, and even small bits ofbrocolli, but he won't touch pellets or carrots, and his poos havebecome very small and hard. He seems to be bright and playful, and hehas even flopped doing the "dead bunny" impression this morning. I'mjust worried that he is only eating the wet greens and hay, and thathe's not passing stuff properly.

Obviously, if he stops eating / pooing completely he'll be back to thevets instantly - but is his current state okay for a rabbit recoveringfrom GI stasis? Should I be worred, or is what he is currently eatinggood for him now?

Many thanks for your help!

 

[Pipp]

Well, what's coming out is as important (if notmore so) than what's going in, so I'd say try giving him some cannedpumpkin and maybe the wet fiber will fluff up his poops.Small and hard is cause for some concern, although he's certainly onthe right track with wet greens and hay.The outputshould reflect that. They're a lot more importantthan the pellets and the carrot. I'd forego those altogether.

Also keep himmoving, and if he seems at all uncomfortable,give him someSimethicone.Do what you canto get him drinking a lot. (Maybe spike the water with a bitof juice?)

Let us know how he's doing.

sas and the gang of fur :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:

 

[adamjai]

My bun had a bout with stasis last week, and hadto stay at the vet for two days. I brought her home Fridayafternoon and she ate nothing but parsley and apples for two days, eventhough while at the vets she had been eating pellets and hay aswell. She also had the same poops you'redescribing. My vet had told me to give her 3-5 days, and sureenough Sunday night she seemed to get her appetite back and startedmunching on her pellets and hay, and Tuesday morning I woke up to findthat she'd eaten all of her hay, all of her pellets, and all of hergreens overnight, and had drank almost all of her water, and she hadalso left me a ton of normal poos. She also didn't startacting 'right' until Sunday evening, and by Monday evening was all butharassing me for pets. He might just need a couple of days torecoup.

 

[bunnydude]

Just as pipp mentioned, when they're not feelingwell eating anything is better than nothing. The sudden upset canprobably be attributed to the change in pellet brands.Socrates (great name!) may also be avoiding the pellets because he doesnot like the new taste. If you need to switch brands ever again, Iwould reccomend slowly phasing in the new pellets in a pattern simmilarto this:

Week 1: 75% old - 25%new

Week 2: 50% old - 50% new

Week 3: 25% old - 75% new

Week 4: 100% new
​

Other than that, the diet you are feeding is excellent.

 

[naturestee]

I definately agree with Pipp'srecommendations. Also, if you have a water bottle give him abowl of water too. Or you could mix a littlevanilla flavoring, flavored Pedialyte, carrot juice, or unsweetenedapple juice in a second bowl or bottle. Both of these willtempt him to drink more. The extra water will help get hispoops back to normal and keep his intestines healthy and well-lubed.

Can you get some more of his old pellets? The fast switch isprobably what started this and he might not start eating many pelletsuntil you go back to the old brand.

And welcome to the forum! :wave2

 

[kristianaspinall]

Thanks for the replies all.

Changed back to his old pellets as soon as he got back form the vets - we still had some around, and the vet sold them as well.

He's always just had a water bowl to drink from, which we change twicea day. He's definitely been taking the odd sip from it since gettingback, which is more than usual..

Just popped home during my lunch break to check on him. Got him to eatsome more carrot tops, a bit of kale and some new hay. Couldn't see howthe droppings were unfortunately, but cleared his litter so I can tellthis evening. Unforunately I live in he UK, and canned pumpkin justdoesnt seem to exist over here - so when getting him to eat, I wet theveg beforehand so I know he's getting liquid intake.

If a rabbit is in pain, will it do the "dead bunny" flop? I've readthat is what they do when they feel quite relaxed and calm, and he didit a few times at lunch - including one very embaressing attempt wherehe ended up on his back for a few minutes...

Will try to get some unsweetened fruit juice or equivalent to get somemore liquid in side of him this evening. Thanks for the advice and thewelcom!

 

[naturestee]

If he's doing a dead bunny flop he probablyisn't feeling bad. When my rabbits have gasproblems, they sit funny. Either hunched up strangely orpressing their bellies to the floor.

There are a few places where you can find canned pumpkin in the UK, butit's really hard to find. It's too bad because it's afavorite treat/medicine hider for my crew.

 

[kristianaspinall]

Well, last night he did a few more droppings,which were larger in size. He also fought like an insane rabbit when wetried to give him the anti-biotices, and we neded up smuggling theminto a piece of banana in the end...

We gave him completely fresh hay and veg before going to bed - kale,parsely, carrot, carrot tops, brocolli, and a piece of apply. He alsohas a coriander and mint plant to snack on as well next to his foodarea.When we woke up this morning, it was all gonebarring the apple piece and the carrots.He had eaten *tons*of food during the night - and was still snakcing on hay this morning.

I gave him some more veg & hay before leaving for work thismorning - is this the right things to do? Basically give him as muchgreens as he wants until he starts eating pellets again? Or should I beonly giving him veg once a day, and reducing it down to the normalamount we give him?

And I'm guessing he'll just start to eat pellets when he feels like it.Ah well, at least he certainly seems a happy bunny at the moment...

 

[kristianaspinall]

Just to update - thanks for the help everyone.Socrates has made a complete recovery, and now seems to be in betterhealth than ever. Now I just need to get the scamp stopping eating myskirting boards and things will be perfect again...



Cheers!

 

[naturestee]

Thanks for the good news! :great:

PS: Have you tried rubbing a bar of soap on the skirtingboards? My buns really hate the taste. I only haveto reapply it every month or two.