Rabbit poop question

[Krissa]

Hi all, have a question about my new rabbit's poop.

I have a new male sandy Flemish giant. Purchased 2 weeks ago, is now 10 weeks old. He has been having some strange poops recently. I have noticed that sometimes he passes poops that have a long stringy mucusy tail on them. There is not hair in the mucus - it almost makes me think he has worms. He has a bit of a pot belly, the breeder when questioned about the belly said that flemish are a bit round until they grow into it.

He is eating Oxbow bunny basics for young rabbits unlimited access and a meadowgrass/timothy hay mix that I also feed my older rabbit who is fine (they are not caged together or even in the same room). He is energetic and eating/drinking fine.

I noticed the strange poops yesterday evening and with today being Sunday I would like to avoid an emergency vet visit as they are not very rabbit savy. He has not been to see my rabbit vet yet but I have a vet I take my older rabbit to.

Any thoughts? Should I be worried and hurry him to the vet, or can it wait until Monday? I lost my last Flemish in January to a mouth abcess even though I caught it early, so I want to make sure I'm not being overly paranoid.

 

[JBun]

You need to get him to a vet right away. A pot belly and mucous in the poop, can be an indication of coccidiosis or possibly bacterial enteritis, which can be fatal if not treated immediately and correctly. A vet can test a fecal sample to see if it is either of these. Mucous in the poop is a pretty serious indication of digestive illness. If it were me, I would be getting him to a vet today. Mention that you suspect coccidiosis or bacterial enteritis. If this is what he has, they will likely give you the sulfa antibiotic, Albon for treatment if cocci, or another antibiotic like baytril and/or metronidazole if enteritis. If the vet isn't bunny savvy, double check any antibiotics they want to give, to ensure they are rabbit safe, as some dog and cat vets have been known to prescribe something like oral amoxicillin, which can be fatal to rabbits.
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Safe_drugs_main.htm

If there is absolutely no way for you to get into a vet today, I would pull all sugary starchy treats and pellets, and feed only grass hay, until you can get your bun to a vet. But you need to be aware that if your rabbit has either coccidiosis or bacterial enteritis, they are extremely serious diseases and can easily prove fatal within a day if not treated promptly and correctly. it would be good to bring a fresh fecal sample with you to the vet if you can.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/Enteritis_en.htm

http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=13366

 

[Krissa]

Thanks for the info - guess its off to the emergency vet.

 

[squidpop]

Just reading this, I'm wondering, if you take a rabbit to an emergency vet can they do the fecal exam to find out if its cocci or enteritis right away, so they can prescribe the right drug? or do they have to send it to a lab?

 

[pani]

squidpop, my vet looks at my buns' poop and it only takes around 5 minutes. I'm not sure if that would go for everything that can be seen from droppings though... we were specifically looking for coccidiosis that time.

Krissi, any updates? ray: