Poops are hard/dry but no changes in diet???

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 17sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 1 month ago by henry2809.

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- 01/11/2022 at 6:28 PM
  henry2809
  Participant
  160 posts
  Hi everyone! Recently my 2 year old male lionhead’s poops have been a little strange (maybe I’m just overthinking it). Nothing has changed in his diet. He gets 1.5 tablespoons of Oxbow Timothy hay pellets in the morning and about 2 tablespoons in the evening with unlimited access to Timothy hay and water with a few small pieces of Oxbow Simple Rewards treats per day. He is playing, binkying, eating, drinking, etc. all normally, but his poops have been a bit dry and hard with some smaller poops mixed in. Usually they are a much darker brown color and they are a bit larger and more uniform in size and shape. He did just finish molting and I have been brushing him, but he’s almost finished molting, so I’m not sure if that is causing it. Should I be alarmed or not since he is totally fine otherwise? He had his annual exam and his first RHDV vaccine a few weeks ago and he is due for his next RHDV booster in 2 days so I just want to make sure that giving him the vaccine won’t cause him to go into stasis. Do these poops look okay? Am I just overthinking?
- 01/11/2022 at 6:30 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17225 posts
  I wouldn’t worry. If your bunny is still eating plenty of hay, then he’s probably just a little dehydrated or is still feeling the effects of the molt. Stress can also cause small poops.
  - 01/11/2022 at 6:58 PM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    Thank you! He’s totally normal otherwise, so I hope they go back to normal soon.
  - 01/11/2022 at 7:01 PM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    He is pooping regularly, they’re just those small dry ones. I really hope they go back to normal soon. I’m sitting with him and he’s eating pellets and hay and drinking tons of water- peeing normally and pooping (just the small dry ones). He is super alert and energetic as usual, so I’m really not sure why the poops are like this. I’m hoping that it’s just because he’s finishing up his molt and they will go back to normal soon. I gave him a good brush with my Hair Buster comb this morning and I got a good handful of hair off of him, but it’s more around his sides and tail area now as he has shed out most of the hair on the top of his back.
- 01/11/2022 at 7:58 PM
  henry2809
  Participant
  160 posts
  I just gave him another good brush and got another decently sized handful of fur off of him. He doesn’t LOOK like he’s shedding anymore, but I think it’s all coming from the lower layers of his coat, so it’s not visible until you actually start brushing. Do you think there’s anything else that I should be doing? He’s acting totally fine right now, the size of the poops are just giving me anxiety.
- 01/11/2022 at 9:41 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17225 posts
  I wouldn’t stress about it. He’s pooping. That’s what matters.
  - 01/12/2022 at 3:20 AM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    Thank you so much. I woke up and he did poop overnight, but they were similar to the small ones that I was finding last night before going to bed. This morning he is running around and eating tons of hay, poops still very light in color and some much smaller than others. Hopefully it will get back to normal soon when he finished molting. I guess if he I acting normal, eating hay, drinking, and pooping (even though they are abnormal) I shouldn’t worry?
- 01/12/2022 at 3:56 AM
  GlennTheLionhead
  Participant
  389 posts
  I agree with LBJ10. If he’s acting otherwise completely normal then he is probably fine. I actually think light poos are also very healthy, the colour sometimes just indicates what they’ve eaten, lighter usually means more hay consumption whereas darker can suggests richer food consumed. For example if my boy is eating lots of Timothy his poops are always lighter whereas if he gets dried grass like redigass added for variety or oat grass they tend to get a little darker.
  
  I wouldnt worry and just keep an eye to make sure it all return to normal and nothing else very odd is seen.
  - 01/12/2022 at 5:15 AM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    Thank you so much, that makes me feel so much better. I woke up this morning and he was totally normal- running around, eating hay, asking for pets, etc. He pooped a bunch this morning, but they were still very small, dry, and light. He also drank a ton of water and ate lots of hay and he peed. He had his yearly exam and first RHDV vaccine a few weeks ago and they sent a fecal sample to the lab and it was negative for parasites. We are going to the vet tomorrow for his next RHDV vaccine so I will mention it to his vet tomorrow, but I am just worried that the vaccine will make it worse and he will go into stasis. I guess it could be because he is finishing up his molt? Like maybe there’s just some fur stuck in there? But there is no hair in his stool so I’m not sure. I assume it is not a blockage since he is eating normally and still passing stool? I guess I should just stop worrying about it and let him be.
- 01/12/2022 at 6:47 AM
  henry2809
  Participant
  160 posts
  I’m at work but I have a Ring camera in my room and he just ran to the litter box, ate some hay and had a bunch of water and then ran back to his hidey house, so I think he’s okay? Just so anxious about this.
- 01/12/2022 at 7:14 AM
  GlennTheLionhead
  Participant
  389 posts
  It’s very unlikely that he will have a reaction to the vaccine, its extremely rare. I have never had issues with the vaccine. If he had stasis I would get the vets opinion before vaccinating him but if he’s still eating and popping it should be okay.
  
