Cecal poopie question

[bunnee mom]

I've researched online quite a bit before posting this question...only because I've not seen any articles that address it.

First off.... Ellie, my Holland Lop, seems to be fine healthwise....shegets salad everyday, unlimited Oxbow Timothy Hay, andpellets. Last vet check she weighed about 4.3 lbs.She's almost a year old and we've had her since Nov.

Twice in the past 2 weeks she has passed a HUGE cecal poopie....I meanthis thing was almost the size of a ping pong ball (sorry to be gross,but she's just a little bunny!!!) :shock2:.....and it was all in onecluster, not a bunch of little ones laying around...it appeared to benormal....looked like little grapes, it wasn't overly mushy or runny atall. And it was laying outside of her litter box both times.

Do you think she is OK? Should I adjust her diet atall? I read one article that said if the diet was too richthey would produce excess cecal poop. I'm not sure what thatmeans "too rich"?? The veggies I give her on a regular basisare parsley, cilantro andromaine. Occasionally, shegetskale, shredded broccoli and carrots (these last 3 insmall amounts). We also give her 1 or 2 yogurt drops eachnight at bedtime.

Thanks!

Lynn

 

[ayglnu13]

The only thing I saw wrong with the diet is thefact you give her unlimited pellets Bunnies should get one oz offood per pound of adult weight

~Amy

 

[Bramble Briar86]

Those poopies are called cecotrophes, not toworry!!! those are quite normal and they are there for your bun tore-ingest.....there's nutrients in cecotropes that can be helpful toyour bunny.....

Ellie


I'd also cut down on the yogurt drops, those are treats and should befed sparingly...even if it says that it can be used as a supplement, inmost cases your feed provides it all and adding will unbalance the diet.

 

[Johncdn]

Hi Everyone.........

If the rabbit makes and eats this cecal to get the nutrientsshe needs,http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.htmlisn't it unusual to see them.....at least in a size as large as bunneemom reports? Ping pong ball size:shock:?

 

[bunnee mom]

ayglnu13 wrote:

The only thing I saw wrong with the diet is the fact yougive her unlimited pellets Bunnies should get one oz of food perpound of adult weight

~Amy

Amy,

I don't give her unlimited pellets....just unlimited hay. Sorry, my post was misleading!

Ellie,

OK...I'll try to cut back on the yogurt treats, but she's NOT gonna like this :disgust:LOL



*******

To everyone else....I know the cecals are normal. Iguess my concern, and the reason for the post is.... the "normalcy" ofthe size of these two recent ones....and if anyone else ever noticedthe same thing from their bunny on occasion. I suppose Ishould just call the vet.....

*******

Thanks again!

 

[ayglnu13]

bunnee mom wrote:

ayglnu13 wrote:

The only thing Isaw wrong with the diet is the fact you give her unlimited pellets Bunnies should get one oz of food per pound of adult weight

~Amy

Amy,

I don't give her unlimited pellets....just unlimited hay. Sorry, my post was misleading!

Oh sorry, I always read things wrong! When I saw "Oxbow" I thought you meant the food I apologize!

~Amy

 

[LittleMija2]

Yogurt drops contain natural friendly bacteria.This could be leading to an imbalance in the bunnys cecum.Just a guess though. Id cut back on the yogurt drops even if its notthe problem. But cut back slowly since youve included them as a part ofthe bunnys regular diet already.2 per night is far too much.

 

[Peg]

I would agree with stopping the yogurt drops. Iwas giving them to my bunnies and they would get runny poops from it.Once I stopped, things got back to normal

 

[bunnee mom]

Ok.....last night I only gave her one yogurtdrop in her dish when I put her to bed for the night....and let me tellyou, it did NOT go over well at all....she was thrashing around in hercage for a while, I think she thought she "lost" one. :growl:

This morning she was climbing all over me...and not because she wantedpets and kisses.....I am wise to her little begging ways...she wantedthat "other" yogurt drop....the little fuzz bucket has a good memory!!

Tonight I won't give her any....I'll cut back to 1 yogurt drop every other day and see if this helps.

This is NOT an easy task....especially when that cute little nose ispoking thru the cage at me

 

[CorkysMom]

Can you find an alternate evening treat? Something a lil healthier maybe? Might be worth a shot...

