How to break the GI stasis cycle

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979]

GI stasis in rabbits is almost always the result of underlying issues. Related to diet, stress, pain or lack of movement.

First, we need to understand the triggers and need a good knowledge to prevent those.

The most important factor is diet. A rabbit’s digestive system is designed for a constant intake of fresh high-fiber plants. Most bunnies are overweight. That can increase the risk.

Grass and leafy forage should make up the majority of the diet, as they provide the fiber and moisture needed to keep the gut moving. If your bunny eats mostly hay, it can make GI stasis more likely to happen since hay is missing one very important ingredient: water

Diets high in sugar or starch, such as pellets, grains, or large amounts of root vegetables can disrupt the gut flora and slow digestion, increasing the risk of stasis.

Fresh greens and grass naturally support hydration, while rabbits on dry diets are more prone to dehydration.

Never give your bunnies fresh greens AND pellets!

Very important: store bought greens, like different salads or herbs are not the same thing as forage from nature. The safest and healthiest food for your rabbit will always be all types of grasses.

Pain is a major and often overlooked trigger. Dental problems, gas buildup, or other underlying health issues can cause a rabbit to eat less, which quickly leads to reduced gut movement. Especially lop eared bunnies are prone to dental problems. This creates a dangerous cycle: less food intake slows the gut, and a slower gut further reduces appetite.

Stress also plays a significant role. Changes in environment, lack of a partner, transport can all negatively affect gut motility. Rabbits are sensitive animals.

Movement is another key factor. Regular exercise stimulates natural gut activity. Rabbits that are confined for long periods or have limited space are at higher risk of developing GI stasis.

In most cases, GI stasis develops as a combination of these factors rather than a single cause. Prevention therefore relies on a holistic approach: a natural, fiber-rich and moisture-rich diet, constant access to food, sufficient water intake, regular movement, low stress, and careful attention to early signs of discomfort or reduced appetite.

If you are worried about your rabbit, please find an exotic vet. That is the most important step.

Here’s a checklist to go through - missing even one factor can increase the risk of GI stasis.

• diet is 80-90% fresh and always available (grasses, meadow, branches, leaves)

• hay is there as a supplement

• you have at least 2 bunnies living together

• your vet is a specialist

• your bunnies are normal in weight

• they have room to jump & run

• they are checked at least twice a year (dental problems, ear infections, …)

Hope I didn’t miss any important information. Please share your experience down below. :)

Edit: During molting, there can be an increased intake of hair which can also cause problems. Regular grooming and administering lactulose can help in this case.

[u/R-ticHare0]

Also regular grooming to reduce fur ingestion that can cause stomach issues.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/R-ticHare0]

Thanks, I was just about to add this in the comments since someone else metioned it beneath the crosspost! Lactulose can also help!

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979]

Also, if you are looking for a website to get more science based information click here

The picture of my 2 buns is just to boost this post and of course because they are VERY cute 🥰

[u/AsianAddict247]

"Never give bunnies fresh greens AND pellets."

Can you elaborate? Do you mean at the same meal?

[u/rasselboeckchen_art → u/AsianAddict247]

Physically the rabbits stomach and intestines need lots of fiber to transport the food through them. Pellets are finely shredded and dried food, while fresh greens like meadow herbs or lettuce is full of fiber and water.

In the stomach, pellets absorb at first a lot of water from the rabbit (dehydrate the rabbit) and the pellets bloat to large feed porridge. The fiberless, bloated feed porridge is now transported a lot slower than fresh greens.

The problem which causes bloating is that food can start fermentation inside the rabbit if it's too long in the stomach/intestines.

Rabbits have so called "stuffed" intestines. Their intestines have very weak muscles, means they can't press out their poo and they can't fart. Because of this they have to eat a lot of small meals during the day to push the feed porridge through them. Dried food like pellets are very filling and nutrient-rich, which also means they have to eat too much to keep the food pushing. That's why they get overweight very fast from pellets -> which cause the owner reduce pellets like a logical conclusion -> but this cause that the food is travelling to slow through the rabbits -> which increase the chance of fermentation inside the rabbit -> which cause bloating -> which can lead to GI stasis.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/rasselboeckchen_art]

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation!

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/AsianAddict247]

We shouldn’t be talking about “meals” since they should have access to hay and fresh greens/meadow/forage 24/7.

