Clear Gel (in poop)

[Blubunnie]

Hey Everyone I’m a new member and I have a question!

I’m worried about Dutch bunny, Blu (2 yrs). I’ve looked up clear jelly from rabbits and most forums indicate mucoid enteritis. But he is eating fine and his stool is mucus clear and his stool looks more or less healthy.

I accidentally put my hand in the gel when I was moving him out of the way when trying to clean. It was clear and jelly-like and had no odour. He wanted to lick the area after I wiped it away. He is happy in himself and has been running around doing his normal binkies all morning.

We have had a couple of vet visits in the last month due to his noisy breathing. He has always been a very vocal, noisy bun in comparison to previous bunnies I’ve owned, but seems to be more noticeable in the last little while especially while eating and sleeping. I just wanted to get him checked out and he was put on an antiparasitic and antibiotics (and probiotics) in case of respiratory infection and E. Cuniculi (neither confirmed, Vet wanted to do an elimination?) - both medications didn’t seem to make a difference.

I don’t know if the clear gel could be due to an imbalance in bacteria from medication or if I should be rushing him to vet. I don’t want to put him under unnecessary stress or to be giving him more medication without reasoning so really wanted some more opinions because feeling very lost.

Thank you!
M

 

[JBun]

Did the mucous/gel in the poop start happening after the course of antibiotics? Do the fecal balls look normal otherwise or are they coming out irregularly formed at all, and how much mucous/gel is in the poop? What is your rabbits exact diet(types and amounts of hay, pellets/nuggets, veg, supplemets, etc)? Do you happen to have a photo of the mucousy poop?

 

[Blubunnie]

He finished the antibiotics on August 16th and the antiparasitic on August 18th and the gel happened the 28th, but not in his poop at all. The gel came from him completely by itself no wee or poop and not in his litter tray. He is still happy in himself and eating, I haven't seen the gel since either.

In terms of poop, it's on the smaller side and slightly irregular shaped but nothing drastically different. But no mucous/gel on his poop at all. He always has access to Timothy hay in multiple sections of the room and no hay tray is ever empty, he gets veg everyday which is mostly green leaves and maybe a pepper/carrot/cucumber as an addition every now and then, he gets a small amount of pellets once a day and he has dried leaves too which includes dandelion, nettle and raspberry. Treat wise he gets a piece of fresh fruit or dried banana or apple - and this wouldn't be an everyday occurrence. I started back the probiotics the day it happened incase it was an imbalance of bacteria, but couldn't be sure if this made a difference. Other than that he gets no supplements and of course has access to fresh water daily.

Unfortunately at the time I didn't take a photo of the gel but after I looked it up I found this photo which is exactly the same as what I found.

 

[JBun]

With you not seeing anymore of it, and your rabbit acting normal otherwise, I would just monitor closely and keep an eye on the poop for any more abnormalities. If it happens again, and/or you are at all concerned your rabbit is unwell, it's best to have your rabbit checked by a knowledgeable rabbit vet. Especially if there is mucous/gel in the poop for more than a one off occurrence. It could be mucoid enteritis, coccidiosis, or ERE, all of which are very serious.

If it happens again, just as a one off and sporadically, it could be linked to a sensitivity to a particular food in your rabbits diet, that's causing digestive irritation, which in turn can cause a little mucousy poop. This would only be a minor upset with a little bit of mucous/gel, and will usually cause too much digestive upset, and will resolve once the offending food is stopped.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/