How concerned should I be?! (Stasis questions)

[Ella]

My rabbit is currently experiencing his second round of stasis in a month. It is my second round as well since he is my first bunny and I am still learning! This is the situation:

He went to the vet yesterday and he checked out as fairly healthy. His belly felt fine but not perfect, the vet said she was not too concerned. I had mentioned that he was/is eating normal, he is still excited for food, he is alert and mostly curious. Wednesday and Thursday he was not pooping much. Yesterday (Friday) after the vet, I started giving him motility drugs as well as some pain meds. Last night he seemed to be pooping great! Today he has barely pooped (It is about 5:20 pm here). He has made 5-6 small dark poos and I noticed some uneaten cecals. 

So for the most part…

– He is eating and excited about treats/food

– He is not pooping much/at all today

– I gave him a dose of metoclopramide at 1:00 pm yesterday and again at 9:00 pm. Since he seemed to be pooping better yesterday afternoon and last night I did not give him another dose this morning. When I noticed he was still not going I gave him a dose at 1:00 pm and I wish I had done so sooner! I will give another dose around 9:00 again. 

– He is not interested in running laps or being very active but he does want to come out and walk around and explore.

– He is still eating hay and drinking some water

– He is not hunched, grinding teeth, or hiding away all day. He is, however, showing signs of some discomfort like occasional quick breathing, and sitting up while staring blankly (he snaps out of this if I come over and say hey)

– I can hear some quiet gut sounds if I place my ear up to his belly

How concerned should I be? I always seem to get more worked up when this happens over the weekend as there is not always an emergency vet available near me. 

Anything else I should be doing?

I have critical care but I have not given him any yet since he is still eating his greens, pellets, and his hay. 

[Luna]

As long as he is eating/drinking and moving about, and pooping at least something, I wouldn’t be too concerned because it can take awhile for poops to return to normal after a bout of stasis – however, I’m a little confused about the quick breathing and blank staring. If you think he is showing signs of gas discomfort, I would give him some baby gas drops. They are ok to give in addition to the critical care. I don’t know what to think of the quick breathing and blank staring, so if another BB member doesn’t weigh in, then I suggest taking him back to the vet Monday because there might be an underlying issue.

[Ella]

The rapid breathing and staring off were some odd behavior things that I had brought up with the vet in combination with what else was going on. The vet said these are often signs of discomfort so since he is having gas or digestion problems he is probably also not very comfortable right now. I have also been giving him gas drops. The vet checked out his eyes, lungs, teeth etc. and everything else was healthy aside from his digestion issues. The breathing and staring off have lessened since starting the meds and getting him back to feeling better. 

Would you suggest also giving him critical care during stasis even though he is eating?

I am happy to report that he has made progress as far as pooping. They are bigger and less dark and are looking more normal. I hope he can keep it up

Thanks for your reply!

[sarahthegemini]

Glad to hear he’s made progress! Yay for poops!

[Luna]

I’m glad he’s doing better . I think continuation of the critical care kind of depends on how sick your bun was, how quick he/she recovered, and how much he/she is eating again. When Luna had stasis it was caught really early and she recovered very quickly, so after 2.5 days I called her vet and she said I could stop the critical care. If he’s not eating 100% back to normal, then I would call his vet and ask before stopping.

[Ella]

Well, that’s the thing. He hasn’t really stopped eating. The only difference in his eating right now is that it is maybe a little slower, but he is still eating all his greens, pellets, and hay. So I have not given him any critical care at all these last two days. The only problem going on is that I can tell he is a little uncomfortable and the amount of poop is significantly less than normal. 

Maybe it would help get things moving? It wouldn’t hurt anything to give him some critical care even if he is eating fine, would it?

I keep going back and forth between “is he getting better?” and “is he getting worse?”. It will be 8-10 hours with no poop and I start to worry and then all of a sudden there will be a fair amount of good sizes poo in the litter box (usually in the evenings/at night)! Is this a normal thing to happen during stasis?

Is it normal for a stasis bun to be eating pretty normal but not pooping as much or could it be something else that is not stasis? 

[Ella]

I am not good at the “in between” state. While I am SO thankful he does not seem to be doing too bad, I find it hard to balance my hopefulness for improvement and my worry of him worsening. Hence, my frantic questions about the little things.

You think you are prepared, but when it happens it’s like I forget everything!

[Luna]

That’s great he is eating his hay and veggies/pellets. Since you have already stopped the critical care and he is eating everything, then I don’t think you need to start the critical care again. Also, the critical care won’t move the gut along if he is already eating. It’s normal for poops to take a while to return to normal shape and frequency after stasis, although I’m not sure how much infrequency is ok. To me, 8-10 hours sounds too long. I would try some baby gas drops until you can call the vet tomorrow and ask if 8-10 hours is too long without poop.

[Ella]

Thank you for your replies, Luna! I really appreciate it.

I don’t know what it is about the evenings but as it gets later in the day he starts to poop again and then sometime in the morning decides to stop for the rest of the day. When he does start pooping it seems to be a decent amount but it just not enough! I will call tomorrow and see what the vet says about his infrequency. 

Even though he is still drinking some water, I have started to give him pedialyte so hopefully I can get whatever is going on in there hydrated! 

Thank you again for your help and advice!

[Luna]

No problem . Any issue that springs up with a bun can be so nerve-wracking, especially stasis! Hope Eli continues to do well.

[Author]

Messages