Should they be leaving this many cecotropes? Could it be a cage flooring issue?

[button+banjo]

Hi everyone,

I have two Holland Lops that live on the front porch. Every night they have to stay in their cage and I let them out into an x-pen in the morning. For awhile I have been having this problem but finally got annoyed enough to post about it. Every morning (they have a litter box) their cage floor looks like this (lots of cecos that they have stepped on):



I was wondering if this was normal? It is hard to clean up since they dry rock hard. They get 1/2 cup of oxbow adult pellets every evening and unlimited timothy hay the rest of the time. Could it be because there is not enough traction on the plastic tray for them to reach down to eat them? Since they live outside I have them on a plastic tray for easier cleaning (it has to be scrubbed daily). They rarely leave cecos in their x-pen since I reduced their pellets awhile back (thanks to advice from this forum). And they didn't use to leave them in the cage, but in the past couple months or so they have started up again.

 

[VioletRose]

It's hard to tell from this picture, but that looks like fur in the droppings? Do you groom them regularly? They need brushing every day when shedding and every few days or once a week when not.
Apparently left cecos can be a sign that they are getting too much nutrition, that their food is too nutrition 'rich' for them too need to eat the cecos. I only give my bunny a 1/4 cup of pellets, 1/2 a cup is quite a lot, but you could check the weight/pellet ratio online if you google it, will tell you how much per pounds/kilos your rabbit is. Also, rock hard cecos sounds odd, I thought they were really soft. Someone else here may know more about this.

 

[button+banjo]

It's hard to tell from this picture, but that looks like fur in the droppings? Do you groom them regularly? They need brushing every day when shedding and every few days or once a week when not.
Apparently left cecos can be a sign that they are getting too much nutrition, that their food is too nutrition 'rich' for them too need to eat the cecos. I only give my bunny a 1/4 cup of pellets, 1/2 a cup is quite a lot, but you could check the weight/pellet ratio online if you google it, will tell you how much per pounds/kilos your rabbit is. Also, rock hard cecos sounds odd, I thought they were really soft. Someone else here may know more about this.

Yes they are shedding, that is just fur stuck to it. They get 1/2 a cup to share. And sorry, I meant that the cecos dry rock hard (they're soft initially). I have been looking for a good rabbit brush.....I wanted to get the hairbuster comb, but everywhere is sold out of it. Yeah, maybe some of the experts on here can help.

 

[JBun]

How old are they and does either show any signs of soreness or difficulty hopping? Is either overweight or underweight? Does either show any signs of difficulty chewing or any ongoing drooling issues? Do they both eat their hay and pellets well?

If there is no underlying health issue causing it(obesity, arthritis, dental problems), or your buns being overly stressed or distracted by something in their environment , usually uneaten cecotropes are from too rich of a diet. If they both have good body condition/weight, eat their food well, don't have signs of any underlying health issue, and don't have something in their environment stressing/distracting them, I would suspect too rich of a diet as the cause and try reducing their pellets a little to maybe 1/3 cup to share, so they eat more hay and see if that makes a difference. If they get any sugary/starchy treats like fruit, carrots, grains, I would cut those out completely. Usually it is treats or pellets that are going to be the culprit of excess cecals. Be patient, it can sometimes take a few weeks for the digestive system to correct. If it still persists I would consider one of the other causes or further reducing pellet amounts.

I would also keep track of their weight/body condition to make sure they stay at a healthy weight with the reduced pellet amount.

 

[button+banjo]

How old are they and does either show any signs of soreness or difficulty hopping? Is either overweight or underweight? Does either show any signs of difficulty chewing or any ongoing drooling issues? Do they both eat their hay and pellets well?

If there is no underlying health issue causing it(obesity, arthritis, dental problems), or your buns being overly stressed or distracted by something in their environment , usually uneaten cecotropes are from too rich of a diet. If they both have good body condition/weight, eat their food well, don't have signs of any underlying health issue, and don't have something in their environment stressing/distracting them, I would suspect too rich of a diet as the cause and try reducing their pellets a little to maybe 1/3 cup to share, so they eat more hay and see if that makes a difference. If they get any sugary/starchy treats like fruit, carrots, grains, I would cut those out completely. Usually it is treats or pellets that are going to be the culprit of excess cecals. Be patient, it can sometimes take a few weeks for the digestive system to correct. If it still persists I would consider one of the other causes or further reducing pellet amounts.

I would also keep track of their weight/body condition to make sure they stay at a healthy weight with the reduced pellet amount.

They are 2 years old, no signs of difficulty hopping or soreness. They do slip sometimes if they are hopping too fast (the porch and their cage floor are kind of slippery). They definitely aren't underweight, but I'm not sure if they are overweight. I will weigh them tomorrow. They don't show any difficulty eating. They definitely eat their pellets well (they get 1/2 cup to share every evening) and they eat a lot of hay. They don't get any treats (except for a willow ball at Christmas and banana on their birthday).

 

[button+banjo]

I weighed them today - they did not like it and bit me twice They are both over 4 lbs but not 5 lbs. I couldn't get an exact weight because they were jumping around trying to get away.

 

[button+banjo]

@JBun Update: I reduced their pellets to 1/3 cup and they are not happy with me. Since it got hot they have started eating less hay.......you can tell because their droppings have changed from large and golden (when it was still cold) to small and dark...they are just too hot to eat hay all day so spend the day laying by frozen jugs. They are still leaving cecotropes but I *think* the amount has reduced some? But I guess it will take a while for them to adjust before I see a difference....is that correct?

I really wish I could bring them inside.....