Rabbit poop is soft, need some help please?

[greenfrapp]

My bunny Luna was abandoned by her previous owner and I recently took her in. It has been 1.5 weeks. She still is taking time to adjust. In addition to spending days on end with her and bonding, I've been trying to make my bunny feel more at home by using pellets as treats. I've been feeding it minimally but a bit more than previous days.

I feed her timothy hay in unlimited quantities.

I noticed tonight that all of her poo has become softer and easily smooshed. I'm worried now. Is this okay? She still has an active appetite and she's acting normal.

I've researched this online and I am guessing that it is cecal dysbiosis. But I want to make sure with the situation.

She was laying on her tummy with her hind legs stretched out just 3 hours ago- is this a sign of a problem?

Please give me some advice.

I am currently looking for some rabbit info on Toronto vets. Which vet in Toronto is most reliable for rabbits- and also one I can take Luna to during emergencies?

 

[missyscove]

Hi and welcome to RO!
Here's a link to our listing of rabbit savvy vets in Ontario.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/ontario-rabbit-savvy-vets-10977/

Are the poops in question her regular poops or are you seeing a lot more cecals (they look more like blackberries)? Is she an adult rabbit or a juvenile (if you know)?
Are you feeding her anything other than the pellets and hay?
For now I would try cutting back on pellets and pushing the hay to see if that clears things up and cut out any other treats or veggies. It could just be that she didn't handle a transition in foods well.
My bunnies lay on their tummies when they're relaxing. Sometimes buns will push their tummies to the ground if they're in pain and a major sign of pain is grinding their teeth (this can easily be heard across a quiet room vs. the soft tooth purring when they're happy). As long as she's willingly eating and drinking I wouldnt consider it an emergency, based on what you're describing, but if it turns into a diarrhea or is getting stuck all over her hind end, that might be more concerning.

I'd make an appointment with a vet so you have one on hand and to get her a general wellness check up. You can also rule out any internal parasites that might be causing issues.

 

[greenfrapp]

Thanks so much for your reply

Her poops are just circles. I have never seen a cecal poop from her. Is that a cause for concern? I fed her bits and pieces of carrots here and there but I heard it is bad for her so I do not do that anymore.

I am sleeping with her in the living room tonight to make sure that there are no behavioural or appetite changes.

She does not grind her teeth and seems to be perfectly healthy.

 

[missyscove]

Many rabbit owners will never see a cecotroph as the rabbits eat them directly from their anus. Too many cecotrphs can lead to them not eating them and can be a cause for concern or a sign of a dietary issue. I'm all for using pellets as treats and I do it with my pair of buns as well but anytime poops are looking off, I push hay and cut back on the other parts of their diet. Those long strands of fiber should help firm things up.

 

[greenfrapp]

I was monitoring the food, and I saw two poops strung together by .. i'm not quite sure what it is. Is this normal?

I checked her poop this morning and it was fine. But later this afternoon it was the same kinda smooshy (although circular) type of poop.

Please help

 

[JBun]

That poop looks normal, and that is just hair stringing it together from her grooming. Is she molting? It's pretty common for them to have this happen when they are molting. The important thing is to make sure they are eating enough hay so that the ingested hair doesn't create a blockage. As long as the poops stay nice and big, then it's ok. If they start getting really small, that indicates a gut slowdown and can lead to a possible blockage. In instances of small poops occuring, the best thing to do is reduce pellet amounts so that more hay is eaten. Also, do you feed any veggies?

Normal fecal pellets are round and generally uniform in size. They will be soft and easily smooshed, when new and fresh. When they dry out is when they get hard. There's a difference between soft fresh smooshable fecals that are normal, and irregular soft mushy fecals. Generally the irregular soft mushy fecals won't be the normal round shape and consistancy. They may be teardrop shaped, oblong, or may even be less formed than that and be more of the consistancy of toothpaste. Normal soft fecals generally are a bit crumbly when smooshed. Irregular soft fecals can be sponge like or mushy and messy when smooshed. If you think you are getting the irregular mushy fecals, then you will want to try cutting back on pellets a little bit more, to see if that corrects the mushy poop. You may have to keep cutting back on the pellets, a little bit more, every couple of days, until the soft poops stop. If they do stop, then after about a week or two of normal poop, you can gradually strart increasing pellets again, a little bit each day, and just monitor the poops making sure they don't come back. You may just have to feed a reduced pellet amount. I have a rabbit that has to eat a reduced pellet amount because whenever I've tried to increase them to a more normal level for a rabbit her size, she always starts to get soft poops. If you are hardly feeding any pellets, you could try just stopping them for a few days and see if that makes a differnce. If it does, there are a few options you can try. You could try a different brand of pellet. There are a few out there that don't contain sugar, or not as much as other brands. You could also do a veggie and hay diet. If you do that then you will need to research it so that your rabbit is getting enough of the proper nutrition. Typically you have to feed lots of veggies to make up for the lack of nutrition provided in pellets. If reducing or eliminating pellets doesn't solve the problem, then you may need to look into bacterial or parasitic causes, especially if her poop worsens at all.

Here's a link for pics of what the different poops look like.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm

 

[greenfrapp]

Hi, thanks for that clarification. She's been eating her timothy hay.