  Is there any reason to be extra anxious? I.e did he eat something he should not have or anything like that? If not and if its just general anxiousness out of pure bunny love then I would say it’s okay to relax. I have lived with 3 bunnies over 5 years and all have gone through short bouts of smaller poops due to whatever random environmental factor and they have always bounced back.
  
  For the first year or so of my buns life he had smaller darker poops because he generally has a little appetite and would fill up on pellets and eat less hay. I changed his diet and restricted pellets to just a few per day and his hay consumption went way up! And his poops went along bigger and healthier looking. That’s just my personal experience so if the smaller poops continue for some time and continue to worry you, but he remains healthy otherwise, then you might like to try encouraging more hay and see of this brings them back to size.
  
  Another thing you could do for peace of mind is ask the vets to check his molars for spurs during his visit. If he is very subtly eating less hay and consequently having smaller poops it could be very early signs of something tooth related that you’ve noticed nice and early.
  
  But honestly those last two suggestions are really just maybes that I can think of from experience. He sounds healthy and happy generally and nothing you’ve said sounds alarming or warranting an emergency vet visit so again I would really just monitor at this point 🙂
  - 01/12/2022 at 10:03 AM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    Thank you so much, that made me feel so much better! I gave him a smaller amount of pellets this morning to encourage him to eat more hay. I’m at work right now, but my dad just checked on him and said that he is bouncing around and ate a small treat and there are some poops in his litter box already.
- 01/12/2022 at 4:00 PM
  henry2809
  Participant
  160 posts
  Well I just got home from work and there were some poops in his litter box, but they were still tiny and didn’t look quite right to me. He is still running around, eating hay and pellets, drinking, peeing, etc. His appointment with the vet is tomorrow at 11 am so I will mention it to her, I just truly have no idea what could have caused the small, misshapen poops other than the fact that he is molting (even though he’s almost finished). I guess it could just be a random occurrence, but I am definitely an over thinker and my brain automatically thinks of the worst case scenario. Crossing my fingers that it was just a random occurrence and they will be back to normal soon!
- 01/12/2022 at 7:20 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17225 posts
  Small poops can happen for a variety of reasons. It’s OK to mention to the vet, but I wouldn’t worry too much. Bunny owners are known for obsessing over poop. After awhile, you will learn what is normal for your bunny, what is not, what will likely pass and what needs attention.
  - 01/13/2022 at 1:00 PM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    Thank you so much! We went to the vet to get his RHDV booster about 5 hours ago. I mentioned it to his vet and showed her some photos, and she said that their poops can vary and be inconsistent sometimes without any real cause and that it doesn’t always mean stasis. He got his vaccine and did very well. We came home and he ended up pooping about an hour later and they looked even worse- they looked like the poop that he had in August when he went into stasis but again, he’s eating and drinking this time and he was not doing either when he was truly in stasis. He just pooped again and they were all circular and more normally shaped, but still various sizes. I guess I will just have to let it work itself out since he is totally okay otherwise.
- 01/13/2022 at 1:59 PM
  henry2809
  Participant
  160 posts
  He is eating hay and just ate a handful of basil that I soaked in cold water. The nearest 24/7 emergency vet that will see rabbits is 3 hours away, and I really don’t want to subject him to the stress of that drive and being at the ER unless it’s necessary, but I certainly am worried as I feel like they should have gone back to normal by now.
- 01/13/2022 at 3:43 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17225 posts
  I’m sure he’s fine. No need to stress over it. He’s eating and he’s pooping. As your vet said, poop varies and sometimes seemingly for no reason.
  - 01/14/2022 at 7:53 AM
    henry2809
    Participant
    160 posts
    It’s still going on and the usual measures that I would use to fix something like this (increasing hay) are not helping the poops return to uniform shape and size, so I’ve made an appointment with an exotic specialist in my area for Tuesday to see what she thinks could be causing this (it could very well be nothing- I hope), but it would make me feel a lot better to have him evaluated by a specialist. My main worry is a blockage, but I assume that it couldn’t be a blockage since he’s still passing poop?
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