Adopted bun has a poopy bum... What to do?

[Spacebuns]

Hello all,

I just adopted my little lop Fergus and his girlfriend this past weekend. The SPCA caretaker informed me that Fergus had a bit of a poopy bum, that I would need to increase his fiber intake and check his bottom often to ensure that it was clean/improving. She said that he's not ill, but that this happens sometimes when buns' systems don't agree with their diet.

However, when I look down there it seems like it's not the regular poops that are sticking, but the night poops that he is supposed to be eating. I do see him consuming those poops daily, could he maybe be overproducing them? ... The night poops look stickier than those I have seen from my other bun. Is there anything I can do to help him balance his system? Would bene-bac help? Less pelleted food? Avoid some kind of greens? He is eating well and seems to feel fine.

I have been a bun owner for years, but my last guy never had poopy bum... Thanks for any advice

 

[Shelbster]

What are you feeding him now? I would recommend not feeding almost any pellets (maybe a tablespoon or so per 3 pounds of body weight at most), and then unlimited timothy hay. I would stick with ONLY that until it clears up. Once he has gotten better, you can slowly introduce veggies (you can google for safe veggies such as escarole, collard greens, chickory) but never any cabbage, broccoli, peas or gree beans, and no starches like potato or grains.

If in a few days of just packing him with tomothy hay (make sure it is quality Timothy like American Pet Diner or Oxbow, with as little sticks and stalks as possible), he is not better, I would take him to a vet. He might have Giardia that hasn't been found (which happens a lot with giardia, sometime sit takes 4 times just to get a positive result). It might also not be poop. What color is the "poop"? Usually, bunny diarrhea is more like softened, smaller pellets, kinda like clusters of brown caviar. If it is a lighter, yellow like, and very pasty substance, it could be sludge, which is a urinary similar to bladder stones related to calcium being inappropriately absorbed into the body. Sometimes giving more water and better food will fix the problem while most of the time it is recommended for the bladder to get flushed by a vet.

Good luck, I hope your bunny feels better soon.

 

[Spacebuns]

Hi Shelbster, Thanks for replying -
Right now I'm feeding him 1/8 cup of pellets once per day in the morning... He's about 5 lbs (transitioning: generic pellets from the SPCA mixed with Oxbow adult pellets), unlimited timothy hay, water, and a mix of greens (mix of cilantro, kale, parsley, carrot tops). His poops are definitely poops, I can see little clusters in there...

 

[missyscove]

That diet sounds good. Even just the change in diet could be the cause and he was likely overfed at the shelter if it's anything like the ones around me. I might try cutting out the veggies for a while, especially if he wasn't getting them at the shelter.

 

[Shelbster]

Yup, I am thinking the same. I would cut out the veggies and see if there is an improvement. If there is, I would gradually re-itroduce veggies, but very very slowly. That's my only idea now, besides parasites. But we will hope that cutting out veggies will solve the issue.

Good luck and keep us posted!