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Forum DIET & CARE Dini can’t eat pellets?

  • This topic has 12sd replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Sonn.
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    • Sonn
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         Ok Dini is estimated at around 8-9 or so weeks now and the vet thinks he was taken from mom way way too early which is causing his tummy issues. He has been on mostly a hay diet since I have had him he goes through about 3lbs a week yeah that much! Recently we have went from hay and 10 pellets to hay and 15 pellets and the mushy cecals are back. 

         So back to hay only for the last week mushy cecals are still there just not as many but now he is losing weight which is scary because he is so small already. He has another vet appt. tomorrow. 

         I am not versed in the sick bunny area or the too young area so this is all a new and frightening place for me. His poops are a little lighter in color than Pacey’s but well formed all the same size and lots of them. But every morning I wake up to a mushy cecal always in the same area and I usually find one at night before I go to bed. Before he was producing up to 10 a day and now 2. 

         So looking for opinions here since he has a vet appt. tomorrow. Could being taken from mom too early be the culprit here? All his blood and fecal work came back clear and normal. His only medical problem which doesn’t really affect him is his back legs are slightly splayed it makes him hop a little funny and he crawls more than hops but he gets around great and can jumps extremely high. 

        The mushy cecals make a really gooey mess on his booty and feet since he hops straight through them not fun to clean off a long haired rabbit at all. 

        I am mostly worried that he isn’t getting enough nutrients and vitamins since he is only eating hay 90% of the time. 


      • Sonn
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          Well Dini’s appt was pushed back a week so I am going to feed him hay only until then.


        • jerseygirl
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            Are you trying an alfalfa pellet? If so, maybe try a timothy based one and see how he does. What type of hay is he eating?
            I found that TimTim produced alot of cecals too initially but it reduced. I think that was because of getting his diet right but I wonder if it’s a normal thing when they’re coming onto a new diet? The alfalfa hay was what made him produce too much, but he’s ok on alfalfa pellets though he doesn’t eat a ton, he prefers hay. Others have found the it to be the other way round, pellets being the culprit.

            Ask the vet if you can give rolled oats. They might help him gain weight but they also help firm up the poops. He might do well with some probiotic support also, like bene-bac.


          • Sonn
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              We started out with alfalfa pellets but that is when he was producing 10 or more a day. Then switched over to timothy and it reduced some but not a lot so it was to a timothy hay only diet for a week and the cecals went to normal. So the vet told me to give him 10 pellets to start out with we did that and nothing strange happened so it went to 15 and the mushy cecals are back. He cannot eat alfalfa hay at all it gives him a lot of tummy problems.

              So now he is on the hay only again until I get back to the vet. I actually picked up some bene-bac today and will give the vet a call about the oats.

              Mashed up cecals are not fun to clean that is for sure!


            • MimzMum
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                His splayed legs may be partly to blame for the messy bum, he might not be able to reach the cecals before sitting on them or stepping in them. I know that Pip, once her nails are too long, she begins to hold her legs sideways in the litterbox and she’ll have some staining on her underfur until I get the nails clipped. Then no more problems.

                Fiver cannot eat pellets of any kind. They all give him mushy poos. It sometimes takes a few days for this condition to go away if they’re not on medication. Even with his 10 days of metronidazole a few weeks ago, once he was off it he had recurrence and the only way I could get it under control was to restrict all treats, no veggies and feed him 1st or 2nd cut timothy. This makes him pretty uncomfortable with all that fiber giong through, so I alternate with orchard. Then he does okay.
                Alfalfa is a fattening hay. It’s a bit rich for a developed bunnies’ system, but Dini is still wee, yes? 8 or 9 weeks, that’s about 3 months? I don’t know when a bunny is considered ‘mature’.
                I would expect too that once you take away the high calorie stuff you’re going to see a bit of weight loss.
                Benebac works well for some, not so much for others. I think the key is to keep the gut balance just so in some bunnies. Fiver appears to be one of those that the least little thing will upset. I hope this is not the case with Dini. He reminds me of my Griffy cat too, when we got him he was too young to be away from his mama and they’d already started him on dry food. His back legs were not straight and bent as if he was too heavy for them. I had to put him on KMR for awhile to get his nutrients up to snuff so he could stand straight. Dini may well be missing something that he should’ve gotten from his mum.
                (((((((((((((((((((((((((((many healing vibes for the wee smushy bumba)))))))))))))))))))))))))


