Cecotropes issues

[Stellalop]

Hello

I adopted a mini lop bunny last Saturday so have had her just over a week and she is 1 year old.

She has been eating and drinking great (after initial slow eating of hay the first few days) and her poops are fine and normal.

She is eating her cecotropes however there are some she is leaving. Some of them are individual, some are in clusters. There are not tonnes of them but enough to make me worry.

I am a first time bunny owner and thinking I've maybe given too much of a variety of veg too soon. But when I spoke to animal sanctuary I got her from, they said she had been getting a range of greens so I thought it was ok.

She is a nervous bunny so does this have something to do with it?

She also licks my cushions...is this normal?!

Other than this she seems completely fine but it's the cecotropes I'm worried about. I'm giving Timothy & meadow hay. Pellets in a tablespoon amount half in the morning and half at night. Same with greens half in morning and half at night.

 

[JBun]

Is she drinking water ok? Are you feeding the same veg/greens the sanctuary was feeding? If not, and you fed something different than she was used to, that could be a possible cause. Rabbits need new foods(with the exception of grass hays) introduced into their diet gradually, to give their gut bacteria time to adapt to the change.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html
http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vegetables
If you are feeding the same veg/greens, it's not uncommon for rabbits to leave some cecals uneaten when they are in a new home. Once they settle in and become less nervous or distracted by the new environment, the problem clears up. So I would just keep an eye on it and if it hasn't cleared up in a few more weeks or worsens, then it's likely there's something else going on.

The licking might just be a nervous response, to help her feel comforted being in an unfamiliar place.

 

[SirLawrence]

She also licks my cushions...is this normal?!

Agreed, it is not uncommon for my greedy boy Lawrence to leave a cecotrope if he gets distracted during eating them.

And as far as the above question... Yes, sadly, I would say this is normal. I have one pillow both boys love to lick. They don't lick much else, but they love that pillow!

The way they act sometimes, I'm surprised they don't lick the windows...

 

[Stellalop]

Is she drinking water ok? Are you feeding the same veg/greens the sanctuary was feeding? If not, and you fed something different than she was used to, that could be a possible cause. Rabbits need new foods(with the exception of grass hays) introduced into their diet gradually, to give their gut bacteria time to adapt to the change.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html
http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vegetables
If you are feeding the same veg/greens, it's not uncommon for rabbits to leave some cecals uneaten when they are in a new home. Once they settle in and become less nervous or distracted by the new environment, the problem clears up. So I would just keep an eye on it and if it hasn't cleared up in a few more weeks or worsens, then it's likely there's something else going on.

The licking might just be a nervous response, to help her feel comforted being in an unfamiliar place.

Yeah she's drinking totally fine so no issues. And the animal sanctuary just told me 'various greens' I think perhaps I've given too many different types at once. I've been giving her romaine and cilantro/coriander last night and this morning and there were only a couple cecotropes in her area this morning. So I think you're right about that.
She was extremely nervous when I got her so thinking that's also at play.

Thank you for the food lists that's very helpful.

I'll keep an eye on her and hopefully improves.

 

[Stellalop]

Agreed, it is not uncommon for my greedy boy Lawrence to leave a cecotrope if he gets distracted during eating them.

And as far as the above question... Yes, sadly, I would say this is normal. I have one pillow both boys love to lick. They don't lick much else, but they love that pillow!

The way they act sometimes, I'm surprised they don't lick the windows...

Haha she eats them and then falls back asleep and it's like she can't be bothered to eat the rest!

Oh that's good to know haha! That's the same as Stella she just loves this one particular cushion. She's licked a couple others but that one is her favourite