4 month old with abnormal poops

[swarning1222]

I have a 4 month old female rex/satin mix. She is pure white with red eyes so I believe she's a true albino. Her poops started to change when she was about 10 weeks old. It started with only one every once in a while that would be larger, either oval or seemed like it was almost a double poop. So at that age I figured it might be her hormones kicking in causing some changes. Then they got more frequent and more misshapen. Now like when she's eating and leaves a little pile behind, there's very few that are normal, and there will be large odd shaped knobby ones, small round ones, small odd shaped hard ones, they are just all different shapes and sizes, some are big with a flat side. Other than the few small hard ones I find, they always seem to be good in texture, just never consistently shaped or shaped right. Other than her poop she is a perfect little rabbit, perfect fur, seemingly perfectly healthy, extremely active, smart and playful. I've been very slowly introducing a few pieces a day of romain to her, but this started before that. She gets unlimited hay and about a cup or a little more of pellets a day that she shares with my other female (I haven't quite figured out that routine yet). But she is a good eater. So I'm wondering if this could actually be hormonal, something wrong with her diet, or megacolon :/ I know it's uncommon but her poop definatily fits the description, yet she doesn't have any other symptoms. What could this be?! View attachment ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1437833249.503922.jpg

The poops all the way to the right are normal ones from my other female, they look a little bigger in the picture than they actually are.

 

[JBun]

Those look like my megacolon buns fecals, but it's possible that it is something else as well. Coccidiosis can cause digestive issues that might cause similar fecal poop to be produced. I would suggest getting a fecal sample tested by your vet right away, to rule out coccidia. You don't want to leave it as coccidiosis can get progressively worse very quickly, and in many instances it can be fatal.

If coccidia is ruled out, then you are most likely looking at a genetic defect like megacolon. Dysautonomia is another, though extremely rare. If it is megacolon, you most likely will need to make dietary adjustments at some point What the diet adjustments do is help produce fecal poop that is as normal as is possible, help minimize digestive upset and problems, and ensure nutrient absorption. The difficulty is that megacolon buns don't all have the same diet and it takes a bit of careful trial and error to find the best thing for each rabbit.

For my megacolon bun I have had to limit pellets to almost nothing(1 tsp a day for a 3 lb bun), no sugary/starchy foods, and unlimited amounts of a grass hay with a good amount of the stalkier stems(I feed timothy usually). The reason for the stalkier hay, is because leafier hay causes him to produce large moist log shaped fecals. Stalky hay has more indigestible fiber in it and seems to help my buns fecals to have a more normal consistency and size. I also feed him some leafy greens and forage, and so far those haven't been an issue for him. On this diet he has stayed healthy, hasn't had other digestive problems, and has maintained a good weight for his size.

I also had another bun with megacolon symptoms, but I believe he developed his through a bout with gi stasis that somehow damaged his digestive tract, because it was after that that he started producing irregular shaped fecals. He was also on a very strict diet, though without any pellets at all. He got unlimited timothy hay, a little bit of alfalfa hay, and select leafy greens. He couldn't have any type or amount of pellets as even the smallest amount would start to cause digestive upset and make his fecal poop even more irregularly shaped and sized. He also couldn't have any type of sugary/starchy foods as this would cause the same problems as the pellets.

But like I said, it will be different for every rabbit. I found the best diet for my bun by seeing what wasn't working and was causing problems, and adjusting it. I've read of other peoples megacolon buns doing better on a high pellet diet due to it having more readily available nutrients, which helps because of poor intestinal absorption.

If your bun does end up having megacolon, as your bun gets older you may need to start working on adjusting the diet. This is what I had to do for my bun. He didn't have problems when he was a baby besides some irregularly shaped fecals, but as he got older he started to have mushy or moist fecals, and that's when I started adjusting his diet and reducing pellets. My bun has a pretty mild case so far, so diet controls it. But there are more severe cases and these often require medication in addition to dietary changes, to help keep it under control.

Here is a link on megacolon with some good info on the subject.
http://www.vgr1.com/megacolon/

These fecals are from my bun.

 

[BlazeBunnies]

Hi sorry just need to say this in Australian an albino with red eyes is a REW (red eyed white) and a albino with blue eyes is a BEW (blue eyed white) are they called albino in America?

 

[Azerane]

I think JBun might be correct, the fact that they're not all malformed in the same manner is the concerning thing. Usually if a rabbit has a digestive upset the poops will get really small, or be mushy, or be double poops, not a mix. Consult with a vet about it, in the mean time it may even help to reduce pellet intake.

I have a 4 month old female rex/satin mix. She is pure white with red eyes so I believe she's a true albino.

Hi sorry just need to say this in Australian an albino with red eyes is a REW (red eyed white) and a albino with blue eyes is a BEW (blue eyed white) are they called albino in America?

It is my understanding that all red-eyed white rabbits are albino. BEW rabbits are not.

 

[BlazeBunnies]

In Australia we don't call them albinos it is REW and BEW where are you from?

 

[JBun]

In Australia we don't call them albinos it is REW and BEW where are you from?

Albino is just a congenital disorder that crops up in different species. A REW may not technically be called an albino for breeding/showing purposes, but they are still albinos none the less whether that is the technical designation or not.

In any case, this isn't really relevant to the OP's question. Best to keep the conversation on topic and only post if you have questions or information concerning the OP's query.

Jbun
Health and Wellness Moderator