sick bunny

Question
I brought my rex moo into nc state vet college mon morning with a bout of stasis. He has reoccurring bouts from time to time. He got subq fluids, force feeding critical care and meloxacam. From there we gave him a stronger pain med and a mobility agent for his stomach. Yesterday he took a turn for wlrse and started having diarrhea.....we made the decision to put him on a fluid iv and continue pain meds and critcal care.....im at a loss and bunspace suggested I ask if you had any suggestions.

Answer
Dear June

Chronic ileus is usually a sign of a some undiagnosed health problem causing pain or stress.  Has anyone checked your bunny's teeth?  Other than incorrect diet, this is probably the #1 cause of chronic GI slowdown.  Please read:

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

There is also the possibility of undetected intestinal parasites, some species of which do not constantly shed propagules.  Coccidiosis (caused by the protist Eimeria) and various types of worm parasites can cause intestinal pain and the resulting ileus.  I recently learned of a bunny who was suffering from chronic ileus and there was no sign of any problem.  Then one day his caregiver noticed ONE, TINY ricelike bit of white in a poop...tapeworm!  It was practically impossible to detect.  But they treated the bunny with Droncit/praziquantel, and he never had another problem.

Some bunnies will get occasional gas pain that can be so bad it makes them shocky and hypothermic.  For this, see:

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

Getting the bunny's body temperature to normal range, then treating with pediatric simethicone (for gas) and pain medication (metacam/meloxicam at 1mg/kg once Q 24 hours is a safe choice) can be very helpful.

I hope this will help with your bunny.

Dana