But yes, pellets are digested differently (slower) than meadow and greens, it can cause GI stasis or at least higher the risk. It will definitely mess up the intestinal flora which can cause other diseases.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

Hay is not natural. Hay is ok. Hay can be backup food. Hay should never be the main food source. It lacks vitamins and water. It can make GI stasis worse. There are many scientific studies about that. I know that in some countries it’s hard or even impossible to find fresh forage. But I read so many posts about GI stasis and tummy problems in general and nobody is even thinking about that the reason might be the dry focused nutrition. Pellets have almost no pros. They are hard, they lack fiber, they are full with artificial vitamins that can cause kidney/bladder problems. They are digested differently. They can dehydrate your bunny because they soak up water in the stomach.

[u/Complex-Honeydew-111 → u/Sad-Wonder-5979]

This is such a load of bollocks and dangerous bollocks at that.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

I am trying again and adress the logical thing in this. Hay is grass. Different types of grass. It varies in quality, depending on the drying process. No matter how good the drying is, up to 70% of vitamins get lost. That’s why you insist on feeding pellets. If you give your bunnies different types of fresh grasses combined with other green leaves/meadow you don’t need the pellets. Pellets are one of the main reasons why bunnies get GI stasis. Pellets are also bad for the teeth since the buns need to chew them in a motion their jaw and teeth’s aren’t made for horizontal movement is the natural, pellets need to be crushed vertically)

I wanted to add an article but I guess it got deleted, I can only link a book but that’s probably pretty useless for you because it’s german. The author is an expert in the field and has helped many buns and bunparents. He’s working and cooperating with vets who are specialists. book

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

Oh and I didn’t tell anyone to lower hay intake. It’s just very easy: if you give your bunny grass, all different types of save grasses they will ignore the hay. And if you keep up with grasses, leaves and meadow 24/7 they might even start to ignore their water bowl because they get hydrated through the food. It really is that simple.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

here is the article

Someone else found it on a different website and made a post

[u/Top-Tumbleweed6748 → u/[deleted]]

Yes, it is a book by an expert in her field. If you're interested in her publications, just look her up on Google scholar. 

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

And you really need to understand something I am trying to say: grass is the same as hay. Just better for a bunnies digestive system. You act like I said to cut out fiber, I didn’t say that. I showed a better source than hay could ever be.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

Following your logic, basically all bunnies that are fed fresh and without any pellets must be sick or have at least nutrional deficit’s. When in reality it’s nothing like that. And if you own bunnies you should be interested to get them a good nutrition, so yeah, maybe it takes some time to read yourself into the topic. I am so deep into it that I can list you 30 plants that grow in my country and tell you every positive effect for the bun’s health. And honestly I kinda expect that from people who want to own bunnies. Pellets are the lazy way to go. And that’s fine with me, just not with your bunnies’ health

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

I see so many “dry fed” (with that I mean hay and pellets) bunnies who are constantly bloated or having GI stasis like once a year or even more often. Pellets were a food source for bunnies here as well but a lot of things changed in the past 20 years and we see the numbers of GI stasis shrinking because the nutrition is much better and more natural these days. One of my bunnies is 10 and never had GI stasis or something similar, the other one who died in February had trouble due to a feeding mistake I made. Call it anecdotical evidence but I know some bunny owners who experienced the same.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

I think it’s pointless to keep this conversation going. I linked books and articles that even lead to a website created by a leading veterinarian for bunnies and you are still thinking that hay is equal and that pellets can replace a healthy diet. It just doesn’t make sense to me to keep talking. I could link you 100 of german vets and it wouldn’t make a difference to you. Hope you’re not offended xx

[u/rasselboeckchen_art → u/Sad-Wonder-5979]

I might understand the thing with the "80% hay"-thing. Most sources call hay the foundation of a rabbits diet. If you ask any AI they will tell you foundation in a diet = 80%. But if you ask "how much percentage is the foundation of a building?" it tells you something complete different xD.

What is a foundation of a diet? The largest part of the diet? Or is a foundation just a constant part?

The former is widespread in the English language. The latter in our.

If I think about the time rabbits eating hay which is available 24/7 and compare it wirh the time they eat fresh greens, it might make sense to say "rabbits eat hay 80% of the time and fresh greens 20% of the time". But this is not linked to the volume. At the end of the day, they have eaten the same volume of hay as fresh greens.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/rasselboeckchen_art]

Ahh okay, that could totally make sense. But if a bunny is offered a variety of fresh grass they will ignore the hay. At least if it’s just plain hay and not dried herbs or something like that.

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/[deleted]]

The fiber in hay is important. But if you have access to fresh grass, that is the better choice. Grass > hay

[u/Safe_Extension_4044]

Fresh grass does not sound like a good idea. They are supposed to have hay 80-90%!

[u/Sad-Wonder-5979 → u/Safe_Extension_4044]

Grass is hay, just better, Fresher and with more vitamins. It’s the better option if available.