Odd Poops - Should I be concerned

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Azerane

Azerane

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I'm wondering what people think of these poops that Bandit has been doing. I know they're definitely unusual, but I can't for the life of me figure out why it may be happening.

He's shedding at the moment, a lot, but I'm also brushing him a lot. Usually if he's having a poop issue with his shed I'll see string of pearls poop or the double poops, but nothing like this.

On Sunday we arrived home after being gone almost 24 hours, and there were three mushy poops stuck to the cage floor. Today (Monday), when I got home from work at 2pm there was 1 mushy poop (as seen in the first photo) and also six tiny poops, one of which is deformed (see second photo with a normal poop beside for size comparison).

Obviously these poops are very unusual. But I can't determine why it's happening. The only thing that's different is that since we moved here a week and a half ago, there's a heater in the same room as Bandit (though I don't let it get too warm for his sake). That's my only thought, although at the same time, the heater wasn't running on Sunday we he first had the mushy poops.

His diet is 1/4 cup of oxbow pellets split into morning and evening meal, and unlimited meadow hay. Every few days he gets a handful of fresh herbs that he's used to having and has never had issues with.

His litter tray is also filled with normal poops.

Poop10thAugust2.jpg

Poop10thAugust.jpg
 
Thanks for that, it had been my thinking too, it just seemed rather odd. Just something to keep an eye on I suppose if it continues or progresses. But things are certainly moving on through :p
 
It is a sign of impending gut issues.

Make sure he is getting good water and has adequate fibre intake.

perhaps give a bit of greens daily rather than every once in a while.
 
We have a rabbit that has that issue whenever he is moulting, so we use some probiotics that our vet gave us to keep his poos moving, and we also try to remove excess fur from his cage and brush him often. I agree though that there might be some kind of gut issue starting, so keep a good eye on him and check his poos several times a day.
 
I wonder if it was a stress response due to you being gone. Stress can really mess up a rabbits digestive system, and thus affect their poop. If he's back to normal, I would put it down to the stress of you being gone. If it continues or worsens, I would get it checked by a vet immediately, particularly having a fecal float done to check for coccidiosis, or checking for toxins ingested or possibly e. cuniculi.
 
Thank you so much for the feedback everyone. His poops have been normal Wed, Thurs, Fri (today), however I'm now concerned he may have some fur block because he's belly pressing, refusing all food and treats, and is barely moving around except to reposition and occasional grooming. It's currently 12:15am Saturday and he last ate about 4 hours ago. His ears are also quite cool which is concerning. I've been petting him, massaging his tummy and trying to encourage movement and eating the past hour (he's sitting next to me on the couch). I'm debating whether or not we'll need to head to the after hours vet or whether it can wait until 7am. But it's pretty well the exact same behaviour as last time he had a fur blockage and we had to get pain killers, gut motility and fluids. I'm hopeful it'll pass, but I also don't want to wait too long, knowing how fragile bunnies can be.
 
If he doesn't pull out of it soon and you end up taking him to the vet, I would suggest having a fecal float done as well(bring as fresh a fecal sample as possible with you), due to him having those strange poops earlier this week. I'm just concerned the current lack of appetite might be linked to the strange poops and there might be something more going on besides the usual upset stomach. I'm mostly thinking possible coccidiosis, and if so the vet will need to give you something like septrin or baycox for it.
 
Hey JBun, thanks for the tip. I'll be sure to do that and will also take the photos along as well to show her the unusual poops from earlier in the week.

I've been up with him most of the night, slept on the couch and checked him hourly. It's now 5am and he's still the same. He spent an hour in his litter tray from 2:15am but only did about five poops (though he doesn't usually poop much overnight anyway). There's still 3 hours until my usual vet opens and waiting till then will stretch it to about 12 hours since he last ate/pooped decently etc. But given he's in the same state, I probably shouldn't wait till then. I will at least give the after hours place a call and see if I can speak with their rabbit vet.
 
Well I finally got him to eat. He's eaten a small leaf of silverbeet, about 1/2 a lettuce leaf, a tiny bit of parsley and one oregano leaf. I did ring the after hours vet after my previous post, but the experienced rabbit vet wasn't on call, so I decided to just continue monitoring and supporting him. Half an hour until my clinic opens, and hopefully before then there'll be some poops now that he's eaten something.
 
Thank you. He has improved. About half an hour after he ate the greens he started becoming active, but still wasn't interested in other food or pooping, though he started pooping right when we needed to leave for the vet. Vet check was the usual fluids, pain and motility meds. I asked her about underlying gut issues but she didn't seem concerned, but something had to have set it off. Oh well, at least he's starting to feel better and hopefully once he stops pouting he'll continue to improve and be back to his old self.
 
stevesmum said:
Didn't you just move to a new place? That could definitely have set it off. Glad he is improving!
Click to expand...

Yes, two weeks ago, however he settled in very quickly and was never nervous about it. He's always been very curious to explore and run around in a new place wherever he's been.

Thanks for all the well wishes, it wasn't until about 8pm last night that he finally started pooping properly. He had been regularly eating hay, but not without me putting it where he was sitting. Then after he'd pooped, he ventured out of his cage and started playing, so was obviously starting to feel better. :)
 
After pooping properly last night he's not really pooping again. He's still eating quite well today and doesn't seem in pain, but I'm guessing the pain killing shot he had yesterday is probably assisting with both of those things. He did about 15 small poops early this morning, and hasn't pooped since, even though he's been eating some hay throughout the day, I gave him some leafy greens, and he's eaten a few pellets left over from yesterday. While he doesn't appear in pain, he's also not in good spirits and has mostly been sitting in the same location in his cage all day. We may have to return to the vet tomorrow if things continue like this.
 
I should update that Bandit is back to his usual self. The vet recommended I cut pellets completely for a week, but I feel awful so I'm being bad and still giving him a teaspoon morning and evening :p I've still got no idea what caused him to go into stasis in the first place, which is concerning but hopefully he was just stressed from the move and everything that's been going on rather than there being an underlying issue.
 
That's great that he's back to his usual self :D Hopefully there is no underlying issue and it was just stress

He's such an awesome little bun :) Glad he's feeling better
 
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