Poop issues when stressed out?

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This topic has 8sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 3 months ago by Ali925.

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- 06/13/2010 at 1:19 PM
  Ali925
  Participant
  544 posts
  I left my bunnies overnight (left yesterday at 2pm, and returned home this morning at 9am), and I’ve done this before. However, I noticed last time, it definitely stressed out one of my bunnies (more-so than the other). She normally has excellent litterbox and eating habits (except when she’s sick), and today she’s been totally off with her pooping, obviously the first sign to be concerned.
  
  She’s eating fine, but she’s also off a little since she didn’t get her normal scheduled meals for the time I was away. After I got home, I let her out around the house and I must have scared her when I came around the corner while she was running around she sprinted off to her pen leaving a trail of mushy poop. She has NEVER pooped outside of her area, never. So this was clearly odd to me…and on top of that, it was mushy and smelly. I know she is very easily scared for whatever reason, so I think it could have just been bc she got freaked out.
  
  However, I have already had to pick up some messy/sticky (some cecotrope looking, some just mushy) poops a couple times since then in her area as well, not in the litterbox. And like I said, it smells pretty bad and she actually smells too…a skunky smell that she used to have before she was spayed. She never smells. I know this could be sign of infection or sickness of some sort. But it’s only been a short time this has been going on and only since I’ve been home this morning, so I’m hoping it’s just a result of being stressed out from the change in routine? (me leaving and not getting her regular meals). Of course my other bunny (boys are always more laid back!) is doing completely fine.
  
  I know I can give it some time to see if she comes around, as long as she’s eating, but I just wanted to see if anyone with extra-nervous/easily stressed bunnies see issues with their poop if they get any change to their routine??
  
  Thanks in advance.
  
  ~Ali
- 06/14/2010 at 2:04 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Stress can affect the GI of a rabbit. Rabbits as prey animals experience stress and all its effects very quickly. As a stress response they may even leave a stench, to let others know something is up.
  How is she now?
- 06/14/2010 at 5:31 PM
  Ali925
  Participant
  544 posts
  Thanks Petzy…she’s totally normal now. I got home around 9 am and she was pretty much back to normal by dinnertime…that’s why I figured it was stress-related. She is so easily set off… her bout with gi stasis about a month ago was pretty much stress induced and perhaps due to heat stress as well. I have to watch her so carefully! Maybe females are more easily affected…like us humans….
  
  Now it makes me worried about leaving overnight since we don’t have someone to feed them if we’re only gone for a short time. So the past few times I gave her a few extra pellets and an early dinner and it seems like it was too many pellets for her and she had some extra cecals for a day…but now I’m thinking it wasn’t so much just the pellets but the stress of being “off”. This time because of that, I didn’t give extra pellets, just the extra greens and lots of hay…seems like she almost devoured all her hay so she may have felt like she was never going to eat again! So now when I do have to be gone, I expect her to be a little out of the norm for a bit.
  
  Thanks!
- 06/15/2010 at 7:35 AM
  Deleted User
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  22064 posts
  It is better that you give more hay than extra pellets. She may adjust over time to your being gone overnight sometimes. Is she an only rabbit?
- 06/15/2010 at 7:46 AM
  Ali925
  Participant
  544 posts
  That’s what I figured too…and I know she doesn’t tolerate extra pellets well … she used to have extra cecotropes all the time and I narrowed it down to pellet amount once they disappeared upon reducing her pellets… She gets a little less than 1/4 c a day, just a side note.
  
  I hope she can adjust…and I don’t think it’s that I’m so special, I think it’s just the odd feeding times and darkness all night…perhaps. We left her with a pet sitter once and she did wonderfully (this only 2 days though).
  
  No, I also have Blu, he’s a 4 month old boy who seems to be bothered by nothing compared to her lol. But they aren’t bonded yet, I believe you gave me advice a week or so ago on bonding the two…
  
  They are in separate cage/pen areas with about 1 ft or so between them. Would the presence although they’re not bonded, help with loneliness?
- 06/15/2010 at 7:51 AM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  I think it would. Just make sure there is no escaping and enough space between the enclosures so nobunny can inflict a bite through the bars.
- 06/15/2010 at 7:57 AM
  Ali925
  Participant
  544 posts
  They’ve been very good about staying where they belong and I know the space is large enough apart so they can’t reach each other. They’ve been housed this way for almost 3 months, and I don’t see any aggression in either of them.
- 06/16/2010 at 4:56 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  I agree that the extra pellets is not the way to go. Just really load up on the hay in particular. Also, make sure she has enough water. Maybe if she has a crock, have a backup bottle or vice versa. Or a second smaller crock in case her main one gets dirty.
  
  You can also try leaving a radio on softly tuned to a mellow, new age music station to soothe her. Or a gentle cd playing, as long as it won’t be a fire hazard to leave it running overnight.
- 06/16/2010 at 5:03 AM
  Ali925
  Participant
  544 posts
  Thanks rabbitpam,
  
  I agree as well…I never try to overdo the pellets. Oh and I always give an extra crock of water, though she seems to be neat with it about 99% of the time. Good idea with the music! I almost think a dull light might help too…
  
  And this time I didn’t give extra pellets at all and still saw some pooping issues – worse than I’ve seen after leaving for a night. So that’s why I think it’s all stress-related.
  
  She had plenty of hay and seemed to have eaten a large portion of it…(I could see a larger than usual hole of where her head dug into the BB hay rack lol…she loves digging at the bottom for the preferred pieces) And actually even Blu had some extra cecals but his wasn’t as obvious as hers was and disappeared quickly.
  
  She is just such a nervous bun…gets freaked out VERY easily. I can’t even cough when I am sitting close to her… I guess she’ll always be more sensitive to everything.
  
  Thanks again!
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