Does anyone have experience with these symptoms?

[Gelly]

A couple of weeks ago, my 11 mos. old rabbit started acting different. He was very lethargic, not moving a lot, pooping less, keeping one eye a bit more closed than the other, and eating less.

We brought him to the vet for an emergency vet which ended up costing us $1,300. He had x-rays, meds, tests, was kept overnight etc.

The tests all came back normal but he had some GI stasis. They weren’t able to attribute it to any deeper problem. I was sent home with TMS, omiprizole, metacam, and cisapride. He was back to his normal self in about 4 days. The half closed eye while eating never went away but my vet said I shouldn’t worry if he’s eating and pooping which he was.

Just yesterday, I noticed some of those same symptoms back again. This time, when he was in loaf position, I found a puddle of pee underneath him and his butt was wet. That really scared me.

He ate his bowl of greens this morning as fast as a he usually and does have a small pile of dark, smaller poops in his litter box. He’s also been drinking water and does run around a little. He hasn’t flopped over or laid down which he usually does since Friday.

The vet is phoning me back after she’s finished with a procedure but I’m freaking out. On one hand, of course I’m going to do everything for my bunny but on the other hand my husband has been out of a job from COVID and I’m a student. I have a feeling they are going to recommend a CT scan which will be upwards of $900 (I’m in NY and vet care is a fortune). Just really nervous.

 

[SableSteel]

Maybe ask your vet about the disease e. cuniculi as well

 

[Gelly]

@SableSteel I got off the phone with the vets about 10 min ago. I’m going to give him the same round of meds as last time and then we are testing for e. cuniculi. I’m so scared since I’ve heard horror stories with that parasite.

 

[JBun]

What's his exact diet? Are the symptoms consistent throughout the whole day, or does there seem to just be a particular time when it happens? Have you tried any diet alterations to see if that helped at all?

You could be doing all these expensive tests when it could be something as simple as him being sensitive to something he's eating. Had it happen with one of my rabbits. He kept getting GI stasis, couldn't figure out what was going on, then I noticed soon after eating pellets is when he would start eye squinting and belly pressing. Put him on a pellet free/no grains or sugars diet and he never had stasis again.

 

[Gelly]

What's his exact diet? Are the symptoms consistent throughout the whole day, or does there seem to just be a particular time when it happens? Have you tried any diet alterations to see if that helped at all?

You could be doing all these expensive tests when it could be something as simple as him being sensitive to something he's eating. Had it happen with one of my rabbits. He kept getting GI stasis, couldn't figure out what was going on, then I noticed soon after eating pellets is when he would start eye squinting and belly pressing. Put him on a pellet free/no grains or sugars diet and he never had stasis again.

He’s a 3 lb. mini rex

His diet currently is as follows:
- 1+ cup of organic spring mix in the AM (I’ve been feeding him this spring mix from Costco for a while now. He hasn’t had any adverse reaction to it but then again, it’s a spring mix and they could incorporate different greens in each blend)
- Unlimited Timothy hay that gets topped off throughout the day
- 1/4th cup of oxbow adult rabbit pellets in the PM
- treats like fruit (bananas, apples, blueberriesand oats but not more that a tablespoon (usually less) a day

About a month ago when this first happened, I thought maybe it was his new pellets (selective grain-free pellets) so I switched him off those and back to his regular oxbows.

As of right now, he’s still pooping, eating, peeing, and drinking just not as frequently and also acting lethargic. My vets said it’s not an emergency so I’m keeping them posted.

I’m hoping it’s nothing serious

 

[JBun]

Pellets could still be the culprit. I tried several different types of pellets with my bun, just to see if he could tolerate a different type. I didn't get past the introduction of just a pinch of pellets per day, before I could notice him starting to feel uncomfortable. Something about the carbs and sugars usually added to pellets, that even included a grain free pellet which I tried. It wasn't just pellets, it was anything with excess carbs/sugars.

