Pet Forum / Mammals / Rabbits / July 2008

Hay, hay and some more hay. Try and find out which kind she loves best. Mine
love 'farmers hay', bought from a farmer, the best. It's rather caurse
(sp.?) and smells lovely. But there are some great brands in the shops as
well.

Hope H. will be all beter and home tomorrow.
Els

I have fed Wizard the same food, from the day I got him, and for no
apparent reason, he went into stasis.  Reglan, & baby gas drops, given
at the same time works wonders.  Pineapple is just a placebo.  At least
no vet I have talked to recommends it.  Dr. Saver considers pineapple a
sugar treat and would bar you from giving it to Henrietta during treatment.

Professor, The Jump, Zolo, Wizard, & Magic Brenda

If it is a urinary infection, and the stasis is a by product, then I
wouldn't worry about stasis happening on it's own. It isn't uncommon for
stasis to occur with a UTI. Bladder infections can be quite painful, so they
affect the gut as well.

A straight forward stasis episode is best prevented by a good diet high in
fibre (hay), good quality pellets - rationed for adults, and few to no
treats with sugar, carbs. Exercise is very beneficial for a healthy gut,
same as humans. Make sure your rabbit is drinking enough as well. UTI's can
also happen because of low fluid intake or high mineral intake. Sometimes
your vet will recommend bladder flushing with subcutaneous fluids. If
mineral crystals build up in the bladder, they scrape the bladder wall
creating an environment for bacteria to take hold.

If your bun is having a lot if crystals in their urine, you may consider a
diet with lower calcium/phosphorus intake. Kale, dandelions, and some herbs
like mint and dill have a very high calcium content.

I pray your bun is feeling well soon!

How to prevent stasis is an important question for pet rabbit owners.

It is key!

Too many people who really love their rabbits lose them because they are
too *nice." They give too many of the wrong kind of treats.

But Arlette is right. Being in pain by itself can cause a rabbit to stop
eating and go into stasis.

So can the wrong kind of hay!

Alfalfa hay is *not good* for grown rabbits!

What is needed is grass hay such as timothy or orchard. It should be a
full 60% of rabbits' diets.

Many rabbit pellets are formulated with alfalfa hay. These pellets are
made to fatten rabbits being raised for unspeakable purposes, or simply
for quick sale.

Adult rabbits should have a timothy-based pellet if any pellets at all.
My very healthy rabbits are now getting *no* pellets, or only very, very
rarely as a treat--and I am talking about timothy-based pellets!

They get a tiny bit of carrot root and the full carrot top, one per
rabbit each day.  They also get about a pound of greens -- dandelion,
kale, chicory, escarole, parsley--per rabbit per day.

They have unlimited grass hay freely and easily available (it is in
their litter boxes, among other places) at all times. Of course, they
also have fresh water.

Even with the cautious diet I give, I still had a rabbit who became
stasis-y and who had to be force fed and

Please read this--it is a scholarly article about stasis, but perfectly
comprehensible to the average person:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Thanks for caring for Henrietta!

Nona

Hi

H is being transferred from Cardiff's emergency weekend vets service today
and we hope to bring her home in the afternoon.

She has started to eat again and showing some spirit i.e. thumping when they
come to her for a treatment which probably means force feeding.
She has started to poop but still needs top produce more. Also she stopped
eating for a short time last PM.

Thanks for all the advice. Both rabbits spend their day in outside runs. In
the evening they are transferred to their hutches for overnight. If we are
in we have them in the house; H in the sitting room Panda in the kitchen or
on the lounge settee; as they have always fought since puberty (typical
sister behaviour?).

I do try to give them Timothy hay but the quality is very variable.
Otherwise they have Excel rabbit pellets with a few (4-6) raisons, shreddies
and cherios. They get dandelion leaves when they are put in the runs. They
will eat a bit of carrot and  occasional romaine leaves but they are not
interested in fruit even when we're eating say an apple.

Fortunately they don't get stasis too often.

Cheers Richard