pleasee help me with my sick bunny!please :( mushy poos, runny nose (resolved)

[pOker]

Holland Lop Male, 3-4 pounds. Not yet Neutered. Indoor only. 8 weeks old. Never been to the vet. Was only outside from the store to car and the car to house. He is on a diet of timothy hay and just pellets. He only eats his hay and i cant tell if he eats his pellets because he spills them everywhere. he just used ME as his litter box and came out with cecals. there is a terrible odor along with that, worse than regular rabbit poop. he looks like he is hopping normally. he has had no chocolate or anything that he shouldnt eat.


well yesterday i noticed a wet nose. its not terribly wet, and i dont notice anything white coming out, so i guess i could say its clear(its not pouring from his nose or anything) its just sort of wet. i called to check with the vet and she suggested that it may just be the change in temperature from the store to home. he poops CONSTANTLY. they arent little poop which makes me feel better because hes a big bunny. but as he was hopping around on the couch that i was laying on, he pooped all over. and then 5 minutes later i picked him up and i noticed cecal like poop stuck in his fur. i started to remove it so he didnt get it all over the place and i placed him in a seperate box as i set up his cage. he is a new bunny and Ali has said that it could be stress or temperature also..but i want to know how i should handle it until he calms down a little more..



thanks everyone :/

 

[JadeIcing]

The stinky poop could be a cause from concern.

Are the pellets the same? Is he with Poker? If so I would limit contact.

 

[pOker]

ive never seen cecal pellets with him until today..well yesterday he had flattened poop on the bottom of his cage that was all completely attached to each other.like it looked like he took a spatula and flattened it.it was not diarrhea..i believe he was laying in it and it flattened out. he isnt acting much different than usual-but ive only had him for about a day and a half or so. so, this may be different.i cant tell if hes acting like he shouldby comparing him to Poker because Poker is soo active and hyper.he has NOT been with Poker since the first day for a little while, because i was concerned with Vegas maybe being sick soi seperated them. he is very nervous when i try to pick him up, but as soon as he feels all 4 feet are on something he is ok. he was licking my face today and seemed ok, but i can never be too careful.

 

[pOker]

i forgot to add that his eyes are not running and he seems to be drinking fine so he is not dehydrated, but he does seem skinny(its just hard to tell with all the fur) i know those are usually concerns.

 

[JadeIcing]

Some may not agree but honestly I know of far to many hollands with excess cecal issues not to think it may be common. I would for now take away pellets and keep him on hay and water only. Watch very carefully.

Comparing one bunny to another is very hard because each is so different.

I hope someone with more knowledge comes along soon but being weekend it is a toss up.

 

[pOker]

thankss so much though Ali.. i am going to double check with the vet and keep her posted until shes open for an appointment. even if it is just stress, he should get a check up, the vet should know both of the bunnies now, so that way she will know their normal behavior and be able to help me more if i see unusual behavior.. if that makes sense.. thanksssss

 

[JadeIcing]

Perfect idea about the vet. He is still young and has a bit of growing to go.

 

[Pipp]

I honestly wouldn't worry at this stage, it really is a common occurrence.

Just keep an eye on him and push the hay and water.



sas

 

[Maureen Las]

You could also give him a dose of a probiotic like benebac which you can get at petco in small tubes of gel for small mammals.
The terrible smell could just be the smell of cecals. Does it smell like your other rabbits cecals or is it an altogether unfamilar odor. ?

I would watch the wet nose like you are doing ...

 

[Pipp]

The wet nose and a few stinky soft cecals are normal with environment and/or diet changes, but if the cecals are watery and it continues more than a day, it is cause for concern.

Lethargy is the biggest thing to watch for (although its hard if you don't know how active he usually is).

I missed that you said he seems thin. I'd probably play it safe and get him checked out and have his poop tested at a vet's.


sas :clover:

 

[pOker]

thanks everyone for the advice-wednesday we should be heading to the vet..if it gets really bad by tomorrow than we will take him tomorrow afternoon
hopefully it will get better as he settles into his new cage..i just finished it.. i will post pics laterrr thanks again ladies and gents

 

[tonyshuman]

Hi, I edited your title so that it would have some info on what was going on so people with experience with this may be more interested in reading it.

I agree that it sounds pretty normal. There are of course some things it could be that are bad, and for that reason it's good he's going to the vet. I think perhaps he's got tooth issues--they can cause runny noses (clear mucus) and problems eating--perhaps he's tipping over his pellets because his mouth hurts too much to eat them. Also, I've found that with flat-faced bunnies, it's best to give them food in a shallow dish so they can get at it. We feed the nethies here their pellets out of an ashtray so they can get at them.

Since he's new, it may be good to do a preventative de-worming with something like Panacur to make sure he isn't carrying an intestinal parasite.

Also, it's great to get him in to the vet when he's new so that the vet can get an idea of his overall health to begin with.

 

[pOker]

absolutely all good ideas Claire, thank you. and thanks for editing the title. and he seems to actually be doing slightly better..i came home after putting him in his new cage and some pellets seem to have disappeared and this time they havent been tipped over i gave him plenty of hay and a big water bottle. 75 percent of his water was gone and he ate LOTS of hay. i made sure to give him some space to run around, so i can see if he actually does. plus he has some toys and things. i will let him out tomorrow and give him some space. im not thinking hes sick anymore because i did witness him do almost 15 binkies in his new home so maybe he was just having re-adjustment issues. thank you again everyonee

 

[tonyshuman]

Sounds good! I bet it was just adjustment/moving stress. My guys frequently get excess cecals after a move, like when we take them places for the holidays.