So, I’m a little confused. Were the uneaten cecals when he was on hay-only? Or when you reintroduced pellets? Or when you introduced the treats?

If they were on hay-only, then I don’t think they are excess, he probably just was having a hard time reaching them. If they were when you reintroduced pellets after him being on hay only, they may have just been temporarily excess. Or the treats could have triggered some excess.

I have a senior too, and I do notice he has some uneaten cecals when I give him even 1 extra treat. He is a bit arthritic so I can’t fully tell if they are just ones he missed, but usually he eats them without much issue. It does seem like seniors start to get a more sensitive tummy.

Seniors can also have some trouble keeping weight on though, so if his weight and muscle tone have been stable with his current pellet ration, I wouldn’t reduce it too much. 1/4 cup is a bit on the high end, depending on how big he is though, so you may be able to reduce his pellets a bit.

Is he a larger or smaller breed? If he’s starting to show a lot of signs of arthritis, your vet might prescribe daily metacam.

Ok thanks! That’s helpful. I think given he wasn’t getting pellets when you noticed the cecals, it’s prob more stress related. Perhaps traveling made him a bit more sore?

But with his size a 1/8 cup of pellets is probably fine. You could monitor his weight to make sure.

I am also leaning towards not actually reducing pellets and considering some veterinary assessment/recommendations for treating potential arthritic pain which prevents him from eating his cecotropes. As @DanaNM mentions, reducing pellets can be a concern for elderly rabbits — in fact, some owners find it most medically needed to switch to a more alfalfa-based diet in the later years because their rabbit is having difficulty maintaining weight.

While I don’t think this is excess cecotrope production, note that producing excessive cecals is not inherently a bad thing — if your rabbit doesn’t have the need for the additional nutrients, then that’s that. We just clean up the cecotropes. It’s a common occurrence for younger rabbits on alfalfa-only diets. Unless there’s additional signs in the urine/normal poop suggesting an unhealthy imbalance of nutrient intake, I wouldn’t stress too much (though obviously it sometimes makes a mess. See here for safe cleaning methods: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bathing_rabbits )