Is this a concern?

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Glorylocks

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Lately Clyde's poops have been really strange. They are no longer round so much as they are tear dropped shaped. Today he pooped 5 or 6 teeny tiny poops all stuck together and they were REALLY soft. They are also sticky. If he flings them out of his litter box they stick to the wall. I haven't changed anything that he eats in the past month. About a month ago I switched his pellets little by little. He had no problems until just now. I don't mean like today, more so these past 2 weeks. Is this a concern?
Also, lately he has been consistently peeing outside of his litter box. Is he marking his territory? Just curious.
Thanks
 
Were the tiny sticky ones just leftover cecotropes? The teardrop shaped ones, isn't a normal thing though, and peeing outside of the litterbox may be a related problem. There are a few possibilities that I can think of. What kind and amount of pellets, and which treats and veggies do you feed? Also, what kind and amount of hay do you feed? Has he ever had irregular poops or have they always been the normal sized round ones? Any other previous health problems?
 
I have no clue what kind of pellets I feed him..I know thats awful. I was feeding him a brand from Walmart, I think it was Small World? However, everytime I went to walmart to get some it was gone. Completely gone. None on the shelves. And thats been happening with my guinea pig pellets as well that are the same brand. So my Dad brought home some pellets in a HUGE bag from the feed store he works at. Clyde really liked them, he would eat them first before he would eat his mixed in old pellets. That was a little over a month ago? I think. I feed him about half a cup a day. I don't measure it exactly everytime I just kind of eyeball it in a cup. (The first time I measured it out exactly and put it in that cup then made a line where the top of it reached and I fill it up to there.)
I rarely feed him treats. Very rarely..maybe one a week. I feed him these freeze dried fruit pieces. Theres no sugar added. I normally feed him a mixture of romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, and cilantro. Parsley from time to time. It varies depending on what they have available at the grocery store. I ALWAYS make sure he has hay. I feed him timothy hay. I give him a little bit of alfalfa maybe every two weeks? Just a tiny handful. I put a lot in his litter box but he only ever eats a little bit. He's always been like that. He'll go into these modes where he doesn't eat it at all and then the next week or so he eats all of it that I give them. I don't know how to get him to eat more hay because I'm sure that will help.
As far as neutering is concerned I have contacted a rabbit rescue to see if there are any low cost neuters available in my area. I'll pay whatever I need to, but if I can get it cheaper then its a win win! =)
 
When a rabbit's poop starts looking irregular shaped or soft, there can be several things that can be the cause. If this is happening within a day or two of giving him the handful of alfalfa, then that could be the problem, as he would be getting a bunch of alfalfa all at once, when it's not normally something he gets. Another thing it could be is one or more of the veggies is causing the problem. The only way to solve that would be to cut the veggies out of his diet to see if his poops return to normal. If they do, then you would start reintroducing veggies back one at a time, and when you get to one that causes the weird poops, then you would know what your problem veggie is. But more commonly it is treats or pellets that cause this kind of problem. Since you don't normally feed sugary treats, then the pellets may be causing the problem. You will want to stop treats and also reduce his pellet amount each day. You could maybe go down to 1/3 cup a day and see if his poops go back to normal. If not you could go down to 1/4 cup and see if that works. If reducing pellets doesn't fix the problem, then you may need to try eliminating veggies next, to see if they are the culprit. The benefit of reducing pellets, is that it will also cause him to increase his hay consumption.

Some other things that can cause digestive problems in rabbits are parasites and bacteria. If diet changes don't fix the problem, or if his health gets worse, then parasites or bacteria may be the problem and you should get him to the vet right away, to get some meds.

The peeing could be marking behavior, but a UTI or bladder sludge can also cause a rabbit that is litter box trained, to start having frequent peeing accidents. If you suspect a health problem is the cause, then you would need to take your rabbit in to the vet if it's a UTI. For bladder sludge, you could try cutting out veggies that are high in calcium and oxalic acid to see if it makes a difference with the peeing accidents.
 
Thank you JBun! I will try what you suggested.
Also, can pellets spoil? Because I've been reading about others freezing their pellets and I was curious as to why..
Thanks everyone for your help!
 
Yes, pellets can go bad. I haven't had that problem myself, and I'm not sure what can go bad about them other than the obvious--bugs or mold growing in/on them.
 
Pellets can go bad. Mostly they can just get old and stale, especially in a humid environment, and will lose some of their nutritional value the older they are. Pellets can also go bad by getting moldy, which can be deadly to rabbits. You can seal extra pellets in ziplocks and put in the fridge to keep them fresher longer. I've heard that freezing them isn't good to do though.
 
Alright thank you! I don't think my pellets are bad that was one thing I was worried about. Since I've stopped giving him veggies and cut back his pellets he has been eating much more hay! So that's certainly a relief. I don't know what I would have done without ya'll here to help me!
 

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