 

[bunnee mom]

Hmmmm....PGG, do you have any suggestions on analternate treat? She doesn't like raisins, craisins or fruitof any kind. I could give her some oats, she LOVESthose...but I thought oats were also suppose to be fed sparingly cuzthey will make her fat.

Help!!

 

[JimD]

Excessive cecotropes can be an indication of too much protien in the diet.

What kind of pellets are you using?

Are they timothy or alfalfa based?

What is the protien content?



~Jim

 

[Kricket]

LittleMija2 wrote:

Yogurt drops contain natural friendly bacteria. This couldbe leading to an imbalance in the bunnys cecum. Just a guessthough. Id cut back on the yogurt drops even if its not the problem.But cut back slowly since youve included them as a part of the bunnysregular diet already.2 per night is far too much.

Agreed! Try one yogurt drop every two days. My vetjust told me rabbits have a hard time digesting milkproducts. She told me to watch the yogurt treats...

 

[Bramble Briar86]

bunnee mom wrote:

Tonight I won't give her any....I'll cut back to 1 yogurt drop every other day and see if this helps.

Not a good idea, that's an even worse unbalance, first getting some,changing what she ingests and then nothing one night will change it bigtime.......give her one for a while, then a half for a while and thennothing.........i'd still say no more "regular" treats...........afterall, that's what their called, treats......for when yourewardthem.

Ellie

 

[bunnee mom]

JimD wrote:

Excessive cecotropes can be an indication of too much protien in the diet.

What kind of pellets are you using?

Are they timothy or alfalfa based?

What is the protien content?



~Jim

Oh dear, I don't know this info on the pellets and I already threw thebag out because I store the pellets in a plastic container.I'll go back to the pet store tomorrow and look at the info on the bagand let you know.

The yogurt drops I give her are from Kaytee, they are called bananaflavored Yogurt Dips. The yogurt is just a coating, inside isa nugget which is 8% crude protein and 5% and 10% crudefiber...whatever that means!! The main ingredient is oats.

I was bad tonight....I did give her one yogurt dip beforebedtime. I just can't resist that adorable little bunny face

:embarrassed:

 

[black_jack]

we feed pellets from pets at home that containeverything the burgess do. When we first had jack we had thesame problem although not ping pong balls... we then provided unlimitedhay and this has solved the problem if we get any i then give them aquarter of a bag of watercress each as a treat and they seem to lovethis.

Probably not much help.

 

[Kricket]

Try yogurtCHIPS berry flavor is a BIG hit in the bunnies condo
As for a healthier treat...KayTee makes something called Nutri-treat (Ithink). It has, like .05% fat and mostly fiber &protein. My buns didn't gobble them up at first, as I am surethey aren't as tasty as yogurt drops. Now they eat them whenthey realize that is all they are getting :?. I'llfind the name of those treats, and edit this post

 

[LittleMija2]

bunnee mom wrote:

JimD wrote:

Excessivececotropes can be an indication of too much protien in the diet.

What kind of pellets are you using?

Are they timothy or alfalfa based?

What is the protien content?



~Jim

It is verylikely to be pellet issues I agree, more so thanany other possibility. Dont know why I assumed you wereusingpurina. Let us know when you get the information. Sorry to hear thelittle cutie is having a hard time with having the treats restricted,its difficult not to want to spoil them... those little faces are sohard to say no to.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

JimD wrote:

Excessive cecotropes can be an indication of too much protien in the diet.

What kind of pellets are you using?

Are they timothy or alfalfa based?

What is the protien content?



~Jim

This new Fuzzy Lop is producing A LOT of cecotrophes and always duringthe day. Aren't they supposed to do that at night?He's on Purina pellets now. He eats LOTS of hay and ofcourse, no veggies or treats at all. Maybe he doesn't knowhe's supposed to eat them? I don't know what to do.Every day I get home, there are tons of them.

Laura

 

generally the only timea bunnyeats the C wordthey need the mineralsand first round of undigestedfoods , they DONT necessarily need to eatthem everytime, they only reinjestthem on a needed b asis , hopethis helps.