HELP I think it’s Stasis!!

[Floppy]

My rabbit was in boarding I got her back yesterday she was fine yesterday’!

She today started acting funny, lying in different positions like she can’t get comfy! I haven’t seen her eat since about 11am-she’s been lying funny for ages and breathing hard and doesn’t seem right!

I went to store bought her all her fave food and more! She has a plate Infront of her with basil, mint, coriander, kale, strawberry, banana, Apple and a bit of digestive biscuit and she hasn’t even sniffed it!

It’s Sunday and I have no money because I had a drama in Barcelona my friend got mugged and we missed our flight and I spent all my savings trying to get us home and it’s 2 weeks til pay day and I am in absolute pieces!!!

It’s 18 degrees here is it too hot!!!

Is there any human medication I can give her ?

[Mikey]

18C/65F? Thats a good temp for a bunny. Unless you meant 81F, which, yes, can cause health problems in bunnies due to the heat. Has she eaten since this post?

[Floppy]

No she won’t eat I’m trying everything!

It’s 5.15 Sunday should I try to force feed her???

[Bam]

You can give her a little water by syringe if she’ll let you. If you can add something like a bit of apple juice to it, the sugars might help perk her up, plus something that tastes good might make her more willing to take it.

Do you happen to have any baby gas drops (simethicone) at home? It’s often very helpful when a bun has gas. A bun shifting position like she can’t get comfy most likely has gas.

The gas must get out. You can try massaging her tummy very very gently, like in this excellent video with Mary S Cotter. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LbyC6CWbm5M

It’s also good if you can make her move around, it helps the intestines.

[Floppy]

Hi I can go back to tesco and buy the stuff what exactly do I buy ?

Edit- possibly not much point just chased her round the room woth a syringe of water to no avail. The good part was I made her move.

[Floppy]

When is it life or death!? What the hell do I do?

If I took her to an emergency vet would they even treat her I have £8 and I can’t get in touch with anyone!!

I’m even considering SPCA but I’d be Devastated for them to take her away I love her!! It’s just such bad luck but I don’t want her to die because of me! :'(

[sarahthegemini]

You could always phone an out of hours vet and ask if they’d accept a payment plan?

It’s great that she’s moving around tho – Buttercup was shifting really uncomfortably once before and I managed to get her moving. Her tummy was loud but she was still interested in food. After about 30 minutes she was right as rain. The second time it happened she needed urgent care as she had lost all interest in food and wouldn’t move other than to try and get comfortable.

Has she pooped?

[Bam]

If you are in the U.K., Infacol is what you get. You start by give 1 ml, the bottle has a dropper so it’s very easy to measure. Some buns will eat this on a leaf of green or a slice of banana/fruit. But some buns you have to drop the stuff righ into the mouth of. It has an orange flavor that many buns like.

Great job making her move around!

[Floppy]

She won’t eat meds from anything she will not eat at all!! I’ve tried the most tempting foods and she’s rejecting them! It’s extremely out of character! I have a friend who’s going to lend me £20 and in going to TRY to take her to the vet, is that how emergency vets work so you go to them or do they go to you?

She’s only moving because I’m chasing her.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 12:59 PM

She won’t eat meds from anything she will not eat at all!! I’ve tried the most tempting foods and she’s rejecting them! It’s extremely out of character! I have a friend who’s going to lend me £20 and in going to TRY to take her to the vet, is that how emergency vets work so you go to them or do they go to you

You could try putting her in a bunny burrito and syringing her some Infacol. 

£20 won’t even get you looked at – where I live if it’s before 11pm it costs around £80 for the consultation plus treatment and if it’s after 11pm, it’s more. You have to phone the out of hours vet/emergency and they’ll book you in. Is she insured?

[Floppy]

No but £20 looks less hard nekket than nothing surely they can’t let her die! :'(

She just pooped but it’s cecals ! Is this good or bad!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 1:04 PM

No but £20 looks less hard nekket than nothing surely they can’t let her die! :'(

Just phone them and explain her issues – they’ll likely tell you on the phone how much a consultation will cost so you can explain then that you don’t have the funds to pay outright but ask if they’d accept a payment plan. 

