Stasis recovery – diet questions

[Hayley E]

Hi everyone!

I have a 4 year old bun, Clover, who just spent the last 24 hours in agony due to G.I. Stasis. . . no eating, lots of teeth grinding, lethargy, belly pressing, the whole bit. I took her to the emergency vet, and they gave her a subcutaneous fluid injection as well as a painkiller and then sent me home with some Critical Care. She was in pain up until about 9 a.m. this morning, when her stomach started rumbling and she soon after pooped! She’s since been seeming a lot better, eating hay, spinach, etc. Not eating as much as I would like, but I suppose it’s good that things appear to be “moving!”

I really want to avoid this from happening again, as much as I can. So first and foremost — what are your recovery tips? Should I just give her a combo of leafy greens and hay, and skip the pellets? And once she’s back to normal, what’s a good diet plan for a medium dwarf susceptible to G.I. stasis? My regular routine is to give her a small bowl of veggies every morning (a mix of spinach, cilantro, parsley, carrots, broccoli, etc.), as well as 1.5 small scoops of pellets. There’s hay in her cage all the time, although she’s never overly interested in it. So how much should I be feeding her daily, and what ratio of veggies to pellets? I know rabbits are diurnal — should I be feeding her in the evening as well as in the morning?

Lastly (sorry to overload you with questions), I give her about 3 slices of banana a day, as it’s her favourite, and it’s good incentive for her to go back into her cage at night! Can eating too much banana be harmful for digestion?

If you guys could share with me your G.I stasis recovery stories, or a detailed plan of your healthy rabbits’ diets, I would be truly grateful. I don’t want another long, scary night in the vet’s office!

Thanks!

 

[MeggoWaffle]

I’m glad your bunny is feeling better!

In my mind, keeping the gut healthy requires two key things: hydration and roughage.

For hydration, consider giving her a bowl of water rather than a bottle. Always wet down her vegetables. I would split her veggies into at least two meals.

The veggies you are giving are OK but I would encourage you to not overdo the spinach or carrots. Try some other leafy greens like romaine, arugula. Rabbit.org and Binkybunny.com both have veggie lists with good feeding guidelines.

For roughage, if she isn’t interested in her hay, make sure the hay in her cage isn’t old. It’s good that she has hay in her cage at all times, but make sure she gets fresh hay every day. You can also try offering hay varieties like oak or orchard (I’m assuming you are currently offering timothy).

I don’t know what you mean by 1.5 scoops of pellets but it sounds like quite a bit. I would focus on giving 2 cups of greens per day and no more than 1/4 cup pellets. Not only will reducing pellets/increasing veggies help her hydration, but she might be more interested in hay if she isn’t full of pellets.

Three banana slices sounds like a bit much but I don’t know how thick they are and some rabbits can handle more sugar than others.

Good luck!

[Sarita]

Hi Hayley, I would recommend first and foremost to see your regular vet to have a full blown check up including a dental exam – you have to see if you can find out what the underlying causes are and then go from there.

Have you taken her yet to your regular vet? That is truly your next step for this condition.

[buttercup86]

I have recently discovered that I have been giving my bunny too many pellets. You might want to look into it too, it all depends on the weight of your bunny how many pellets they should get. Also, maybe consider a softer hay as was mentioned previously. Oxbow rates how soft certain hays are, and I am definitely considering getting a softer hay for my bunny after he just got over stasis. You may also want to ask your vet which brand of pellets to feed your bunny and what to look for in the ingredients. I also highly recommend water in a bowl, after stasis with my bunny he now drinks out of a bowl and highly prefers it.

Since my bunny also just recovered from stasis, here are my plans: less pellets, softer hay mixed with timothy, oxbow brand for pellets, soak every veggie meal with water (usually mixtures of parsley, kale, romaine, spring mix), and water from a bowl. I give him veggies every morning and pellets in the evening. I rarely give treats, maybe one or two craisins per day.

But my vet also mentioned that my bunny’s teeth were a little uneven. He did not recommend fixing them, and really did not seemed too concerned with it so I assume he thinks they will realign once we encourage him to eat more. You may want to ask the vet to check your bunny’s teeth because maybe she needs them fixed. If my bunny starts acting even the teeniest bit off again I am taking him to another vet for a second opinion. I’m so worried about my bunny so I totally understand what its like to have a bunny go through stasis! If you need any more encouragement or help or stories let me know…it was a very rough week for me and I felt very alone and sad for him.

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