Continuous GI Stasis and time frames involved

Question
Good evening Dr. Kempel and a Happy New Year to you.  :)  

I have a female Lionhead mix, approx. 3-5yrs old and spayed.  I got her from a local shelter and in the year I've had her, she's had too many GI Stasis problems to count.  It's almost a monthly thing.  My vet tells me some rabbits are just prone to it (she is a savvy rabbit vet).  And I've come to accept it as the norm.  So much so that I have a continuous supply of Metacam, Simethicone, Critical care, and (in the most dire circumstances) also have Cisapride.  I've only used the latter maybe twice.

My question to you Dr. Kempel, is how fast the process from eating her food and how long it ACTUALLY takes for the stasis to develop.

I admit she has been under more stress than normal as I've gotten a second rabbit and am in the slow and delicate process of getting them to bond.  Also, last week was the power outage and my having to move myself and my rabbits to another home temporarily.  Now we're back home.  

I'm not sure how fast GI stasis can occur?  If she's super stressed....24hrs?  is it days? a week?  Most of the time I can tell when it's about to occur again....the smaller, darker, harder stool pellets; her personality changes and she's hiding away from me.  But again, how long was she troubled before I could even pick up on the signs?  

Your advice is most appreciated.

Answer
Dear Sara

I wish I knew why there were so many un-rabbit savvy "rabbit savvy" vets in Canada.  :(  

It's not really correct to say that "some rabbits are just prone to" ileus.  They're not.  They have some cryptic, undiagnosed health problem causing pain/stress that is *triggering* ileus.  Ileus is a symptom/sign of a problem, not the problem in and of itself.

With a lionhead mix, my first guess is usually dental problems/dental disease.  Molar spurs or other painful mouth disorders can cause enough stress to slow down and even stop the GI tract.  Slowdown generates gas, and that causes pain, and that causes further slowdown and it just snowballs from there.  Please see:

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

Other possibilities are urinary tract problems (bladder stone, sludge, etc.)

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

or a cyptic abscess or other infection.  A lot more diagnostic work needs to be done to determine *why* the bunny keeps slipping into ileus, treating *that*, and then the problem should resolve.

GI stasis/ileus can occur very quickly.  I've known a rabbit to get into a good fight and the gut almost immediately shuts down.  Like within an hour.  

To help predict when she's going to have a problem, please see:

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

and for treatments (enema is the most effective treatment I've found, and instructions are included in this article, but have your vet show you how before you try on your own):

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

I hope this will help you get things under control.  Good luck.

Dana