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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Preventing Stasis

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    • nikkiky
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        I have a spayed 4 1/2 year old mini Rex. She has a very sensitive digestive system. Probably once every 3-4 months we deal with a bought of stasis. We can see it coming on and state with Siemthicone, watering down veggies, etc. What I’m looking for is away to help her keep her gut moving. She has free feed hay all the time, gets only 1/8 of acup of pellets daily, and 2 cups of fresh veggies daily. She is out of her cage 16 hours a day, so she gets plenty of exercise. Is there anything I can give her daily or weekly to help prevent it.


      • Krayl
        Participant
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          I had 2 bunnies die of stasis so I know your fear. After their deaths, I did two things: 1) I started feeding a very high quality pellet that was made without any wheat/soy hulls or fillers (Sherwood Pellets) and 2) I give them a dose of benebac probiotic every couple of days. 
          Since doing this I’ve never had any problems with stasis, at all. Of course, hay and fresh grass is essential and should make up the bulk of their diet. But when they get treats like raisins and have pellets with filler like soy, I believe it helps to supplement with probiotic. Giving them the “good” bacteria every few days ensures that the bad bacteria can’t bloom in their sensitive gut and cause stasis. 

          Just a little bit of the benebac gel has kept them 100% stasis free so far. And it keeps me SANE not having to worry about them all the time 


        • Azerane
          Moderator
          4688 posts Send Private Message

            Ugh, just lost a really long post

            Basically, stasis is a symptom of something else. Your best bet for management is to find the underlying cause; brand of pellet, too many pellets, too many greens, type of greens (do you feed brassica veggies? Broccoli, cabbage, brussle sprouts etc which are known for causing gas). Do you brush her regularly, does she eat cardboard on occasion?


          • vanessa
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              Sounds like you are doing all the right things. One of my bunnies also has a sensitive belly. I don’t give him any fruit. No sugary treats, carrots, raisins, etc. His treats are veggies. I agree with the benebac. I also use it for him. If he is having issues, he gets 1 dose every second day for 4 doses, then back to one dose a weekend. I just follow the directions on the package. Works like a charm.
              My other bunnies get apple cores without seeds, strawberry tops, when I’m cutting them for myself. So maybe once or twice a month. As a general rule – I avoid fruit with my bunnies.
              Makw sure she drinks plenty of water. Fluid is also important to keep the gut moving. When my sensitive bunny slows down on his water consumption, I flavor it with veggie juice and add benebac to make up for the sugar in the veggie juice.


            • sarahthegemini
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                I would also suggest keeping your bun’s life and environment as stress free as possible as that can cause stasis too. Obviously we have to do some things that stress them out (vet visits for example) but it’s best to keep their home calm.


              • nikkiky
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                  She only eats parsley, kale, and cilantro. She is a cardboard chewer though.


                • Azerane
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                    Kale is a brassica so gas from that could be a possibility. Not that it is definitely that, I think it’s simply an option worth exploring.

                    You could also keep a journal of not only her diet but behaviours etc. Such as noting down if she chewed cardboard a little bit one day, or lots the next day. If she’s shedding, any other behaviour changes or if she happens to have eaten more or less hay than usual etc. It may help you identify a common factor between cases of stasis.


                  • vanessa
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                      Good point about it being a symptom of something else. When I adopted Lancelot, he had a history of malnutrition and being fed chocolate. He also has EC. So he has underlying health issues that contribute to the onset of his stasis. So I do have to manage them all, to keep the stasis away. It’s not always easy to tel what the underlying problem is. Sometimes it could just be the rabbit doesn’t respond well to biological/environmental stress.


                    • nikkiky
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                        Thank you for the advice. She was a 4h bunny when we adopted her at 11 months. However within one month she was rushed to surgery due to uterine cancer. She lost almost 2 lbs after surgery. Her total weight was only 5.5 to begin with. She was much sicker than we knew. Even the vet was impressed at how well behaved she was for being so sick. She never presented as being sick. Always happy, bouncing, loveable, and cooperative. Does anyone know if papaya extract works as a preventative?


                      • vanessa
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                          I have had great success with papaya extract. I use Sherwood Forest Digestive Tabs, and Sherwood Forest SARx (similar to Oxbow Critical Care) for Lancelot. It helps with his appetite and gut function. I actually decided to cut back on the Sherwood Forest SARx because they caused him to produce sooooooo many cecotropes I was alarmed. I’m still not sure if that was good or bad – it was just not what I was used to seeing in his diaper when I collect cecotropes to feed him… So yes, I think papaya extract is very helpful. I don’t know the dose. I use the prepared rabbit products.
                          Sounds like uterine cancer is the cause of the stasis… Once the belly gets unbalanced, it can be difficult to impossible to clear it up indefinitely. Often the bunny will get recurrences. What form of papaya extract were you thinking of?


                        • Nikki
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                            I give my bunny the oxbow digestive support tablets! Also, I saw online a lady who sells fresh hay. It’s called small pet select or something, and I remember the first cut kind was packed with fiber and formulated for bunnies with stasis issues! It might be worth checking out. Hope this helps


                          • nikkiky
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                              I Ann not sure what kind to get. I want to just be proactive. We have gotten her through every stasis episode, but I would prefer to prevent them!


                            • vanessa
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                                I also use the oxbow products that Nikki uses. I use every single type they have. The Oxbow has herbs that aid digestion and motility, the Sherwood has the papaya extract AND vitamin B, which helps appetite. So Lancelot gets both. He likes them both. I think they both have benefits. When I added the Sherwood Forest tabs, his appetite got much better because of the Vitamin B supplement, and his poops looked better, I think because of eating more (volume), and I suspect the papaya extract. I would pick the Sherwood over the Oxbow, but he likes them both, so he gets to eat them both every day.

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                            Forum DIET & CARE Preventing Stasis