Very worried about antibiotic enterotoxemia- urgent!

[lynne2809]

Hey everyone. I posted a few weeks ago with a question about my rabbit’s exposure to dangerous antibiotics. My cat has a bad ear infection and has been taking liquid Clavamox and Clindamycin twice a day for the past 2 weeks. I was very worried about my rabbit’s exposure to the antibiotics since I was handling them twice a day and I know that those two antibiotics are very dangerous for rabbits. My rabbit has been totally fine, but I just noticed that there was some very mushy stool in his litter box. It was very wet, dark, and mushy. He is acting fine and eating normally. Do you think he could be developing enterotoxemia from the antibiotics if there was some leftover on my hands or clothing after giving them to my cat or is it probably just coincidental? I am very worried about him

 

[JBun]

Is he producing normal round fecal balls still? Have you fed anything new lately, or do you feed any high carb/sugary treats like carrot, fruit, grains, etc?

 

[lynne2809]

Is he producing normal round fecal balls still? Have you fed anything new lately, or do you feed any high carb/sugary treats like carrot, fruit, grains, etc?

He had normal round fecal balls around 2 pm and then just mushy, wet stool around 3:30. They were still round, but not formed very well. Since I posted this he is acting completely normal, eating great, and pooped three times and the poops were normal. I haven’t changed his diet at all recently or given him anything new. I’m thinking that maybe it was just a fluke and has nothing to do with the antibiotics that I’m giving my cat? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I assume they would need a decent amount of an antibiotic like Clavamox or Clindamycin for it to cause enterotoxemia, not just some extra on my hands after giving it to my cat? I also assume that since he’s fine now, it’s probably not enterotoxemia?

 

[JBun]

I would presume that as well. As long as there are normal round fecal balls, the mushy stool could be mushy cecotropes, which most commonly would occur with some sort of diet issue or food sensitivity. But these are only guesses. I can't say for sure that this is what's going on, or that nothing more serious is. If you're at all concerned, it's best to talk to your rabbit vet about your concerns. And certainly at the first sign of lack of or reduced appetite, lethargy, signs of pain, and/or no normal fecal balls being produced, contact your vet immediately as a possible emergency.