However, I've noticed, around this afternoon to now- she hasn't been running around much. She has been just sitting in her favourite corner and grooming herself a lot(outside of the cage). In other words, she seems inactive, but everything else seems perfectly normal. Sometimes she goes back into her cage to eat, drink water, pee or poop.

This morning, she was really hyper. She was ripping cardboard to get our attention to go out of the cage and play. She was running around a lot before this afternoon- and now she isn't reeally going anywhere.

It is currently 8:15PM, she was inactive since around 3PM I don't think bunnies are supposed to be inactive at this time?

Could this be a problem?

Update: I just found poop with a much larger attachment to two pieces (it was accidently squished). Is she molting? Does that cause her to be inactive/lethargic?
I just fed her timothy hay and she ran right to it and started eating.

I felt her poop again. It feels kind of cold kind of moist. It's hard but easily squished

 

[JBun]

Typically rabbits are pretty inactive during the middle of the day. It can vary a little each day, and with the individual rabbit, but usually the time when they are most active is in the morning and evening. All my rabbits pretty much sleep all day long, only getting up for a snack, to drink, and pee/poop. Morniing and evening is when they are up doing stuff. So your rabbit sounds pretty normal. If your rabbit is experiencing discomfort or pain from something, some ways it will manifest is teeth grinding(not the tooth purring they do when they are happy), sitting hunched up in one spot(usually a corner) and not moving around for an extended period of time, laying down with the butt pushed up and the belly pressed to the floor, changing positions frequently like laying down and immediately getting back up to find a position of comfort, squinting their eyes from pain, changes in normal behavior like not wanting to be touched or picked up when normally it is ok, reduced appetite and fecal output and consistancy. All of these things can indicate that your rabbit is having a problem. these are the kind of things that are good to always keep an eye out for, but from what you have described, she sounds like she is acting pretty normal to me.

Edited to add: Molting can slow them down a little and cause some discomfort. You can tell if she's molting because when you pet her there is loose fur that comes out. If she isn't molting, are there any spots in her fur that looks like she's been chewing the fur, or has she been chewing on carpet?

The other poops look normal to me, but that is a lot of fur connecting the other ones. Are you feeding her very many pellets? And you are feeding unlimited hay, right?

 

[greenfrapp]

Thanks for your reply.

It was past the evening which is why I am concerned. She was very active in the morning- and slept through midday, but I expected her at around 6-7 to start being active again. Which she is not. I will monitor her for a couple more hours.

She usually does not like being picked up or touched. But I find that she is avoiding me a little more than usual (could just be me being paranoid).

She usually lays down with her hands and feet tucked under her and stays in that one spot near the heat. Sometimes she will go back into her cage for a snack.

 

[missyscove]

My rabbits are really active first thing in the morning when I let them out, usually just for an hour or so before I have to go to class. When I come back in the afternoon, they're out until I go to bed. Usually they spend most of this time lazing around in their cage with occasional expeditions to my desk chair, through their tunnel, etc. I think you just have to know what activity level is normal for your own rabbit.

 

[greenfrapp]

She is usually active at this time, which was why it was a cause for concern. I would hope within some hours that she will liven up and become active again.

Now I notice that she is just sitting there and grooming all the time or she just tucks herself in. I do notice (even though I've had her for a short period of time) that this behaviour is especially unusual. Is it because she is molting that causes her to be so inactive?
I'm out of ideas

Also, in response to JBun:

I did not feed her any pellets. Only unlimited amounts of Timothy Hay. Yes, when I pet her there are bits of fur on my hand.

 

[greenfrapp]

Luna woke up this morning she was not active. She was ripping cardboard to get out of her cage, but once I let her out (7:00 AM) she stayed in that one corner - although she does poop normally (normal sized and shape) and eats lots of Timothy Hay. What could be wrong?

I tried grooming her yesterday (as much as she'd let me) and she often groomed herself in the corner. I am not quite sure if this is really the reason why she is not that active. If anyone has actually experienced their bunny becoming less active during molting- I would appreciate it if you could share your experience.

 

[JBun]

Molting can affect how they feel, depending on how much hair they are ingesting. But with her pooping normally, then it's hard to say what might be going on. Lots of hay is good for their digestion, but it's not going to provide adequate nutrition for a rabbit. You are either going to need to start introducing pellets into her diet, or veggies, or both. You will gradually need to introduce new veggies, starting with small amounts to make sure she doesn't have a problem with the new veggie, you just keep an eye on her poop, and if it gets soft and mushy, either introduce the veggie more gradually or you may have to stop feeding that veggie and try a different one. if she doesn't have any problems with the new veggie, then you can start to gradually increase the amount. You will want to avoid sugary veggies like carrots, and don't feed fruit for now. Just stick with leafy greens like green leaf lettuce, cilantro, parsley, etc. until you get her not feeling good, all sorted out. Here are some veggie lists. But you are going to need to get her eating lots of veggies if you don't feed pellets, so that she is getting the proper nutrition as nutritional deficiencies may be causing some of her problems. You also introduce pellets gradually as well, and slowly increase the amounts each day, as long as it doesn't start causing mushy poops.

http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

I can only make guesses here, but if you are concerned about your rabbit and don't feel she is doing well, it may be best to take her into the vet, to get her checked out. As I mentioned previously, bacteria and parasites can also cause problems with a rabbits digestion, and that is something a vet can test for and give meds to help clear it up. Here are some vet listings if you don't have a vet for your rabbit.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html