Sick or Sulking?

[Heather Designs]

Last Saturday my friends dropped off their two rabbits for me to take care of while they were out of town. Ever since then, my rabbit has stopped eating her pellets and her poop has become watery and gooey. She will still eat her lettuce and banana but isn't drinking as much as she used to. I'm not sure if that is because she's getting enough from the fruit and veg or if there is something wrong.

I know it wasn't something she got from the other other rabbits because she stopped eating pellets the day they arrived so it was way to fast. So either she was already sick or she is sulking that she's not the only bun in my life.

I'm really new to the area I live in so I don't know any vets to call in the Omaha area. I'm going to look for one today but I thought I would see if anyone hear had any idea whether a vet would be warranted.

Thanks.

 

[PaGal]

I would take her to a vet. Watery and gooey poo is not normal. I don't think a rabbit would stop eating just due to other rabbits being brought into the home.

Buns should get limited fruit due to the sugar. It should be very small amounts and more as a treat.

There are other here more experienced then me and I am sure they will give you suggestions. How old is your bun?

What type of lettuce is she being fed? Is she being fed hay and what type? How much does she weigh? How much pellets is she being fed per day?

 

[Heather Designs]

Roo is 2. She normally gets assorted greens but she's been getting romaine mixed with carrot and cabbage now because that's what my friends feed theirs so its just easier to feed all three the same.

She was getting hay mixed into her pellets so no pellets means no hay. She also only gets a small bit of banana from my morning banana.

I just gave her a small handful of hay that the other rabbits were eating and she's eating that greedily. So now I'm very confused. I have an appointment for her at 1 but now that she's started eating I don't know if I should still go or not.

 

[Azerane]

Rabbits should always have hay available. If you suddenly switched her to the veggies that the other two are eating that could easily cause her runny poo if it's not somesomething she's used to eating. I would cut out the new veggies, give her as Much hay as she wants and make sure she drinks plenty of water.

 

[JBun]

If she is having actual watery diarrhea, get her to the vet today. Diarrhea is cause by parasites or bacteria, and can be fatal if not treated promptly. You'll need a fecal test done, and meds, and you also may need critical care food mix so that you can syringe feed your rabbit if it isn't eating or not eating enough on its own.

If it's just soft poop, then it could be the stress of new rabbits in the home as well as the sudden diet changes. Rabbits generally need several days/weeks to gradually get used to a new food. It should always be introduced in small amounts at first and one new food at a time, and you only increase the amount a little bit each day, if there are no poop changes. The only new food that doesn't need to be gradually introduced, is non grain grass hay. You should stop feeding sugary treats for now, including the carrot, as sugars can make digestive problems worse. Also stop the cabbage. Cabbage can cause gas with some rabbits, which creates pain and then stops a rabbit from eating. If that new hay you are feeding is grass hay, then just feed that, and feed as much as she will eat. Grass hay is the best thing to help get a rabbits digestive system sorted out. Her poops should improve by the next day if it was just a food problem causing the soft poop. If it isn't diarrhea and just soft poop, and she is eating now, then you are probably ok to hold off on the vet for now.

Here are some vet listings for future reference. You have to make sure to find a good rabbit vet, and not just a dog cat vet that will also see rabbits.

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

 

[Heather Designs]

The veggies weren't new, its just that for right now she isn't getting the variety she often gets. Usually I give her romaine one day, turnip greens the next, then mustard greens, then romaine again, etc.... Right now though she's only getting romaine because the other rabbits will only eat romaine.

Roo did go to the vet today. The diagnosis is a snit fit that caused bowel irritation. There is some blood in her stool and the vet said that could be from only eating veg and bananas. The vet gave me some antibiotics and had me get some pediatric gas x and more loose hay not just the compressed pellets. She did a fecal and there was nothing in there bacteria wise that shouldn't be there so the good news is I didn't make the guest bunnies sick.

She didn't say anything about the cabbage but since you say it can cause gas I will pick it out of Roo's portion. The other rabbits love their cabbage so they can have it all.

Roo's had her first doses of the meds and she took them well. Either she doesn't mind them or she was in shock that I would handle her royal personage that way. You should have seen her eyes bug out when the vet took her temperature. LOL It's been a very rough day for Roo and unfortunately for her the vet said no fruit until she is better so I can't even give her some consolation banana.