[Timely] Heading Into Stasis After Move

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ams1786

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Hi all —

We just moved to a new city and relocated with our rabbits last night (something I've been dreading for this very reason). While one of them is a foster-to-adopt who's perpetually chill, our girl has a lot of anxiety and is easily stressed. She's 5yo and spayed (and a rex, which I've heard can be more sensitive than other breeds), and has lived in the same house since she was a baby so this is a HUGE life change. It was a 3 hour car ride last night and now we're in a city apt instead of a suburban house. She was doing ok-ish last night (spooked, but eating and bathrooming a bit and spent the night under our bed) but today I definitely feel she's verging on stasis.

She is nibbling on food (hay, oxbow digestive tablets, a few pellets this morning) and ate some greens about half an hour ago, but not as voraciously as usual. She hasn't had any pellet droppings in several hours, but had some cecal pellets she left behind. She just seems a big off, if you know what I mean. Her tummy also feels a bit hard and she let me massage it (she normally would NEVER let me touch her for so long, but she even started grooming me while I was doing it).

We followed the normal precautionary steps — we got the boy solely to keep her company for the move, we brought up her blankets and litter box and toys, and I'm working from home for a few days to watch them. But I feel like it was inevitable this was bound to head towards stasis and now I just feel so, so awful for making her do this. Like I'm the worst owner in the world. We have a vet we picked out in advance but they close at 6 (there's a 24 hr hospital but they can only stabilize as they're not catered towards exotics), but we're not quite at tummy shutdown yet and the last thing I want to do is throw her in the car again for another 40 minute ride.

Any advice/tips/reassurances would be very helpful. I have some simethicone and I'm wondering if it's worth giving that to her semi-preventatively — she gets super stressed by force-feeding/any types of meds, so i need to weigh the benefits against the downside of making her more unhappy.

Ty in advance!
 
If she'll eat her usual leafy greens, I would continue to offer those regularly. They'll provide lots of moisture which she needs, and help keep that digestive tract hydrated. Like you said, you'll have to weigh the pros and cons of whether or not to start syringe feeding, just don't leave it til it's too late to do any good. The simethicone may help, but only if she is starting to develop gas.

Otherwise, it's all about minimizing her stress and anxiety as much as possible. If being with you helps her feel more at ease, spending lots of time with her if you are able, would be good. When a rabbit is stressed, sometimes they will allow you to comfort and 'groom' them a lot more than they usually would. So if she seems happier with you petting and loving on her right now, doing as much of this as you can will help ease that stress.
 
I went through the same thing when I moved three years ago, with my doe who was 5 year old at the time and who is also really prone to anxiety. It took weeks for her to stop hiding, even though her husbunny (who's a lot more relaxed than she is) was exploring and having a blast. When the poop doesn't come and the food intake isn't the best, I stop giving pellets, I provide wet grass if I have some. If the food intake is really low and that there is no poop to be seen after a few hours, I syringe feed water (with 1ml syringe) and give metoclopramide (Reglan / Emeprid) to help things move along. Generally one dose (about 0.5ml for 1 kilo of rabbit) does the trick and prevent stasis. Considering she's 8 and a half now and still as anxious as ever I keep a bottle at home and it's not rare for her to need it after an 'event' (getting her vaccination shots, me being gone a few days for a business trip, people blowing leaves in front of the house... you name it ^^'). It always worked really well for me and most vets will sell it to me over the counter if I explain why I need it and show that I know how to use it. If you've got simethicone, I would give it and give some water too. Rabbits don't like being syringe fed but if you do it quickly staying on the floor it only takes a few seconds and I'm pretty sure that stresses them out a lot less than having a stomach ache for the whole night.
In any case, I would continue massaging her belly, provinding lots of hay / wet leafy greens / grass if you can. If she's not better tomorrow, you might need metoclopramide and metacam to help her. I would phone the vet to explain the situation and maybe see if you can have those over the counter considering he probably won't do more than prescribe you the aforementionned meds and that a vet visit is stressful at the best of times.
 
the first time I moved to a new place, my bun got really scared. But she was calm when she was in her cage so i kept her in her cage for two days and she was back to normal afterward. I heard that bene-bac and vitamin C will help in case of stress. I think offering simethicone will be a good idea if your bun doesn't eat much for days. You can buy those flavored tablets from CVS, then there will be no force-eating ;)
 

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