Mucus in poo, but rabbit seems fine?

[minmelethuireb]

I've noticed that my rabbit Pipkin has been having a bit of mucus in his poo. It's like the poo is a little moister than usual with a slimy coating, and sometimes there are little blobs of brown mucus. It's been like this for three days.

However, he has been eating and drinking fine, pooping the same amount as usual, and is still active. I've been reading lots online and it seems like a rabbit usually seems very ill when it has mucus in it's poo, so I'm confused.

I'm planning to take him to the vet tomorrow but I was wondering if anyone had ever experienced this.


Edit: I found a picture in this forum of megacolon poo, and I think he might have that, because his poo has always been irregular. Big, small, funky shaped. I don't know anything about this disease! Is it fatal? I just added him to the rabbit list and you can see he is white with black spots - apparently the coloring that gets this. He's never had stasis though, so I just don't know...

Bunny is three years old, netherland dwarf, eats timothy hay, Oxbow pellets, and green leaf lettuce

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Defiantly need a vet so your doing the right thing by taking him. Could be lots of things but mucus in poo is always a vet issue.

 

[JBun]

Mucous in the poop, is an indication of inflammation, and something you definitely want to see a vet about asap. There are several things that can cause this such as bacteria and mucoid enteritis, coccidosis, GI stasis. All of these things require meds to treat the problem, and often the treatment needs to be immediate in order to save the rabbit. It's a good sign though, that your rabbit is still eating and pooping, and not showing any noticable signs of distress or discomfort, but getting him into a vet right away, is still a good thing. Here is some info on the different causes.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/Enteritis_en.htm
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

It sounds like your rabbit could very well have megacolon. He has the right genetics, and the large, small, and irregular poop, is pretty definitive. It is possible for it to be fatal, because it makes a rabbit more susceptible to digestive problems and the possibility of getting GI stasis, but it really depends on the rabbit. Some are more affected by the megacolon difficulties, than others. I have two megacolon buns, both are dwarf hotots, and I also had one with it, that died this past summer, from stasis, but I didn't know anything about megacolon at the time. Of the two I have now, one was born with it, and the other developed the problem after repeated bouts with stasis due to stress. They both are on strict diets. One can't have any pellets or treats. He gets grass hay, a little alfalfa, and green leafy veggies. The other gets a limited amount of pellets(that don't contain any sugars or grains), grass hay, a little alfalfa, and green leafy veggies. He can't have very many pellets though, cause it causes his poops to get spongy and larger in size. I don't give either of them any fruit, sugars, grains, or starches. They both have been doing good on this diet, but I have read other peoples stories of their megacolon rabbits, and some of them had a much harder time keeping their rabbits out of stasis. But you can see that diet is very important to keeping these rabbits healthy, and diminishing their chances of stasis. My rabbit that died from megacolon, died cause I didn't know she had it and that I needed to control her diet closely. I've mostly learned what I have about megacolon, from my own rabbits, and other's stories of theirs, but even then it isn't a very common disease and there isn't a lot of info out there about it.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

I've noticed that my rabbit Pipkin has been having a bit of mucus in his poo. It's like the poo is a little moister than usual with a slimy coating, and sometimes there are little blobs of brown mucus. It's been like this for three days.

However, he has been eating and drinking fine, pooping the same amount as usual, and is still active. I've been reading lots online and it seems like a rabbit usually seems very ill when it has mucus in it's poo, so I'm confused.

I'm planning to take him to the vet tomorrow but I was wondering if anyone had ever experienced this.


Edit: I found a picture in this forum of megacolon poo, and I think he might have that, because his poo has always been irregular. Big, small, funky shaped. I don't know anything about this disease! Is it fatal? I just added him to the rabbit list and you can see he is white with black spots - apparently the coloring that gets this. He's never had stasis though, so I just don't know...

i hope you do the follow up with the exotic dvm,today--when you have a chance let us know how he is doing-- http://www.medirabbit.com cecum is in distress,cecotropes won,t be eaten-all mushy,etc.-ie.diet is not correct--have teeth inspected with the exam--sincerely james waller

 

[minmelethuireb]

I just got him back from the vet.

The vet did a fecal float and found coccidia eggs, but she said they looked like they were dead? She gave me 10 days of Albon suspension.

She also gave him subcutaneous fluids and some probiotics to help digestion.

So I guess it's coccidiosis? I'm a little skeptical about 'dead' eggs.

 

[JBun]

I'm not sure. Could mean your rabbit's immune system took care of the problem, or maybe there were live eggs in there too and the vet just didn't see them.

 

[minmelethuireb]

I dunno. I'm just hoping that was the cause and he's handling it pretty well. I'm supposed to medicate him and just make sure his poop doesn't get too mushy over the next two days.

 

[JBun]

The probiotics should help whether or not he has it. And the meds are necessary if he does have it, and shouldn't hurt anything, if he doesn't. The only way it wouldn't help, is if there is a bacteria like e. coli, causing the problem, then he wouldn't be getting better, and you would need antibiotics for that.

Is this vet very experienced with rabbits? Just wondering, cause though Albon is a common treatment for cocci, I've read that toltrazuril is the preferred med for it now, as it actually kills off the coccidiosis and doesn't take as long to treat it.

 

[minmelethuireb]

I think she's kind of moderately experienced. She said she'll spay two or three rabbits a year, anf that doesn't seem like many. I had another vet who saw rabbits all the time, but I moved and she's an hour's drive away now.

I've been thinking of driving some poo out to her for a second opinion.

 

[JBun]

Sure wouldn't hurt. And I wouldn't think just having a fecal done would cost too much either.

 

[tonyshuman]

Fecal tests aren't terribly expensive and only spaying a handful of bunnies a year isn't very experienced. Albon may take care of it, however.

 

[minmelethuireb]

Update: Pipkin seems to have more normal poo and less mucus-y poo today. He still seems normal otherwise. Also he's learned that the Albon is yummy. I think it's banana flavored. I got him to take the probiotic powder by sprinkling it on his lettuce.

I think it's also a good thing that his butt has been impeccably clean this whole time. The vet asked if I was sure I hadn't cleaned it recently, lol.

 

[minmelethuireb]

So Pipkin has finished his medicine and I took a poo sample to the vet on Monday. She said that she didn't see any signs of coccidia. It occurred to me though that I kind of didn't think about giving his pen a good cleaning. I've been sweeping all his poos up, but I probably should have actually washed his pen. Couldn't this suspected coccidia be a recurring thing? I "love" that the vet didn't mention cleaning to me. I need to find someone else.

 

[JBun]

Yes, it can reoccur. The vet should have told you about disinfecting, but in any case, you want to do it immediately. I don't have experience with it, but I've read that you have to disinfect with a 10% ammonia solution. I don't know if you have to leave it on very long, so you may want to call your vet, or research it to get all the particulars. I'm assuming that you will also need to rinse it off in plain water after. You'll want to also make sure that your bun is in a separate area until the cage is clean and the fumes have disappated. If you can take it outside to clean it, that would probably work the best.

Glad to hear your little guy is all better

 

[tonyshuman]

I can't find a lot of specifics on cleaning the environment, but this is what I found: (all the way at the bottom of the page)
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm

 

[minmelethuireb]

Thanks, the only recommendation I found was 10% ammonia - better at killing coccidia than bleach apparently. I'm planning on putting him in a carrier, bring the cage outside, cleaning it, and hosing it off. I just need to get a hose.