Loose droppings?

[kdubbz117]

Hi. I just made another post in the behavior section, but I figured this particular inquiry didn't really belong there. I'll explain a bit about the situation below.

Friday evening I took in two rabbits from an old coworker who is no longer able to care for his two rabbits as a result of a health problem that may be getting out of control. We both tried calling rescues and shelters, one after the other. All cannot take any more rabbits for some time due to a number of different cases that involved toooons of rabbits. Since I've handled three rabbits at once in the past (two of my own and one from the store I worked at that needed medical assistance for some time), I took both.

The male- named Luke- is unaltered, roughly 2yrs old (was dumped on the streets prior to my old coworker taking him in), and appears to be a Dutch (mix?). The female- named Harriett- may most likely also be unaltered (he wasn't her first or even second owner so we don't know), appears to be part Lionhead, and is estimated to be 7 or 8yrs old. They are kept separate and are in xpens.

I made it a point to give them pretty much the same set-up as they had at my old coroner's home. I got them some new toys, and on Saturday took them straight to vet for a basic check-up and nail clipping. Their dropping were small, which I felt may've had to do with the change in overall home, but frequent enough to not cause much concern. The only minor change in 'set-up' was I noticed the hay I was given with them was alfalfa. So I mixed my Timothy hay with their alfalfa to ween them off the alfalfa.

Luke's droppings appear to be improving. Though I noticed loose stool droppings in Harriett's pen this morning. This was not the case Saturday until the night. I took note but did not worry, since I figured it could possibly be like a night dropping type of thing and that it would be gone by morning.

However, I noticed this morning they were not gone and appeared to have been smushed into the flooring of the pen. She has her regular droppings, which still appear to be rather small- but there are still loose droppings happening at different intervals it seems. I'm not used to having a rabbit under 4.5lbs these days, and so I'm not sure if the size of her droppings may have something to do with her size. Though, I'm not sure if the loose looking droppings can be attributed to her still acclimating to her new home.

The vet didn't express any concerns about either rabbit when I took them. Everything checked out alright. The only concern she had was the mention of alfalfa hay appearing to be their primary hay source, but I nipped that concern in the bud before she could express it- when I informed her I had already started to introduce the Timothy hay with the alfalfa.

But now the poop concern arises, after they've just been at the vet.

 

[RavenousDragon]

It could be stress (even if the set up is the same, you are a new person, the house is new, the smells are new). I would remove any pellets, greens, or treats from the diet (basically, they get only hay) until it clears up. Being on a diet of JUST hay is not harmful, so don't worry about nutrients or anything. It may take a few days, but it should clear up soon.

 

[kdubbz117]

As of this morning it appeared as though Luke's are coming to a size I feel is what they should be for a bun his weight (I think he clocked in at roughly 6.5lbs at the vet).

As for the little ol' lady, it was looking like she was having less of the loose poopslast night before I went to sleep, and there didn't appear to be any new ones when I got up for work this morning and poked my head in to check. I'm still keeping as close of an eye on her to make sure.

 

[kdubbz117]

Update: I did take Harriett to a closer vet that i've been taking Sweet Pea to since I adopted her, and they gave a more extensive exam. Checked ears, teeth, etc. Both vets (they've recently hired a second exotics vet, who is accompanying their primary exotic vet for a while) found that Harriett may have had some inflammation in her intestinal loops, which may have been causing some of the problem. She was given additional fluids, since she had some minor dehydration going on from the diarrhea. I was given an anti-inflammatory, some probiotics, and Critical Care. It seems to have aided the problem. Though she isn't too happy. I also had blood drawn as precaution. She was checked for a spaying scar, which they didn't find one- which confirms her not being spayed. They did find a few tattoos on her one ear, which lead us to believe she most likely came from a breeder.

It did seem like the loose droppings have mostly subsided, but I did get a call regarding the bloodwork I had done. And it seemed like there was a hint of anemia going on... So I'll be having to follow up in about a week or so from now to see how it's looking.