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FORUM HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Worrying behavior?

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    • Clem&M
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        I’m new to rabbits and these are my first 2 little girls, I’d say they’re about 3 months and so.
        Yesterday I cleaned up the rabbit room and made more room for them to run around and play, since we have ratter dogs and I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to keep them safe outside of their own room; I used a bag of dog food to block them from going behind some furniture and it seemed to work and they didn’t care for it. Well this morning when I check on them I come to see that Maggie was out of her cage and had chewed a hole through the bag and eating kibble. I can’t say for sure how long she was out or how much she’s eaten but since then she’s acting different, my other rabbit that shares the cage seems perfectly fine otherwise, she was in the cage.
        When letting them out Clementine was the same as always, but Maggie wasn’t too interested in going out and was just laying in her cage, she then decided to come out but was hiding in her box tunnels rather than being her normal bunzilla self. They both still eat their pellets but not with as much interest, and in their litter box their poop is about half the usual size and hard.
        I know different behavior is bad in rabbits but it’s still not at the point where it seems like an emergency, lately they’ve been having a lot of cecals too on top of that, not so much today after eating dog food. 
        Should I just keep a close eye on them for now? If so what other behaviors should I be looking for to decide when to go to the vet? I’m sort of on a budget now after buying them oxbow pellets and hay, so I’d like the vet to be a last option.


      • Bam
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          Keep a close eye and make sure they drink. Hydration is important. The dog kibble is sth completely new for their tums to deal with, and at three months, they don’t have a fully developed gastrointestinal microbiota.

          Hay and water are the best things. If they stop eating and/or pooping altogether, it’s a vet emergency.

          If you have baby gas drops (sinethicone) you can give them some, in case they have gas. Rabbits can get gas from new food, and it’s very painful for them if the gas can’t escape.


        • Clem&M
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            I’ve been watching them, Maggie has been picking at some pellets, she’s not really moving her nose much right now while laying down and she looks like she’s squinting a bit, I haven’t seen her drink water today but so far Clem has been drinking a lot of water and more active. I don’t have any of that to help with the gas, are there any herbs or veggies I can offer to help instead? So far I’ve given them some peppermint leaves to help for any tummy problems. The stuff I have access to are parsley, dill, sage, thyme, basil, raspberry leaves, black berry leaves, celery leaves and rosemary.


          • Bam
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              I didn’t know if you’d started greens yet Mint is as you know traditionally used for tummy trouble, and so is dill. All the greens you mention are good for buns. Serve them freshly rinsed and dripping wet, that’s a really god way to get extra fluids into a bun.

              Moving around is good if there’s gas. A very very light tummy massage like in this excellent video with Mary S Cotter might also help:
              https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LbyC6CWbm5M


            • Clem&M
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                Thanks, I’ll try it. As an update I’ve been watching them in their room for about an hour straight now, I left to attend something else and when I came back I saw Maggie moving her food bowl and it was covering something that resembles a giant cecal. Here’s a pic of its sizes along with a very tired looking girl.
                http://imgur.com/a/RKWrp

                It stunk up the entire room.


              • Bam
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                  Yep, giant pile of sticky poop. As long as there are round normal poops as well and no runny/mucos-y poop, this is normal considering she’s been eating dog kibble.


                • Clem&M
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                    Thanks for all the help, after getting rid of that huge poo she seems to have felt a lot better and today she’s back to her old self. 


                  • Malia
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                      Wow that was a lot to come out of that little bunny. No wonder she’s feeling better!


                    • Bam
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                        I’m glad to hear it What an ordeal, for all of you!

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                    FORUM HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Worrying behavior?