Some changes with Mimzy & Fiver

[MimzMum]

I’ve noticed two things lately that I’m wondering about with Mimzy and Fiver:

Mimzy first: he seems to be leaving a lot more pee in his litter box. He’s drinking a decent amount of water each day, plus he gets a leaf or two of green leaf lettuce in the evenings. But I’ve been doing that all winter and I haven’t seen the amount of pee in his box like I have in the last week or so. How can I tell if he’s just increasing his fluids or he has some kind of UTI? He doesn’t take a long time to potty or seem to be straining, he just leaves a big puddle almost every time he goes.

He does seem kind of mopey…but he’s a lop, so they all look perturbed to me. He’ll perk right up if I offer a treat. His hay disappears each day. He makes plenty of bb’s. Everything else except for the moodiness and the pee is normal about him, albeit that he is slowing down a bit at four years old.

Fiver: So he’s had cecal dysbiosis for some time and I’ve been able to minimize it by changing his hay from orchard or 3rd cut timothy to the BB.com blue bunny blend (bluegrass and timothy mix). It’s much more coarse than what he’s been eating, and seems to help ‘dry out’ his insides a bit I think. I also reduced his canned pumpkin to a teaspoon every other day, adding a small squeeze of benebac gel to it to keep his flora going.

I also started putting these new cotton blankets in his habitat so his feet are on something softer, since his heels and toes were getting so red. He does not appear to be chewing on/consuming these. They’re more comfy when paired up with his old mattresses which are getting thin in the cushy department.

Now, instead of having the mushy poopy butt, I’m worried he’s drying out. Not necessarily constipated, but maybe things are moving too slowly now. His bowel movements are better in that the bb’s are drier and more what I think of as normal for a bunny… However, he started making smaller poos today (although plenty of them) and now leaves bb’s all over his blanket instead of in the box. He also doesn’t look like he’s peeing as much as he was before. This leads me to the ‘dried out’ conclusion.

So today I gave him some lettuce also (he hasn’t had any in a long time) and put a bowl of water out instead of just his bottle. He made short work of the lettuce, but only dabbles in the water crock. I’m thinking of bringing back his daily pumpkin again as well. I just don’t see him taking in as much fluid as he was. He also doesn’t lay outstretched like he used to. I see him in bun-loaf position or almost standing most of the time now. Could the hay be so stiff that he’s uncomfortable inside from it? He’s been on it for weeks now, so I don’t know how it would suddenly be causing trouble.

I switched him back to some orchard today, and he eats it right up. In fact the other hay disappears too, just not as quickly.

But he just doesn’t seem himself. Neither does Mimzy. I don’t know if it’s just the season change coming on (light has increased to over 8 hours a day now) or if they’re both ill, or maybe upset that they haven’t been able to see each other as much as before Jenna got here.

I don’t have my bonding setup ready yet…could they both be ‘pining’ for one another? Would it show up in physical symptoms?

Pip is fine, btw..she’s healthy as a horse. Nothing seems to bother her. In fact, she’s started doing the Bunny 500 when the sun starts coming up now (usually only hours after I’ve gotten to sleep.)

I might add that both Mimz and Fiver will respond to me when I address them. They love their head rubs and ear pets (never thought I’d say that about Fiver!)…I just happen to come in and see these other things that concern me in their behavior when they have been undisturbed for awhile. I am certain they all could use the joy of togetherness in their lives (SO want them bonded, just no room for it yet) but for the moment I just want to know if anyone sees anything alarming in these other behaviors.

Thankies!

 

[jerseygirl]

With the seasonal and daylight changes, could they both be coming into a shed? That might contribute to some change in mood.

With Fivers fecal droppings, if they’re round and dry I wouldn’t thing you need worry. Could you entice him to drink more by offering some very dilute apple juice? See if that makes a difference. With Jersey she always had darkish poops but now that she eats the hay pellet cube things and is getting adequete fibre, she has bigger, round and dry looking fecal poops. I had thought maybe too dry or undigested but on viewing TimTims, his are same and he seem to eat hay. Jersey also is producing a lot, I think with the higher fibre they pump them out quicker. Could that be why you’re seeing the everywhere in his cage?

Mimzy’s peeing; I remember one time you reported he protested to you giving a new litterbox. Could he be now protesting to an old one, or would he be just as bad were you to give him a new one? Could you try a slightly bigger one even?

[Sarita]

Honestly this sound like normal rabbit behavior.

I have to tell you that my rabbits rarely if ever drink any water – you may want to worry if they start consuming more water than usual. But indoor rabbits just don’t tend to drink alot of water. That is normal.

