Stress Related?

[BrittsBunny]

Yesterday I had my studio apartment treated for mold, so clearly my animals and I cleared out for close to 24 hrs. Within those 24 hours I had kept Wrangler at the hay store where my boyfriend works, then he was kept overnight at my boyfriend's house until this morning. I called the mold treatment guy and he gave me the okay that it was alright to re-enter the apartment. Well Wrangler has been a bit lethargic today and seemed like he was having another episode of GI Stasis (which he had been quite ill about 3 weeks ago). Thankfully I still have some Metoclopramide still leftover from the last time he was sick. I am hoping and praying that he isn't going to be sick on a monthly basis now. He used to never get sick. I don't understand why he would get sick when he gets fed top quality feed and hay (Oxbow) AND he's not confined to a cage. It just worries me. He seems to be okay at the moment, he's finally eating his fresh hay that he hasn't touched all day. I had cleaned his cage and pen when we first got home and usually he gets excited when I clean his house, but today, he could have cared less. I am wondering if he was just stressed out from all the moving around (he also made a trip out of town with me for Christmas and we got back a week ago). *Sigh* I hope he'll be alright.

BTW does anyone else keep Metoclopramide on hand at all times? Can your vet prescribe it even if your bun isn't sick? Since it seems to do the job to get things moving again, I would think that it would be necessary to have it always on hand?

 

[Chrisdoc]

Buns can get stressed for so many reasons and they are so sensitive much more so than other animals. Mine were a bit stressed when I upset their routine as I was dog sitting for my friend over Christmas and it took them a while to get back to normal. Maybe he´s just been stressed by the change to his environment and he´s now getting back to normal. But keep your eye on him in case it is a tummy related problem. I haven´t any experience with this as, touch wood, mine haven´t had any problems so far. Hoping he gets back to normal soon.

 

[JBun]

Some rabbits get stressed more easily by changes in their life or routine, than other rabbits. They do better when changes are gradually introduced into their lives if at all jpossible. I have a rabbit that gets stressed easily. If I move the rabbit that he's next door to, he gets stressed and stops eating. When I first got him he got stressed from being in a new home, stopped eating, and then got GI stasis because of it. He got over it but then kept getting reoccuring bouts of stasis. I ended up having to take him completely off pellets as that was why he kept getting stasis. I think the first bout with stasis caused some permanent damage to his digestive system, so now he just can't tolerate rabbit food, and I have tried several different kinds to see if I could get him back on them, but he ends up starting to get an upset stomach every time. So I don't feed him pellets, treats, and certain veggies. He gets unlimited timothy hay, a tiny bit of alfalfa, and a few green leafy veggies, as some veggies can also cause gas and stasis problems. I also give him a vitamin supplement sometimes. You may want to try either reducing your rabbits pellets by quite a bit, or eliminate them completely, and just feed unlimited grass hay and non starchy veggies. My rabbit hasn't gotten stasis since I stopped feeding him pellets, though I do give him a little pinch of them as a treat, that he seems to do ok with. Because I have to feed so much hay, I get it by the bale as it's much cheaper. If you are using those small bags of oxbow hay, you may want to look around at feed stores for a good horse quality grass hay. I feed timothy cause it's available, but any good grass hay will do. You usually end up paying $5-15 for a 50+ lb bale.

I keep metacam, simethicone, and critical care mix on hand for stasis episodes. I'm sure it's helpful to have a gut motility med on hand as well. Though, if your bun has a complete blockage where nothing is moving, then giving a gut motility med can be really bad to give, but I think in that case giving anything is bad and surgery is pretty much the only option.

I hope your bun gets to feeling better soon and that you are able to figure out how to get these stasis episodes under control.

 

[missyscove]

I don't know what's involved in the mold treatment, but are you sure that's not something that could be affecting him?

I keep metacam and simethicone on hand. Your vet can prescribe medications for you to have on hand as long as you have a valid VCPR (veterinary client patient relationship) meaning they're familiar with your patient and basically trust you to use the meds properly. If it's a recurring issue, I'd definitely discuss getting prescriptions to keep on hand with your vet.

 

[majorv]

:yeahthat: That was my first thought....something residual from the mold treatment that caused your bun's reaction.

 

[tonyshuman]

I would also look into adding probiotics as a means to improve gut motility first. Some bunnies may need the gut stimulant drugs occasionally, but having the right intestinal flora may solve the problem in a more "natural" and permanent way. If his GI bacterial community got out of whack from a serious stasis episode, correcting it by treating daily with probiotics for a week may solve the problem more or less permanently, whereas giving metoclopramide whenever he becomes sluggish may not be a permanent solution.

I too would be concerned about the mold treatment causing some effects.

 

[BrittsBunny]

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed response!

Wrangler is doing just fine! He started to feel better the next day...who knows what was going on with him...

Once a rabbit gets GI Stasis is it more likely to occur more often? For instance, if a horse colics, he/she is more prone to colicking; in fact it's expected most of the time.

My bun gets a good amount of Oxbow timothy hay & Oxbow pellets...not sure if it's the pellets? He's been on the same pellets for about 4 years.

As for getting a bale of hay instead of the Oxbow hay, is it safe to give the bale of hay to a rabbit? It can just be dusty and more dirty in my opinion. The Oxbow hay seems a lot cleaner...it just makes me nervous to think about giving my rabbit the similar type of hay my horse eats. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know that hay is hay, but it just seems "safer/cleaner" to buy it packaged from the pet store instead of getting it off the semi truck at the feed store.

 

[JBun]

Great to hear that Wrangler is feeling better! These buns of ours sure like to worry us sometimes

If a rabbit gets GI stasis and it's diet related, then it is most likely to reoccur until you find the thing in your rabbits diet that is causing the problem, and change the diet. Some rabbits are sensitive to sugars and carbs in their diet, because they are born with it, they develop a sensitivity to it because of other health problems, or just from getting older they become more sensitive. As a result they will start to have digestive problems and be prone to stasis because of it. My rabbit that gets it, initially got it because of stress, but it then caused permenant damage, and now he is prone to getting stasis if I try to feed him rabbit pellets. As long as I stay away from more than a pinch of pellets a day, and no sugars or carbs, then he is just fine and doesn't get sick again. If it's something that keeps occuring with your rabbit, then just try adjusting his diet to see if there are any positive results. Along with sugars and carbs causing problems, there are also some veggies that can cause stomach upset with some rabbits.

I think getting hay by the bale is just fine if you can find a really good horse quality hay. I've seen horse hay that I wouldn't want to feed to my horses, let alone my rabbits. But the hay that I get for my rabbits now, is nice green, good quality timothy hay in a bale. So if you can find some nice grass hay bales, then it is by far cheaper. I feed so much hay to my rabbits, since they all get unlimited hay every day, that I would go broke if I tried buying the petstore bags.

 

[tonyshuman]

:yeahthat:

My guys avoid the horse hay we bought. It's not nearly as nice and green as the Oxbow but does have some green bits. I use the horse hay mostly for bedding that they nibble on from time to time and keep the nicer hay in a hay rack so they're less likely to pee on it and ruin it and more likely to actually eat it.