Is relocation stress normal for a bunny

[tailz]

As of yesterday, Cotton joined our family. Cotton is around 12 weeks old. She/he is our first bunny, so we are learning. bare with me please. Per my introduction post, we built her a nice outdoor hutch (well shaded by the tree) and we have a run for her. We also are working on inside housing for when the weather gets a bit cooler. It's beautiful in NC now.

Since we brought Cotton home, her stool has been very loose and watery, but with little to no odor. She refused water and food the previous night, but drank and ate well all day yesterday. As she did this, her stool appeared to take on more shape and consistency. I'm assuming this may be partially due to some dehydration caused by stress. The sample I was able to obtain didn't show any typical parasites I'm familiar with, but I am watching carefully to make sure it solidifies.

Is it normal for her to do this in the beginning? If I need to I'd rather head off any medical issues at the vet early. But if it's advisable to observe and wait, I can do that also.

 

[nicolevins]

Im not very knowledgable(sp?) about loose stools, since my buns has never had them. I think I have read before that it is because of too much fresh veg. Diarrhea in rabbits under 6 months can in some cases be fatal.

So long as she is eating well and drinking now, that is great. If her poop doesnt seem healthy, maybe you should consider bringing her to the vet - better safe than sorry

Cotton was probably a little stressed because of the change, and that's why she wasn't eating. Bare in mind, it does happen (quite frequently).

For now, I don't think you have much to worry about but just keep an eye on him/her. (maybe you should check out the lagomorph section on how to sex your bunny it might be a little hard since s/he is your first bun and s/he is young!)

Maybe someone more knowledgable will come along and help you :biggrin2:

Also, Im glad that you found RO. Many of your questions will be answered here with experienced people

:wave:

ETA: Please have a quick read through them
Bunny Poop
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12076&forum_id=17

Vegetables
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13618&forum_id=17

Sexing
http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm - I couldnt find a RO topic!

 

[elrohwen]

What are you feeding her? What was the breeder/shelter feeding her?

When you checked her poo for parisites, did you send it to your vet? I was kind of confused abut that part.

Is the poop just soft? Or is it very running? If it's just soft, it may be cecals. Bunnies are supposed to eat these, but sometime they produce too many and don't need to eat them, so you'll find them laying around. Often this is normal, but it can be a sign of problems if she's also not eating.

Really runny poo in such a young rabbit can be very serious, so if this is the case I would call your vet. Bunnies do experience stress related to moving, and it may take them a little bit to eat their food, but runny poops aren't normal.

 

[tonyshuman]

Relocation stress is normal; watery poop is not. With watery stools take away all food except hay and water. You can force her to get more water by syringing it into the mouth, also pedialyte will help rehydrate them more. If the poos do not firm off, she needs to see a vet early next week. Also, make sure he doesn't get listless, limp, weak or irresponsive. Those are bad signs and require emergency vet help. I would also look for some probiotic like BeneBac or Probios, which you can get at pet stores or farm stores.

At her age watery stool can become serious quickly so keep a close eye on her for any behavioral changes.

 

[tonyshuman]

Wanted to add that relocation stress shows up as uneaten cecals and reluctance to come out of hiding spots for my bunnies--not watery stool.

 

[tailz]

Thank you for your responses. I'm not sure what she was being fed where i bought her. But i do know that she didn't know how to use the water bottle they provided. I bought the exact same one, and she couldn't drink from it. I replaced it with a ball gravity bottle and she did fine.
I offered her a basic rabbit pellet diet, and she has Timothy and Alphalfa hay. She did eat some soft clover on Sunday.

Her poop has solidified and doesn't appear to be loose or watery anymore. I'm sorry I wasn't clear before. I have a microscope and know how to run fecals. I always check out my own animals for monitoring purposes so if i do see a problem, I can head off to the vet before it actually begins causing problems. With the animals I raise, they hide parasites and things well, so I've learned to be a little more cautious. And, I was curious about Cotton. Gross I know....but I'm a science geek.

Thanks for the recommendation on benebac. I keep that on hand.

 

[tonyshuman]

That's good to hear. I would love to know how to do fecals myself, so don't worry about grossing me out! I'm a biomedical sciences grad student who wishes she went to vet school.

 

[tailz]

Can someone explain to me what cecals look like? Is this what appears to be uneaten food with some fecal matter?

Cotton seems to be doing well. She's active, eating and drinking well and seems to be bonding with us nicely.

 

[pocketsizedrhino]

Cecals kind of look like blackberries. They are a very shiny dark poop that looks different than regular poop. They can be single or clumped together.

 

[tonyshuman]

 

[tailz]

Thanks for the pic. Very helpful. I'm seeing some of this.....the rest is normal according to the picture, so I guess we're doing good. Now all i need to do is figure out how to post a pic.............off to do that now. Thanks again!!

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

tonyshuman wrote:

Claire if that is not in the Library it needs to be.

 

[tonyshuman]

It's not my pic--I stole it off a website.