              • jerseygirl
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                  There are other forms of probiotics. I wonder if some of the powder versions might be better? (Like for Fiver). I think criticare has some in it also. I’m sort of undecided on the probiotic thing because I’m unsure how the good bacteria is present in these forms or even survives the stomach acids. That said though, I think they’re worth a try. Many rabbit savvy people seem to promote there use.

                  Pellets can be problematic because of the ingredient other then the hay base in my opinion. Like some have linseed (more show rabbit formulas) that make the fur more shiny but I think it can cause messy poop and cause shedding also if too much. It could be some rabbits are sensitive to just one ingredient and therefore all pellets are a no-go. Makes it hard to find and alternative feed.


                • Sarita
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                    Well the problem is you don’t know what his mom was fed – I suspect she wasn’t fed well and neither were the babies and the babies were taken away too soon. Benebac certainly won’t hurt but there is no proof it will help since the enzymes found in probiotics are not found in a rabbit’s cecum.

                    I say don’t make so many changes in his diet and keep it simple and keep it consistent.


                  • Sonn
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                      The vet suggested the Bene-bac so we are going to give it a try I am not sure if it will work though. If he was older I would have no problem not feeding pellets. Pacey is on an almost no pellet diet he gets 1/2 a teaspoon just because he likes them.

                      I have to order all of my rabbit food the only foods sold in my area are Rabbit Chow and Manna Pro both alfalfa based pellets neither of which Pacey can tolerate and Dini doesn’t seem to be able to tolerate anything alfalfa based.

                      Based on the condition Dini came to me in I doubt the mama rabbit was fed well.

                      For now we are going the hay only route until it clears up again.


                    • MimzMum
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                        That seems to be the best way for Fiver. Powdered, tubes or even the syringe probiotic that the vet gives out (that nasty green one…ewww) don’t seem to help him at all and in fact just made everything worse. I only give Fiver the blue bunny hay from BB.com now and that seems to be the magic nom.
                        But even a first or second cut timothy has the ability to firm him up enough and make his cecals more interesting to him.
                        If we vary from the straight hay even a little, we’re back to having poopy butt. I can’t tell you how sad it makes me to have to deny that sweet face any greens or treats.
                        It’ll take a while, but Sarita’s advice is spot on. Consistency is key.


                      • Sonn
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                          So far the hay only has been working no more mushy cecals he has a vet appt Monday morning.

                          He is currently shedding I really didn’t know a rabbit could lose that much hair lol I picked him up and I was suddenly covered even though he is brushed every other day. Even the shedding champ Pacey doesn’t shed that much! He has a nice little bald spot on his face the hair is coming back in on that spot but he is still weird looking lol.

                          I am feeding second cut timothy hay to Dini any other hay seems to disrupt everything so we are sticking with this. Hopefully the vet has some suggestions as far as actual food goes lol. But he is a good hay eater so that is a plus.


                        • Beka27
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                            Did he have a sani-shave already? If not, maybe see about getting that done on monday? At least until you can figure these issues out, cleaning could be easier!


                          • BinkyBunny
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                               What did the vet say about the splayed back legs?  There are some things that may be able to be done (non-surgically), especially at this young age that may help correct that.  If your vet hasn’t mentioned it, talk to him about this and see what s/he says. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/splayleg.html  

                               
                              I’ve seen this technique work but I am not sure though, age-wise, when it’s too late to use this. 


                            • Sonn
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                                He doesn’t have a sani-shave but it would make things easier to clean.

                                The vet hasn’t mentioned his legs other than they are slightly splayed I will show her the page. It does hinder his hoping some he more crawls than hops most of the time.

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                            Forum DIET & CARE Dini can’t eat pellets?