Urgent - GI statis emergency! :(

[addy]

So a friend took my bunny Panda to the vet since she was behaving strange; not eating veggies and being very sedentary/lounging without moving (or very rarely). She went at 11:30am. I couldn't go due to work.

They gave her:
-fluid therapy subcutaneous
-vitamin B injection
-reglan injection
-xray (a lot of gas)
-metacam oral susp

I have reglan to give every 8 hours for 5 days and meloxican daily for 5 days.

She's still behaving weird just sitting around. But apparently she ate hay in her carrier after the treatment in the hospital. Unfortunately I work 6am-7pm tomorrow. What should I do tonight?

 

[A & B]

Try to give her veggies (that she is familiar with) and water. Make sure she has access to fresh hay at all times. I'm sure someone else will see this and have more information. I've never had a bun go through stasis.

 

[JBun]

Is the gas in the stomach or intestines? Did they give you a syringe feeding mix, or if not did they say what to do about her not eating? If they didn't give you a feeding mix, usually the vet should also be giving you a syringe feeding mix to feed at least every 4-6 hours. It's extremely important to get a rabbits digestive tract moving again. If she hasn't been eating on her own today or been syringe fed in all this time, I would want to get food in her right away, as long as the stomach itself wasn't bloated(shouldn't syringe feed when it is, which is different than the belly area or intestines being bloated) and the vet ruled out a complete blockage. A little plain pedialyte might be helpful as well, as the sub q fluids will have gone through her by now and she could be dehydrated again if she hasn't been eating or drinking in all this time.

She'll also need syringe feeding several times tomorrow as well if she continues not to eat much. I would try fresh leafy herbs like cilantro or parsley, and green/red or romaine lettuce(better if she's already used to these though and you're sure they don't cause her stomach upset, and make sure they aren't slimy or spoiled at all) to see if she will eat a little on her own. For syringe feeding, if the vet didn't give you the mix you may need to make a pellet mush and try that, or some have used plain canned pumpkin(not spiced) to syringe feed in a pinch. You should get Oxbow critical care feeding mix from your vet tomorrow, or if you happen to be lucky enough to have a store near you that carries it. She especially shouldn't be having meloxicam on an empty stomach.

Another thing I would do tonight is give infant gas drops. It sometimes seems to help quite a bit, at least that's been my experience. Info on dosing in the link.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

 

[somebunnylovesme]

If you have to mush up pellets an easy way is to soak 1 tablespoon of pellet in 3 tablespoons of water for about 10-15 mins. If they require more water add more water to help mush them up. If you have a food processor grind the soaked pellets in there. If not, you can mush them up by hand.

 

[addy]

Gas in the stomach.

I got critical care. Diluted it so it could go into syringe. What's the proper way of feeding? I hold her like a baby and stabilize the head. She's still not eating. Just a few Cocoa Puffs poop for the last 24h. She's going to the vet today emergency in a few hours. I hope she survives. It is a scary first time GI stasis experience.

 

[addy]

I gave her critical care and her every 8 hour reglan at 5:30am before I left for work. My boyfriend came over last night. Drove 4+ hours here last night because he doesn't want her to die! Should I need to wake him up to give critical care now? Does it need to be every 2 hours?

 

[somebunnylovesme]

Did the vet tell you how much to give her and in how many hours. I remember with one bunny I had it had gi stasis plus another underlying condition. They gave the bunny fluid therapy subcutaneous, vitamin B injection and metacam. The vet told me to give the bunny critical care ever 4-6 hrs. I had explained to the vet I work during the day and the vet said its ok if you can give it to him every 8 hours.

With your bunny pooping even though its a little bit that is a good sign because it shows that her digestive track is getting back on track. You'll should see her poops getting better and bigger in a few day. You'll see in a few days your rabbit will eat the critical care on her on instead of force feeding her.

 

[JBun]

I give critical care every 4 hours when possible. More frequent than that I've found can be hard on the rabbit because it's usually a stressful experience for them and they need some time in between feedings to calm down and relax. Feedings too far apart and you aren't keeping the digestive tract moving enough. Sometimes every 4 hours isn't possible, but that is what I aim for.

I hope she's doing a little better at this point and the stomach isn't gassy anymore. I'm hoping it was just a little gas and not actual bloat that they sent your rabbit home with, since that is a life threatening condition where the rabbit shouldn't be syringe fed at all and actually may need stomach decompression or surgery.

If you still need info on syringe feeding, I've found this video is pretty good. Though with really feisty rabbits I've had to burrito wrap and hold in my lap to syringe feed successfully(I have smaller rabbits).

 

[addy]

Thank you for all your help! We ended up taking her to the 24h hospital last night as she was not improving so that she could get her medications administration better and better access to care. Before then she did not poop but she peed. She ate some hay when fed though so that's a start. I don't know how long she will be staying but they said no more than a few days.