[sarahthegemini]

Has she pooped? Is she insured?

Edit: Just saw that she’s pooped cecals, no normal poop?

[Bam]

Poop is great. No matter if it’s cecals or round dry poop. Could be the chasing that got sth moving.

I’d burrito her and give her the infacol. It often helps within 20 minutes. Do you have someone who can help you hold her? It’s a million times easier if you’re 2 people.

[Floppy]

No I don’t insure them because one has Pastuerella and it’s never cost anywhere near the excess! Usually I have some money in the bank but I don’t usually miss flights and stuff, I’m an idiot!!!

Only cecals first I’ve seen for several hours! Is this good or bad!

I don’t have much time cos the vet is an hour on bus- I don’t drive. I hate the closer vet and she’s only registered at the distant one.

I have only ever got the bill at the end- I can always just run! Surely nobody ever got arrested for that ?

[Floppy]

No I don’t have anyone to help I’m pretty lonely, I live by myself and don’t have many friends that’s kind of why I got the rabbits but since I got them it’s been stress after stress with the constant health issues!! :'(

I can go to Tesco and get the stuff is it the baby colic medicine?

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 1:12 PM

No I don’t insure them because one has Pastuerella and it’s never cost anywhere near the excess! Usually I have some money in the bank but I don’t usually miss flights and stuff, I’m an idiot!!!

Only cecals first I’ve seen for several hours! Is this good or bad!

I don’t have much time cos the vet is an hour on bus- I don’t drive. I hate the closer vet and she’s only registered at the distant one.

I have only ever got the bill at the end- I can always just run! Surely nobody ever got arrested for that ?

No, but you’ll probably be blacklisted and they may refuse to treat in the future. Ask about a payment plan. 

[Floppy]

I thought maybe it’s less panic now she’s pooped though?

[Bam]

The problem with running -apart from it being illegal of course – is that it’s difficult to run with a poorly bunny.

And of course you’d get arrested for that.

[Floppy]

ok well I’ll just stay up all night with her and make sure she’s OK and if no improvement will take her in to vet tomorrow??

I wasn’t serious about the runner I’m just really upset.

[Bam]

It’s bad all the way up until she eats something. She must eat something.

The problem with force feeding a bun is that you can’t know if there’s an intestinal blockage or if the gut just isn’t moving like it should. If you put food in a bunny that has a blockage, it can worsen the condition.

But if you can’t get to a vet you will have to syringe her pellets soaked in water. Again a million times easier if so can help you.

Does her ears feel cold?

[Floppy]

Not abnormally so but she is being “stiff and still” which is unusual she’s usually extremely active.

I am going to tesco to try to find Infacol

[sarahthegemini]

Please, phone the vet – She’s not eating, not pooping regularly, and isn’t acting herself. You can’t just hope this fixes overnight.

[Floppy]

Hi I called the vet, he said to keep an eye on her basically.
He also suggested keeping her warm using a hot water bottle though which seems ludicrous! This is what you do with a hamster in torbor not a rabbit with no appetite!! Correct me if I’m wrong!?

She’s sleeping now so I’m letting her rest and fingers crossed she wakes up feeling better!

Thanks for all advice

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 2:17 PM

Hi I called the vet, he said to keep an eye on her basically.
He also suggested keeping her warm using a hot water bottle though which seems ludicrous! This is what you do with a hamster in torbor not a rabbit with no appetite!! Correct me if I’m wrong!?

She’s sleeping now so I’m letting her rest and fingers crossed she wakes up feeling better!

Thanks for all advice

Bunnies can get cold when they’re poorly so I can see why he would suggest that but it’s concerning that he hasn’t said she needs to be seen. Not eating or really pooping means her gut has slowed right down/potentially stopped and that is dangerous territory. 

[Floppy]

He said because she had pooped it was less concerning :/ he suggested pineapple juice. I’m so worried.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 2:39 PM

He said because she had pooped it was less concerning :/ he suggested pineapple juice. I’m so worried.

But she’s only pooped cecals so it’s still concerning. Pineapple juice isn’t a guaranteed trick. Please insist to the vet that she needs to be seen.

[Bam]

I’m glad you weren’t serious ?