Are you thinking dehydrated when you say dry out because I’m not totally understanding what you mean. I think you need to keep him on the hay that he likes and will eat. I don’t think either that rabbits get constipated – that’s not really a condition that a rabbit would have since they have a different digestive system – they may get sluggish motility and that would be due to a possible improper diet, obesity, medical problems, etc…

[MimzMum]

So a rabbit can’t have TOO much fiber, is what you’re saying? I mean, to the point that he’s so full of hay that it slows down his entire digestive tract? I was thinking he might have a lot of hay in his belly and intestines and the water would only swell it and make it uncomfortable for him to pass. But that doesn’t happen in rabbits, then?
Perhaps if he is having trouble chewing a larger/sharper piece may have gone down and be causing his discomfort?
I’m trying to base it off how he was the last time I put him on a more fibrous hay. He was eating mature oat for a while to see if we couldn’t get the cecals looking more normal, and that’s when he had his last gas/stasis episode. It’s like the hay was just too stalky for him to digest properly.

I’m continuing Fiver’s problem in Q&A. He may be going in today since he ate nothing overnight.
Mimzy however, peed all over his habitat, giving me something else to clean up this busy morning. The lax in both their litter habits is becoming a concern.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I wouldn’t worry to much about the extre pee. Bindi used to worry me; going back and forth between peeing normal and peeing a lot. I don’t worry about it anymore. As long as he is not showing any other signs. I think it has to do with what they eat as well. Dryer hay probably absorbs some water while giving lots of wet veggies will probably make them pee more.

[Michelle&Lolli]

.but he’s a lop, so they all look perturbed to me.

Eddie always looked grumpy to me too! And he would quit doing binkies as soon as I said anything about them, like he didn’t want me to know he was happy. LOL Lolli doesn’t care. Binkies all over the place when the mood strikes her.

And I never saw either one drink any water really until I was on medical leave for my neck surgery and was up late at night. They apparently drank the most at night. I had my friend and her rabbit living with me and it was seriously a symphony of water bottles. LOL Now Lolli will get like sips of water during the day, but late at night is when she really guzzles. Like anytime between 11pm to 3am. When I was working, I was naturally in bed by 11. Well, right on time – 1:10 as I’m typing this and Lolli’s sucking down the water! LOL

So my point is that perhaps Mimzy’s drinking more water at night or some other time when you’re not around. ????

[lashkay]

I’m using Kleenmama’s 3RD cut timothy hay – it’s soft and the rabbits love it. High in fiber, green, fragrant and not stalky like oat hay, if that’s a concern of yours. Kleenmamashayloft.com I got it because it was recommended for rabbits who are very picky about their hay, as a source to tempt the pickiest of eaters. GOOD HEALTH VIBES TO YOUR BUNNIES

[MimzMum]

Thanks Lash! Yeah, I was getting their hay, but this year’s crop didn’t turn out so well, so I wound up having to toss it. Hopefully this year’s is better. I just get Kaytee Orchard grass for the buns now since they seem to all want the softer stuff once in awhile.
Well I cut out the lettuce to every other nite and I think I see a difference. He really was drinking an awful lot there for awhile though. No idea why. Except for that snotty nose of his, he seems normal. :-/
Of course now he doesn’t seem to empty the water bottle a lot and the house temps are higher (bunny room is in the low 80’s today) because the windows have frozen shut in the -40 F weather, so no drafts. >.< You'd think he would be stuck to the sippy bottle all day. Bunnies make NO sense!

[lashkay]

Really? The batch I got last week from Kleenmama’s is soft, very aromatic and seems to be to the bunnies’ liking. Maybe I don’t know what to look for and this batch is poor too, I wouldn’t know. I hope you can get satisfaction on your bad shipment. for the prices that one pays. I hope you at least brought the issue to Kleenmams’s attention. i’m sure they want to stand behind the quality of their product even if they can’t replace it and they should hear back reports when a crop seems defective.

[Sarita]

The last batches I’ve seen of KMS are very nice – they use them at the guinea pig rescue and it looks nice to me.

[MimzMum]

Actually, this was last year’s batch, sorry I didn’t realize my typo…the bad one was the one I had to throw away back in November. They had explained it was not the best, but most of it could be salvaged, and I did try, but it was too far gone by the time it got here. Not their fault and I know they have some lovely hays and the buns enjoyed them. I haven’t ordered any more from them currently, so I haven’t seen the new crop. I just can’t manage their shipping costs to Alaska now. It’s a bummer, but we’re making do.
If I ever move to Washington though, they’ll find me at their doorstep quite often!

[Author]

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