GI stasis not improving

[lebbun]

Hi everyone, I’ve been lurking here for ages but now need some help.

I have a dwarf bunny who is at least 6 years old, but unsure of his exact age. I’ve had him 4 years and this is the first time I’ve had to deal with GI stasis. I’m not sure the cause; his diet hasn’t changed. He’s always gotten 1TBSP Oxbow pellets in the morning, various greens at night, and timothy hay all day, and sometimes oat, orchard grass, and meadow hay.

It started on Wednesday. I got up to feed him and he wouldn’t eat, he was sitting bunched up and didn’t come running like usual. His poops were small. As I was waiting for the vet to open, he eventually got up, ran around a bit, ate some of his pellets, and seemed a lot better. He saw the vet later that morning and she diagnosed stasis right away. She gave me tramadol for the pain and critical care, and they gave him sub-q fluids.

He seemed much better on Thursday. He ate veggies, he was willingly taking the critical care, and he ate a little bit of hay, not much. His poops were still small, but bigger than they had been and looked more normal, with bits of hay in them. He went back to the vet for more fluids. He gets really stressed being at the vet, and it doesn’t help that it’s a 30 min drive there and back, so I asked if it would be okay to skip bringing him back in for more fluids on Friday. They said it was fine, just to give him an extra dose of CC so he doesn’t get dehydrated.

Friday he went downhill again. He seemed fine in the morning, ate most of his pellets and was hopping around as I was getting ready. When I got home from work, he hadn’t finished his pellets or touched his hay, and he hadn’t pooped much, and they were back to being tiny.

He fought me on the critical care but I managed to get it into him. I was up most of the night with him. Saturday, I took him back to the vet as I was worried, and he hadn’t pooped at all since very early Friday morning, he was bunched up and grinding his teeth, and he just wasn’t himself. 

They took x-rays and bloodwork, and everything came back normal. The x-rays showed some gas bubbles and that he had food in his stomach. The vet said she could still hear normal digestive noises when she listened. She said she didn’t think the tramadol was doing it for him, so she switched him to Metacam, said to keep up with the critical care, they gave him more sub-q fluids, and also recommended infant simethicone for the gas.

Today, Sunday, he still isn’t interested in food. I added some plain canned pumpkin to the critical care and gave him an extra dose since the vet isn’t open to get him in for fluids. He pooped once today and that’s it, and it was tiny. There were also some cecotropes in his litterbox, not a ton. He took an Oxbow treat and nibbled on some timothy cubes I picked up for him. But he didn’t want pellets, he isn’t taking his favorite veggies – parsley, kale, romaine – either.

I’m really worried and frustrated. Is it normal for it to take this long to get better? Is he just not eating because he’s full from the critical care? He hasn’t drank any water but the vet said to expect that since he’s getting liquid from the CC. I have no idea what to do. I’m planning on calling the vet tomorrow and see if they want me to bring him back in. I just don’t have any experience with this and I’m scared. Does anyone have any advice? Is there anything else that can be done? I’ve been googling a lot and have seen that some people have had their vets prescribe things like Reglan, is that typical, is there a reason my vet wouldn’t have prescribed it?

 

[Muchelle]

With such a bad case instead of pain meds only, I’d expect also motility meds (metoclopramide, trimebutin). I’d ask about them to the vet, maybe they have reasons not to prescribe them?
About home care, avoid fruit and sugary foods cause they can worsen the gas situation if they stay in the digestive trait for too long. Do massage his tummy regularly, better if with his butt higher than his chest, to help the gas be expelled.

How much critical care are you feeding him and how often? If you’re giving big feeds (10ml+) it’s normal that he’d feel full. To make him feel a bit hungry you could try to do small feedings during the day (4-5ml per 3 hours) and a bigger one before bed time to make sure he’s comfortable through the night.

Keep us updated! Good luck & be patient!

[lebbun]

Thanks for the reply, Muchelle!

I was wondering about the motility meds too. I’ll ask tomorrow. The only thing I can think is that it really wasn’t severe at the first visit, so maybe the vet didn’t think it was necessary? But I’m not sure. I hadn’t done enough googling at the time to think to ask about it

Not long after I posted this, he ran around a bit and ate some veggies! I also ordered him Bene-bac as I’ve seen that recommended frequently; I will double check with his vet before I start giving it but I can’t find it anywhere around me and it won’t be delivered for a couple of days anyway.

He is really not a fan of the tummy massages unfortunately…I’ve tried a few times but he fights and squirms and I feel bad. I’m not sure if it’s pain, or more likely, that he’s not great with being handled too much in general.

He’s been getting 15-20mL of CC, I will try smaller doses and see if that gets him eating more.

Thanks again…I’ll update tomorrow after I talk to the vet.

[Author]

Messages