Does her ears feel cold? A bunny in stasis can get a too low temperature, and that must be avoided. You need to keep her warm. One way is to sit her in your lap and put a fleece blankie on her and let your own body warmth keep her warm. It’s also very comforting for a bun that’s poorly, and it might well be that she perks up. But she MUST get some food in her.

So first of all, can you get a friend to help you hold her so she can get some food (pellet slurry) in her? You can make the slurry very runny. Then you feed it slowly by putting the tip of the syringe behind her front teeth where there’s a gap. You push the plunger so very slowly because she has to swallow, she mustn’t breathe in the food.

ETA: I missed a whole page of posts! The vet is right, keep her warm. A hot water bottle or hand warmers will do. She must be able to move away from the heat source if she gets too hot (that’s why warming her with your own body heat is good, it can never get too warm.)

Pineapple juice could help perk her up so she wants to eat. It has some sugar in it, that’s the main good it will do and Molly Varga says it’s ok to give to a bun that won’t eat, but only in small-ish amounts.

You can’t just let her sleep now, not without a hot eater bottle near her, because she might not wake up again. Sorry for sounding alarmist, but it’s true. Everything slows down in her body, then grinds to a halt. Pick her up and put her in your lap.

[Floppy]

Syringe feeding is SO hard I just got some really nasty scratches and a really upset bunny, but she took about half a ml of a concoction of mashed pellets, banana and digestive biscuit in water. Yay’

Honestly it’s really warm here tonight for Scotland and she doesn’t feel cold, but I won’t sleep tonight unless she eats & poops so I will continue to monitor her temperature.

Not sure there’s any point in getting the infant colic drops if I can hardly syringe feed without stressing her out a lot! :/

My poor bunny

[Bam]

Great job!!! A scratching, angry bunny is really promising!Thats what you want, not a lethargic bun that doesn’t fight back. Very well done!

I think I’d hold back on the digestive bisquits unless she’s had them before and tolerated them, but mashed banana and pellets in water is great.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 3:29 PM

Syringe feeding is SO hard I just got some really nasty scratches and a really upset bunny, but she took about half a ml of a concoction of mashed pellets, banana and digestive biscuit in water. Yay’

Honestly it’s really warm here tonight for Scotland and she doesn’t feel cold, but I won’t sleep tonight unless she eats & poops so I will continue to monitor her temperature.

Not sure there’s any point in getting the infant colic drops if I can hardly syringe feed without stressing her out a lot! :/

My poor bunny

Just checking – when you say digestive Biscuits, you don’t mean human ones do you?

I don’t understand why you won’t take her to be seen. There’s clearly something very serious going on and it likely won’t get better on its own. The longer you stay at home ‘monitoring’ the worse her condition could get. I don’t mean to sound harsh but stasis can literally kill rabbits. 

[Bam]

You should try and feed her again in about two hours, you van add Infacol to the pellet-banana mash then if you feel it’s too stressful to do it right now. The infacol has an appealing taste.
It’s good it’s warm in Scotland, but if you feel her ears go cold, warm her anyway, because it’s a type of cold that comes from the inside, it comes from the body not being strong enough to keep itself at a healthy temp.

It is true that stasis can kill a bunny.

[sarahthegemini]

Or have you called and explained that you have no way of getting there? Maybe they could do a home visit? I doubt it but it might be worth a try.

[Bam]

If the vet said digestive biscuit was ok, he probably meant that it’s ok in this situation. It’s sweet-tasting and has energy and when a bun won’t eat you try to entice it to eat, what it eats is not super-important. The important thing is that it eats.

Members please, for the sake of this bun, we must all try to keep our heads cool.

[Floppy]

Yeah thanks I didn’t think he meant to feed her biscuits everyday,

[Bam]

The thread is now open again. 

I’ve edited out posts that were in violation of the forums etiquette rules and honestly, let’s try and keep this civil from now on. 

[Floppy]

She just ate some kale!

[Bam]

YAY!!!

That is beautiful =) =) =)

[sarahthegemini]

It’s great she’s ate something! Try and serve it really wet if you can to help her stay hydrated.

