Cecotropes

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Joined
May 5, 2019
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Hey,

My rabbit is roughly 5 months old and I have been feeding him Pasture Hay, 1/2 cup of leafy green/veg and stopped feeding him pellets after 3months. I have noticed recently he has had excess cecotropes but only of a night time, during the day he poops normally and healthy. I am concerned because I am not sure whether this is normal or not. I am unable to reach an exotic vet until next month and my concern is growing. Is this normal or not?
 
Is it an early growth that is soft and leafy, or a more mature growth with stems and seed heads? If it's a mature growth, are the seed heads fully matured with the grains, or without the grains fully matured or even present?

The cecals, are they coming out fully formed looking like normal blackberry clusters or are they pasty at all(getting smooshed and becoming pasty isn't the same)? Is the fecal poop the normal round shape, size, and friable consistency that it should be?
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm
 
Id say its fully matured but some of it has no seed heads.

They are fully formed but there are large amount of it, I had him inside with me for a couple nights after begging my parents so i could notice a pattern. At night time he usually does these excess cecal drops and then it just returns to the normal size and shape. The only reason it worries me is that the amount that is produced is alot more than i would say usual.

I would provide images but I am not home at the moment.
 
So cecals normally come out at night(though not always) and that is why they are also called night droppings. So not unusual for it to be happening at night, just that he isn't consuming them that is the problem. With them coming out fully formed and not pasty, that tells me that he is likely not consuming them because he is producing excess cecals, or more than he needs to consume for his needed nutrition due to having too rich of a diet. Or some other possible causes for a rabbit not consuming fully formed cecals are being distracted by something(new home, new area, distracting environmental factors like predators or loud noises, or is a young rabbit), onset of arthritis or other health condition making it painful to reach down there to eat them, too fat to reach down there to eat them, or sometimes dental problems will cause a rabbit not to eat them.

It's possible the hay is too rich and causing the excess cecals. In which case, adding a more mature hay with more stalky stems with indigestible fiber, can help fix the problem. Though you will also want to monitor his weight and body condition to make sure he stays at a healthy weight with the diet change. If it's not the hay or having too rich of a diet, then I would be looking at the other possible causes seeing if one might fit your situation and be the cause for your bun. For a possible dental problem you would need to see an experienced rabbit vet for a thorough dental exam.
http://rabbitvet.net/AustralianRabbitVets.htm
 

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