GI Stasis in Rabbits

presented by

Barbi Brown's Bunnies

GI Stasis refers to a slowdown or shutdown of the normal  movement of the intestines.  It has become a fairly common condition in rabbits.

This is one of the conditions that wasn't common or at the very least didn't have a name until recent years.  Those of us that have had rabbits for decades never knew there was such a thing.  Many breeders fed pellets only and the only hay our rabbits got was in a nest box when they had babies.  For those of us that raised wool breeds we were aware of the dangers of wool block and fed high fiber diets to prevent wool block.  But I thought it was just an issue of long haired rabbits. 

With the increase in popuarity of house rabbits and rabbits as pets in general there has been an increased awareness of the importance of diet and exercise.  These days rabbit owners generally accept the importance of coarse fiber in the form of hay to keep the gut moving properly in all breeds of rabbits.

Why then, do we see so many cases of GI stasis now?  Are we more observant and knowledgeable or is there something we are doing that is causing the high incidence?  If the cases were only related to a heavy molt where the rabbit was ingesting lots of hair I wouldn't be so puzzled but we see it in lots of variations besides molt related.

As I talk to so many people with problems with their rabbits this is a recurring theme so I decided to try to create a survey of owners and see if we can find a pattern.  The few books that speak to the issue of GI Stasis simply state it is caused by lack of fiber in the diet.

From my own experience of 22 years I only remember having issues of stasis with a particular bloodline of fawn Flemish Giants.  They had plenty of hay, measured pellets, limited treats and the same diet as the rest of the herd but only these animals would quit eating.  It made me nuts!  I ground up food and fed slurries of laxatives, gave Simethicone, withheld pellets, added more hay of various types etc., etc., etc. The same rabbits had recurring bouts.  I never lost one to stasis but finally gave up the line when I realized they had other issues such as sore hocks which seemed to indicate a genetic predispostion.  I attributed part of it to the sedentary nature of these big guys but why then didn't the other colors of the same breed have the same experience?

The diagnostic challenge, in part, is that it is hard to know whether it is simply an issue of " is the gut shutting down or being shut down by an obstruction"? There is a fine line between GI Stasis and wool/fur block.