First thing I would do is try and rule out something in the diet as the cause, and the best way to do that is remove everything from the diet except the hay. Grass hay is one of the best tolerated foods for rabbits, and rarely contributes to digestive issues provided it is free of mold and weeds. I've only come across a few rare instances where grass hay caused digestive upset, and that's because it was either a grain hay like oat or it was a very soft leafy cut that was too rich. Hay that is too coarse and devoid of nutrients might also be an issue.

Removing everything but free fed hay, helps get the diet down to the basics so you can then determine if one of the other foods might be causing an issue. It should be pretty apparent, usually within the first day, if something in the diet was causing the discomfort. If there's no change after a day or two of a free fed grass hay only diet (and water), then it's not likely to be diet related. When doing this elimination diet, it's essential to closely monitor hay consumption and make sure bun continues to eat hay well.

 

[Gelly]

Pellets could still be the culprit. I tried several different types of pellets with my bun, just to see if he could tolerate a different type. I didn't get past the introduction of just a pinch of pellets per day, before I could notice him starting to feel uncomfortable. Something about the carbs and sugars usually added to pellets, that even included a grain free pellet which I tried. It wasn't just pellets, it was anything with excess carbs/sugars.

First thing I would do is try and rule out something in the diet as the cause, and the best way to do that is remove everything from the diet except the hay. Grass hay is one of the best tolerated foods for rabbits, and rarely contributes to digestive issues provided it is free of mold and weeds. I've only come across a few rare instances where grass hay caused digestive upset, and that's because it was either a grain hay like oat or it was a very soft leafy cut that was too rich. Hay that is too coarse and devoid of nutrients might also be an issue.

Removing everything but free fed hay, helps get the diet down to the basics so you can then determine if one of the other foods might be causing an issue. It should be pretty apparent, usually within the first day, if something in the diet was causing the discomfort. If there's no change after a day or two of a free fed grass hay only diet (and water), then it's not likely to be diet related. When doing this elimination diet, it's essential to closely monitor hay consumption and make sure bun continues to eat hay well.

Ok, I'm on it! His hay is always fresh and dry. I get it from Small Pet Select and never had any issues so I'm going to try this. So just to reiterate, no greens either, right?

 

[JBun]

That's what I would do. Reason is that it's possible one of the greens could be the problem or contributing to the problem. If on hay only your bun starts feeling better, then you know it's one of the foods in the diet causing the problem.

At that point I would give it at least a week of just the free fed hay(plus a salt lick since no needed dietary sodium is being fed in pellets), then start with adding in foods one at a time. I would start with the greens first and probably try reintroducing pellets last. Key is, go slow.

Don't rush the reintroduction of foods or you may end up back where you started. And pay very close attention to body language. I was feeding barely any pellets, maybe 10 at the most, and just that made my rabbit start feeling sick, but not enough that it set off stasis. And the only way I knew he was uncomfortable was the uncharacteristic eye squinting he did half hour after eating the pellets.

 

[Gelly]

That's what I would do. Reason is that it's possible one of the greens could be the problem or contributing to the problem. If on hay only your bun starts feeling better, then you know it's one of the foods in the diet causing the problem.

At that point I would give it at least a week of just the free fed hay(plus a salt lick since no needed dietary sodium is being fed in pellets), then start with adding in foods one at a time. I would start with the greens first and probably try reintroducing pellets last. Key is, go slow.

Don't rush the reintroduction of foods or you may end up back where you started. And pay very close attention to body language. I was feeding barely any pellets, maybe 10 at the most, and just that made my rabbit start feeling sick, but not enough that it set off stasis. And the only way I knew he was uncomfortable was the uncharacteristic eye squinting he did half hour after eating the pellets.

I'm glad to hear someone else experienced the eye squinting. It's so un-bunnylike since his eyes are always wide open for detection of life-threatening dangers that apparently lurk in our living room. It's also one side sometimes and while he's chewing which is why I thought the CT scan might be necessary but that would set us back $900 which would not be cute. I already fed him his pellets, critical care, and greens today so I'll start food-depriving him (sans hay) tomorrow.

 

[Gelly]

@JBun update: his e. Caniculi came back negative! Very happy about that but still nervous the symptoms will come back. Should I just chalk it up to maybe be ingested something? Kidney and liver panel came back normal too.