The veterinarian is describing megacolon:

I do not have personal experience, but information on diet modifications and interventions can be found here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Megacolon

I had a foster who had this condition (or at least was suspected to). Same markings, same symptoms, same age of onset. 🙁 I’ve very sorry for what you are going through, it’s very stressful. 🙁

The condition is referred to as either megacolon or cowpile syndrome. Bunnies who have it tend to have difficulty keeping weight on, so some owners find they do best with free-choice pellets. My foster was on daily cisapride to prevent stasis. Lactulose is also a common treatment to keep the gut mass hydrated. My vet also had me do “poop shakes”, as your vet suggested.

There are members here who have had buns with this condition (or variations of it) in the past, and usually they are able to do some trial and error to find a care routine that works for their bun. Many people supplement with daily critical care or critical care “cookies”. Unfortunately there isn’t a cure for the condition, but with changes in diet symptoms can be managed, depending on the severity.

This article has a lot of great info (but sorry the formatting is a little outdated):

https://www.vgr1.com/megacolon/

If you search the past forum posts for “megacolon” or “cow pile syndrome” you will find some posts from past members that may also have some helpful info.

I don’t want to overwhelm you, but happy to answer any more questions you have.

Free choice pellets means having pellets available at all times.

I had some Megacolon rat babies born when one of my females escaped and bred with the wrong male.  Genetically, I never would have paired those two, it is also sometimes refered to as “high white” and is an issue with many species.  Unfortunately,  those babies had to be euthanized.😢

But, since your bun is past weaning age, it can be managed.

Hugs to your sweet bunny!

It is possible that it could be coccidea, so it’s good that you are treating for it. Many (most probably) rabbits carry the parasite and don’t show symptoms (especially if they are adult). Sometimes a stressful event can trigger symptoms and require treatment. Since she has some symptoms and tested positive it’s good that you are treating for it. If that is the cause, her poops should go back to normal once her treatment is completed.

Coccidea causes rapid weight loss, diarrhea, and lethargy. It tends to be very dangerous for young rabbits, but many adult rabbits end up as asymptomatic carriers.

My bun had cecal dysbiosis, his poops were all really soft and misshapen. All of his issues apparently started right when I started fostering him, possibly due to the stress of the change in home (he had been in the shelter for 3-4 years). I tried to get info on his history from the shelter but he had just been transferred, and they claimed that “his poops had been normal before”, which I suspect wasn’t 100% true.  He would also pass a lot of mucous after an episode of gas and stasis. Basically the cecal material was mixed with regular poops and would just be these gross big splats.

At the time it was all happening, I journaled his issues here (it’s quite the saga): https://binkybunny.com/forums/topic/pippens-gi-stasis-cecal-dysbiosis-maybe-dysautonomiaaeaeae/

And yes, “free choice” means the pellets are available all the time. There is a bit more info on this in that article I linked. There are some brands that are formulated to be fed this way, or people will just use their usual pellets. With two bunnies, it may be a bit tricky, but you could possible separate them briefly a few times a day to allow her to eat some extra pellets.

Of course discuss all of this with your vet as well! The fact that your vet knows about megacolon (even if they didn’t use the name) is a good sign, as it’s somewhat on the cutting edge of rabbit medicine.

Sorry Sweetie is still losing muscle, unfortunately that is one of the hallmarks of megacolon. 🙁

Have you tried giving critical care without the soy protein added in? Maybe it’s the added protein that’s upsetting her stomach? You could also ask your vet about feeding extra alfalfa or switching to a young rabbit pellet. I’ve also seen megacolon bun owners make “critical care cookies” for their buns to help them eat even more (I think there is a recipe in that link I originally posted). Hopefully getting him on cisapride will help with the gas episodes and the large poops.

I wish I knew what to do to help with the mucousy poops. With Pippen I was doing bum baths once or twice a week, and cleaning his box anytime I noticed any gross poops in it to try to keep them from sticking to him. You may be able to use cornstarch to comb some of it out of his fur without doing a full bum bath, depending on how bad it is.

Pippen went into “sanctuary” foster care and unfortunately did pass away eventually, but I don’t know the exact timing on that. It wasn’t immediate, but I think within 6 months to a year after I had him.   I think the shelter lead didn’t tell me right when it happened because she knew I had grown really attached to him. 🙁

I agree that talking about alfalfa-based pellets or hay can be a strategy for weight gain.

This year, San Diego HRS’ Bunnyfest had a presentation on megacolon in rabbits (which is where I got the powerpoint slide from above). While the session recording is no longer available, I’ve uploaded the powerpoint here for you to download and look over– it may be very informative moving forward, and was presented by Dr. Sari Kanfer (who maybe you could e-mail for consultation? May not hurt to try?): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gqWz3avXufNInMLbyxITthE6gj13qc-c/view?usp=sharing

So sorry for your loss.  You’re an awesome bunny mom and Junior and Honey are lucky to have you.

I’m so sorry for your loss.  🙁  Thank you for the update, even though it’s a sad one.

I’m glad to hear that Junior is doing OK and he has a new friend. <3