IS MY BUNNY OKAY?

[Bunny-Mom-Haley]

Last night I gave my 2 month old bunny some cilantro for the first time (she’s had veggies before) and this morning I found a few fecal pellets that were really mushy, moist and that would crumble if I touched them and and 1 that was really long like 2 were stuck together. I also saw some brown/ dark orange pee and lately i’ve seen a few fecal pellets here and there that are really small (but not hard). Is she okay?

[Luna]

You said she’s had veggies before, but at 2 months old it might still be too early for her. Maybe wait another month? At her age, I would make sure she has unlimited hay and pellets. When you do give her veggies, I would give her a tiny bit at a time so that her digestive system can adjust to the change. Rabbit urine comes in several colors, so rust/orange is ok – I would only be concerned if there was blood. Just make sure she has plenty of water, and keep checking to make sure she continues to go to the bathroom. If you see any additional oblong or weird shaped stuck-together fecal pellets, there might be an issue.

[cinnybun2015]

I’d say hold off on the veggies until she’s about 6 months. I think she’s okay, just her tummy’s probably not used to the new food!

[Bam]

As Luna says, you can wait another month before you give her greens -very young buns can have some difficulty digesting greens. It’s because their gastrointestinal flora hasn’t yet developped fully. Hay is the best thing for the microorganisms in the tummy and pellets provide the young bun with the protein and vitamins etc it needs to grow.

This said, it’s quite common that young buns get a bit of sticky poop, the type of poop you’re describing. It’s not a medical emergency and shouldn’t be confused with diarrhea. Diarrhea is very runny, watery poop often mixed with mucus. There are no round poops at all. It as a rule caused by either a parasite or bad bacteria.

It’s of course great that you’re keeping such a close eye on your buns poop, because bunny poop can tell you quite a lot about your bun’s health

[Bunny-Mom-Haley]

Thank you all so much!! The woman I got her from said that she has been eating some veggies so I just kept giving her those, but I will hold off for a few more weeks and see what happens. 

[Bunny-Mom-Haley]

I found another oblong fecal pellet this morning in her litter box and a few really tiny ones, along with tons of normal sized pellets. Should I be take her to the vet?

[Mikey]

If your gut says take her to the vet, then i would take her to the vet. Does she have any normal poops at all, or just these weird ones? If she has a mix of normal poops and these weird ones, are the weird ones perhaps her cecals? You would still want to know why shes not eating them

[Bunny-Mom-Haley]

She mainly has normal poops and I’ve only noticed 1 oblong poop this morning and one yesterday morning (so I think they only happen at night.) I have also noticed a some really small pellets when i clean her litter box in the morning but they aren’t hard, just super tiny. I haven’t seen any of her cecals so I’m not sure if they are those or just oblong cecal poop. She has also been eating more pellets than usual. This is a picture of her normal pellets from this morning and the 3 on the bottom are the weird ones I found today:

http://imgur.com/a/MPrEI

[Bam]

The poop doesn’t look bad to me. Oblong poops indicate a slight gut slowdown, but that could be if she’s been eating more pellets and less hay lately.

All poop on the pic look like cecals, not cecals (cecotropes). They could still happen at night because she moves around less during the night (exercise helps the intestines move).

[Mikey]

Ah ok, likely not cecals. I agree with Bam that it could be because she has been eating more pellets than normal

[Bunny-Mom-Haley]

I called a local rabbit-savvy vet and he said that I should cut out her pellets and just feed her veggies and hay. I’m going to try this and see what happens! Thanks for all of the help!!!

[Bam]

Keep a close eye on her if you cut out all pellets, some bunnies don’t eat enough hay if you cut out pellets. They’re not like dogs, dogs can go without eating for days, rabbits must eat every 6 hours or they can go into gastro-intestinal stasis.

It’s less risky to cut back on pellets gradually instead of cutting them out entirely. But I don’t want to contradict your vet, none of us here are vets. If your bun happily eats her hay and her poop stay big, then all is good, but bunnies actually can have difficulties digesting hay if they’re not used to eating a lot of hay. So keep a very a close eye!

[Bunny-Mom-Haley]

I gave her a little bit of pellets today (just in case) and she ate them right up. Her poop has returned to be pretty normal, except there are still a few small pellets. I have noticed that she has been laying down a lot more and I think I just heard her grinding her teeth so I’m worried that she could be in a lot of pain. She has been eating lots of hay today and some veggies and has been pooping. Any advice?

[Bam]

Tooth-grinding in a bunny that has a good appetite is more likely to be contentment than pain. Esp young rabbits can lie down and tooth-grind when they are very relaxed and feel very well. That type of teeth grinding is called a “tooth purr”. Sometimes it’s so soft you can’t hear it, but you can feel it in your fingers like a vibration when you touch the bun’s head.

Tooth grinding that signifies pain is a choppy, chattering sound and the bunny tends to look very uncomfortable. A bunny ion that much pain is rarely interested in food, not even in the yummiest treat.

[Author]

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