🚨 VETERINARY EMERGENCY NOTICE

If your rabbit has not eaten or produced fecal pellets in 8 to 12 hours, sits in a hunched position, or presses their belly to the floor, contact a rabbit-savvy emergency veterinarian immediately. Gastrointestinal stasis can be fatal within 24 hours without intervention.

What is GI Stasis?

Gastrointestinal (GI) stasis is a serious condition in which the muscular contractions of the stomach and intestines slow down or stop completely. Beneficial gut bacteria die off, dangerous gas builds up, and the rabbit suffers severe abdominal pain and dehydration.

Recognizing the Warning Signs of GI Stasis

Rabbits are prey animals that instinctively hide pain. Early signs are often subtle:

  • Refusal to Eat: Turning away from favorite treats, pellets, or grass hay.
  • Small or Abnormally Shaped Droppings: Fecal pellets become tiny, misshapen, hard, or cease altogether.
  • Hunched Posture & Loud Tooth Grinding: Sitting tense with eyes squinted; loud painful grinding (distinct from soft purring).
  • Abdominal Bloating & Cold Ears: A tight, painful belly and drop in body temperature.

Common Triggers of Gastrointestinal Slowdown

  • Low-Fiber Diet: Lack of unlimited grass hay (Timothy, Orchard, or Meadow hay).
  • Stress & Environmental Changes: Loud noises, predatory pets, recent moves, or loss of a companion.
  • Dental Pain: Molar spurs making chewing hay painful.
  • Dehydration: Inadequate freshwater intake leading to dry stomach contents.

Emergency First Aid Protocol (While Contacting the Vet)

  1. Keep Your Bunny Warm: Wrap your rabbit in a warm towel or place a hot water bottle (wrapped in a cloth) beside them to combat hypothermia.
  2. Gentle Belly Massage: Place your rabbit on a soft towel. Gently massage the abdomen with your fingertips from behind the ribs toward the tail to help dissipate gas bubbles. Discontinue immediately if the rabbit shows extreme distress.
  3. Encourage Hydration: Offer fresh water in a shallow bowl or use an oral syringe to offer small sips of water or diluted unflavored pedialyte.
  4. Offer Fresh Fragrant Herbs: Offer fresh coriander (cilantro), mint, or dill to entice eating.

Veterinary Medical Treatment

An exotic veterinarian will diagnose the cause and prescribe a targeted medical treatment plan:

  • Pain Management: Subcutaneous analgesics (such as Meloxicam) to alleviate gut pain.
  • Subcutaneous Fluids: Rehydrating stomach contents to allow hair and fiber impactions to pass.
  • Gut Motility Agents (Prokinetics): Medications like Metoclopramide or Cisapride to restart bowel movements (only after ruling out a physical blockage).
  • Assisted Syringe Feeding: Feeding high-fiber recovery food (such as Oxbow Critical Care) once pain is controlled.