Diarrhea in my Rabbit

[mini990701]

Thank you so much everybody!

 

[LakeCondo]

I hope all is well. The symptoms of worms is eating a lot but losing weight, so this clearly isn't the case.

 

[mini990701]

Yeah. She did have mushy poo today, like play-dough, but she is acting normal, not losing weight, eating a lot, and drinking a lot.

 

[JBun]

I'm glad she's eating and seems to be doing better, besides the poops not being normal. Have you been feeding her pellets?

 

[mini990701]

A little bit.

 

[JBun]

How much of the pellets do you think you feed her total in a day now, and are you still picking all the colored pieces out? I'm just wondering if it's the pellets that might be causing her poop problem or not. Are you also still giving her electrolytes to drink?

 

[mini990701]

Nope. No more electrolytes. I still pick out the colored pieces. I give her a small handful of pellets and a big handful or two of hay.

 

[JBun]

Maybe cut the pellet amount in half and increase the hay to as much as she wants to eat in a day. You don't want her running out of hay at all. See if that clears up the soft poops. Some rabbits are sensitive to pellets, and too many can cause the digestive upset. Eventually you'll slowly want to start switching her over to just a plain pellet. Then you won't have to pick out the colored pieces anymore. You'll want to start switching her over as you start to get low on these pellets but still have a few cups of it left so you can mix the new food with her old food, to give her stomach a chance to adjust to the new food so it doesn't make her sick. But as long as you have plenty of this food left, just wait to switch foods so that you can get her poops back to normal first, and just keep picking out those colored pieces.

Good job on all you've done in helping her

 

[mini990701]

Ok! I will!

 

[mini990701]

Just a question, will a rabbit die if you switch their water bottle to a water bowl because they won't drink out of a bottle? Also, can a rabbit get diarrhea if it drinks too much? Can a rabbit get diarrhea from eating too much timothy hay? Should rabbits only be fed pellets?

 

[Kipcha]

As long as you make sure they are drinking from the bottle, it should not be a problem. However, I would recommend keeping the bowl in there since it is easier for the rabbit.

No, they won't get diarrhea from drinking too much. They will never drink too much on their own anyways. They will just pee a lot more often.

Quite the opposite, they should have more firm poop from hay! Diarrhea is from usually not getting enough of it.

No, hay should always be provided. It provides fibre, keeps the gut moving well and helps wear down the teeth to prevent dental problems

 

[mini990701]

Is poor quality hay better for rabbits than Timothy hay? Are rabbits supposed to eat thier bedding? What does it mean when a rabbit is sick, but gets better, and then gets sick, and then gets better, and then gets sick?

 

[missyscove]

I have yet to meet a rabbit that cannot drink out of a bowl, but I have met rabbits who will not drink out of a bottle (especially the bottles that don't have the ball in the spout but have a metal rod instead.) I always offer water from a bowl because I find it encourages them to drink more and stay hydrated. Water intoxication can occur but is generally the result of too much water without any nutrition which can disrupt the electrolyte balance.
There are four main types of diarrhea: hypersecretory, altered permeability or osmotic, altered motility, and malabsorption. Hypersecretory diarrhea is generally caused by enteric bacterial disease and results in a rate of secretion too great for the villi to absorb typically resulting in a watery diarrhea.
Altered permeability diarrhea caused electrolytes that are typically absorbed from the intestinal lumen to flow back and increase the fecal water.
Altered motility diarrhea is typically due to hypomotility (rather than hypermotility as was the traditional thought).
Malabsorption diarrhea is the result of destruction of the villous integrity, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or several other factors.
I could see osmotic diarrhea occuring in cases of water intoxication, but you might see the effects on the brain first. In a small animal with diarrhea, maintaining hydration is essential.
Timothy hay is an important part of a domestic rabbit diet and, IMO, should be fed ad libitum. I cannot imagine a scenario where timothy hay causes diarrhea in an otherwise healthy rabbit.
While some domestic rabbits are raised on exclusively pellets and water, I believe that offering a constant supply of grass hay and a varied supply of leafy greens more closely mimics the diet their GI tracts were made for. Constant access to food keeps their GI tract motile.

 

[missyscove]

Even timothy comes in "poor quality." My rabbits prefer the softer greener strands, but some prefer the tougher options. My personal preference is to offer a variety which keeps their lives interesting and keeps their teeth working on different textures.

Whether or not it is safe for a rabbit to eat its bedding depends on what that bedding is. If you're using hay as a bedding, litter training would be more difficult, but yes it is safe to eat. If you use a clumping cat litter as bedding, that would be dangerous due to risks of clumping in the GI tract.

That sort of cycle of illness could be due to any number of causes from a drug not being given to its full dose to an immune condition to reexposure to a pathogen.

 

[JBun]

There are four main types of diarrhea: hypersecretory, altered permeability or osmotic, altered motility, and malabsorption. Hypersecretory diarrhea is generally caused by enteric bacterial disease and results in a rate of secretion too great for the villi to absorb typically resulting in a watery diarrhea.
Altered permeability diarrhea caused electrolytes that are typically absorbed from the intestinal lumen to flow back and increase the fecal water.
Altered motility diarrhea is typically due to hypomotility (rather than hypermotility as was the traditional thought).
Malabsorption diarrhea is the result of destruction of the villous integrity, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or several other factors.
I could see osmotic diarrhea occuring in cases of water intoxication, but you might see the effects on the brain first. In a small animal with diarrhea, maintaining hydration is essential.

That was a little too technical even for my adult brain

Your rabbit is fine drinking out of a water bowl. She'll actually drink more that way and drinking extra water isn't going to give her soft poops. It will actually help keep her hydrated. But if she keeps having diarrhea problems, you will probably need to give her more electrolytes.

So is she still having soft poops, or is it turning into diarrhea again? I guess if there is something wrong with the hay that it could possibly cause diarrhea problems. If it had some mildew or fungus on it, but usually hay makes the soft poops go away. You could try cutting back on the hay and giving more of the plain pellets, but didn't this all start when you were still feeding pellets to her normally?

It's ok for rabbits to eat some of their litter if you are using a rabbit safe litter. What kind of llitter are you using?

 

[mini990701]

I am using carefresh naturals.

 

[JBun]

It's ok if she's just nibbling on it, but you don't want her chowing down on it.

Is she still having soft poops or diarrhea?

 

[mini990701]

Nope! No more, but I need more electrolytes. She is acting lethargic again.

 

[JBun]

By lethargic, do you mean she is laying down a lot and not wanting to get up, or is she sitting up kind of hunched up in a corner and just not moving very much? Is she still eating? So the poops are normal now?

 

[LakeCondo]

Many years ago people used to think too much water & other liquids contributed to diarrhea, but in fact the opposite is true. During diarrhea water is sent into the waste stream before the body gets to use it properly. For humans, rabbits, & any other mammal I can think of, the best things to do for to relieve diarrhea is more liquids & more fiber. For rabbits, the fiber comes from hay. For myself, I take something like Metamucil. It's usually thought of as being for constipation, but it helps with diarrhea as well.

It's probably impossible to pinpoint the cause of the diarrhea, but I'd be careful about giving any treats. Too much sugar can reduce the amount of acid in the gut & that COULD lead to diarrhea.