[Bam]

Yes, that’s a great tip, serve her vegs dripping wet for extra fluids.

Floppy: I’m going to bed now, but since this is an International forum, there will be members online. I’ve alerted the other leaders so they too can offer more advice and answer questions if needed. 

[Floppy]

Thanks so much for your help!

Daisy was fine yesterday, and the boarding place and people seemed amazing, but I my other rabbit came home with an unusual cut/scab on back of his neck as well, which is bleeding. I’ve been applying sudocreme. Casper is at least eating, drinking, playing (and sadly, still sneezing). The boarding people said they thought it was a reaction to his jag but that was ages ago…. I think it looks like he’s been bitten by another rabbit, but I feel bad thinking that, like I said the boarding people seemed wonderful, the facilities were second to none.

But now I have one rabbit that’s not eating, and one with snuffles and a sore back/neck. This can’t be normal! Am I just so unlucky!?

I swear, they have a variety of the best quality hay, loads of exercise, fresh veg, burgess pellets. I clean their litter every day! I feel like I must have went so wrong somewhere.

[LBJ10]

These things happen. I left my buns at home in the care of my parents and Wooly was an absolute mess when I returned home. So I know how it is. We have the best intentions and think we did all the right things and something still goes wrong. Also, pets seem to have a habit of getting sick at all the wrong times. Whether it’s a holiday weekend or right after you had to spend all your money on another emergency, it seems their timing it always “perfect”.

I do hope your bunny is doing better now. Can we get an update?

You were given some good advice. Keeping a bunny in stasis warm is good because they can often suffer from low body temp. Simethicone (Infacol) can help with gas, as well as belly massages. Fluids are very important. Some people will even give Sub-Q fluids at home, but you have to have a vet show you how beforehand. Syringing fluids is another option. If your bunny is eating some greens now though, giving them to him wet will help with this as well. Have you tried some more fragrant herbs, like mint? Sometimes those are more enticing to a bunny that is reluctant to eat.

[Bam]

How is she doing now?

[Floppy]

Hi everyone she is a lot perkier, she are a little mint and a little kale and a little bit of nuggets. She’s not exactly acting normal though she usually scoffs the lot. She is stomping aswell although it may be the lawn moer outside

She’s pooped a bit but again not a normal amount. She is eating kale more when I hand it to her. Kale is her favourite.

Edit: she’s eating some hay

[Bam]

That sounds great ??? It can be a while before she gets back to normal, so keep a close eye.

If she likes kale you can put a little bit of infacol on a piece and handfeed it. My Bam accepts infacol on a leaf.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/11/2017 5:11 PM

Thanks so much for your help!

Daisy was fine yesterday, and the boarding place and people seemed amazing, but I my other rabbit came home with an unusual cut/scab on back of his neck as well, which is bleeding. I’ve been applying sudocreme. Casper is at least eating, drinking, playing (and sadly, still sneezing). The boarding people said they thought it was a reaction to his jag but that was ages ago…. I think it looks like he’s been bitten by another rabbit, but I feel bad thinking that, like I said the boarding people seemed wonderful, the facilities were second to none.

But now I have one rabbit that’s not eating, and one with snuffles and a sore back/neck. This can’t be normal! Am I just so unlucky!?

I swear, they have a variety of the best quality hay, loads of exercise, fresh veg, burgess pellets. I clean their litter every day! I feel like I must have went so wrong somewhere.

It’s hard not to feel like we’ve done wrong but it sounds like they have a good life and just got unlucky this time. Both of mine have great quality grass, had a large variety of veggies, good quality pellets, they get spoiled rotten in terms of toys, free roam so they can run and binky whenever the mood strikes etc etc and we’ve still had to rush Buttercup to the emergency vets three times and she’s only 9 months old (10 months old tomorrow actually ) with stasis. And of course each time it was late at night on a weekend or bank holiday 

[sarahthegemini]

How is she now?

[Floppy]

She’s 100% better! Thanks everyone!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Floppy on 6/13/2017 5:23 PM

She’s 100% better! Thanks everyone!

Phew! 

[LBJ10]

Yay! Glad to hear it!

[Bam]

Yay ?
So happy to hear it 

[Author]

Messages