Mushy/watery stool HELP!

[Fran & Gabriel]

Hello it's Fran&Gabriel again.
Apologies for the long post
This morning I saw that Gabe drops mushy/watery stool. After a quick search online I am freaking out since it says that its an emergency and the bunny can die within 12 hrs.

A quick health history for Gabe (small netherland dwarf bunny):
- He suffers from malocclusion hence his teeth required being burred down once a month.
- He also suffers from bladder problems, small calcium stones could be seen in his bladder with an ultrasound
- He has undescended testicles
His daily diet:
-Hay as much as he wants
- 2 cups of greens
- 25 gr of pellets ( he eats Supreme VetCare Plus Urinary)
- Since he hardly drinks any water,aggravating his urinary problems ( he is an idiot bunny), I squash a little piece of apple/pear or raspberry in his water plate ( that is pretty much all the fruit he gets) to encourage him to drink.

For the past week he hasn't eaten that much hay, I believe his teeth are causing him pain ( he has his teeth extraction operation next week), so I have been giving him more greens than usual to keep him eating.
He doesn't seem to be in pain ( but he could be hiding it).

What should I do?
Can I wait until tomorrow that my local vet opens, or should I treat this as an emergency ?
Help I'm freaking out !

 

[JBun]

It depends. If he's also producing normal round fecal poop, then it could just be mushy cecotropes, and that isn't usually an immediately critical situation. If it's his fecal poop that is watery diarrhea, and it still is at this point, yes it could very well be an emergency because it can mean entertoxemia is occurring, which is life threatening. If so, you need to get him to your vet immediately and he needs to be put on metronidazole, cholestyramine, and sub q(or possibly IV) fluids without delay.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/Enteritis_en.htm
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Clostridial_enteritis_rabbits.htm

There's also the possibility that it's just the increased veggies that is causing it and once stopped the mushy poop will stop as well. Maybe increase pellets instead or buy a plain grass hay pellet and feed that. If you can get this poop issue resolved, you may need to move up your dental appt.

 

[Fran & Gabriel]

Hi JBun,
Thank you for your reply!
It has been a couple of hectic days but now Gabe is in a stable condition.
In the end I brought him to the vet since he also seemed to be in pain and the vets kept him overnight.
I have to give him Metoclopramide, Cisapride and Metacam for a week ( I'm not sure if is just a different name for the ones you mentioned since I live in the UK) . His dental appt is the day after tomorrow so little Gabe needs to hold on just one day longer.

Fingers crossed!

 

[Popsicles]

They are different drugs to what Jbun was describing: metaclopramide and cisapride are gut stimulants which help to get normal movement going in the gut again, and metacam is a pain killer and anti-inflammatory drug. Sounds like these drugs helped to prevent development into GI stasis so that’s good and I hope you see a noticeable improvement after the dental! Good luck!

 

[Fran & Gabriel]

UPDATE
Gabe's dental operation was successful ( at least for now, we will see if the teeth roots were all removed successfully).
He still poops somewhat mushy but he is still taking the meds. We will see how that goes.
Thanks to everybody answering me !! <3

 

[Popsicles]

Glad the op went well! Hopefully he will start feeling better soon <3

 

[Thumperina]

teeth roots removed! my mother, whose family used to raise rabbits for meat after WWII, would be in a knockout if she learned that rabbits get their teeth roots removed these days (Just kidding) Glad that Gabe is doing better ! you are such a good owner .

 

[Fran & Gabriel]

@Thumperina ahahah my grandparents as well! But I am glad that research on rabbits health is advancing ( even if very slowly compared to dogs and cats), Thank you for your kind words!

 

[kdhall]

Hello Fran & Gabriel! Glad to hear that Gabe's surgery went well! Regarding the water intake, is the decreased drinking a usual occurrence or one that developed when he was sick? My rabbit, Lulu, went through a spell of not drinking from a bottle so I offered her a dish and a bottle. She apparently prefers the dish to bottle, but having both choices made all of the difference!

 

[Fran & Gabriel]

Hi @kdhall ! Ever since I got Gabe I noticed that he wouldn't drink as much as my previous rabbits but I thought it was due to the colder UK weather ( I used to live in Italy). Since his teeth operation though he has been drinking more ! It could be that his abnormal teeth would make it harder for him to drink but I have no idea . He used to drink from a water bottle then I introduced the dish as well and he could choose to drink from either. Now he only drinks from the water dish, as long as he keeps drinking I'm happy !
Also, Lulu looks adorable <3 !