Advice for intermittent poopy butt?

[Meg]

Hey everyone!  I’m looking for advice on poopy butt and apologize I wasn’t able to search the forums first since search is down.  

My sweet fluffy 8-year-old boy, Teddy, has had a day or two of poopy butt 3 times in the last month or so, and I’m not sure what to do.  The first time I had given him a tiny bit more of his treats than usual, so since then I’ve reduced his treats to about 2/3 of what they normally were.  The second time was after they got cilantro instead of their usual parsley, so it could have been that.  (Otherwise they usually eat the same greens every night: parsley, romaine, and a tiny sprinkling of little kale shreds.)  But yesterday he had it again, and I don’t know what the reason is.  His appetite has stayed normal, thankfully, and he doesn’t seem uncomfortable or upset; he lounges like usual. 

His BFF, Athena, has been fine all this time, so I’m not sure what it could be environmentally.  (Athena is 9, a Lionhead/Dutch mix, and 5 lbs compared to Teddy’s 4 lbs.) I have started vacuuming more often (as in, once a week instead of once a month because I thought I’d noticed they don’t mind as much as long as they’re not in the same room as it.  But maybe that was just Athena?  Teddy does tend to be a little more skittish than her.  Should I try giving him a tiny bit of chamomile flowers in case it’s stress?  

To give a bit more detail, with the poopy butt I occasionally see some soft droppings on the floor (not usually cecotropes), or I notice it because I find some dirty pawprints on the rug.  Teddy is so fluffly (he’s a Lionhead/?? mix — maybe Jersey Wooley? and he has a long fluffy skirt) that it’s really hard to see what’s going on with his bottom unless I pick him up to check (which he does NOT appreciate).  When he’s had the poopy butt, it’s been dried and matted into his fur an inch or two across, poor sweetie.  I rinse his bottom in the sink and clean him up, and after a good stomp-off he usually seems good after that.  

As far as treats, I put the bunnies on a new routine in July to stimulate their appetites, since they were showing less interest in food.  Thankfully, it’s worked very well!  But I hope it’s not causing these problems for Teddy.  In the morning after their hay they get 1 Sherwood digestive tablet and Athena gets 1 Oxbow digestive tablet (Teddy gets 1/3).  In the evening they get another 1 Sherwood digestive tablet and Athena gets 2 Sherwood joint support tablets while Teddy gets a tiny piece (like 1/6) of an Oxbow Skin & Coat tablet.  

Anyway, I don’t know if it’s just Teddy being a senior bun or if there’s something I can do to help him.  If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it!    Thank you so much!!

[Rain]

I know pet stores arent really all the time extremely educated in these things but they told me to give my bun oats if his poop ever started getting runny. Every time I notice clumpy poos or cecal droppings, I give him a little pinch of oats if I haven’t done so already. I do this every day,and just mix in oats with his hay, or if I need to get him back in his cage. (lots of honking after he realizes he’s been tricked.) I’m not sure if you should give that many digestive support tablets in a day. Just one should be enough. Its okay to give one , and since those are pretty big, you shouldn’t go over that amount. If he gets TOO much digestive support that might give him some diarreha or poopy butt. And the Oxbow skin and coat one isn’t very necessary. Rabbits should only be getting one to two treats in a whole day. According to Oxbow, treats should be 5 percent of their diet. Do you also give pellets? If so then either cut out pellets or the veggies. As for parsley, it is only good for a little snack, so kind of like a candy bar. They should not eat it every day. Maybe once every week or something like that. Maybe more, but I’m not sure. Romaine and kale are great. If you want to add a little more variety, some other good veggies are green or red leaf lettuce. A little bit of spinach is good too. Try adding these diet changes: A sprinkle of oats (Like dry Quaker Oatmeal) one treat per day, and no parsley. If that doesn’t work, there maybe an underlying problem and you should consult this with your vet.

[Meg]

Hi! Thanks for your reply, Rain. If any of the forum leaders could reply that would be great! According to the House Rabbit Handbook I thought parsley was OK as a staple. I’d love to be corrected if that’s not the case! I do know that kale is harmful in large amounts so we should keep that to a minimum. (I give them about 2 square inches each per day, broken into tiny shreds so neither eats it all.)

The Sherwood digestive tablets are small. The package says 1 tablet per 2 pounds of body weight split into two feedings per day for milder digestive issues. But I don’t know if it’s OK to give this alongside other tablets.

[Meg]

Update: I’m still finding a couple of soft poops among the normal ones — and now it’s both bunnies! Teddy is much better, though. Both bunnies had just like two little soft poops stuck to their bottoms. I gave them a little rinse and will reduce treats for both of them even more. But if anyone has other advice, I’m all ears!

[jerseygirl]

Do you give bagged herbs or greens? If so, are you giving a different brand to normal?

I remember reading once about some owners seeing some changes during certain times of year. With either their rabbits snubbing the greens, or getting gassy or poop changes. They had thought it due green needing to be shipped from further afield (do to the season). And possibility they were sprayed with something to keep them fresh longer.

ETA: if it were just Toby, I would be seeing if there is a mobility issue (less able to get cecal droppings) or some dental problems perhaps. Both those can lead to some poopy butt. 

[Meg]

Thanks, JerseyGirl!

No, I haven’t been changing the brand much, although lately they’ve sometimes had romaine hearts and sometimes half a Romaine head. they only get organic, so hopefully it’s not sprayed, but I do wash the greens before I give them… I’ll try even fewer treats and see how that helps.

If Teddy has a couple days of poopy butt one month, and then a couple days of it 5 months later, is that likely to be dental problems, or would those more often show up as consistent poopy butt?

Thanks again!

[jerseygirl]

If Teddy has a couple days of poopy butt one month, and then a couple days of it 5 months later, is that likely to be dental problems, or would those more often show up as consistent poopy butt?

Yes, I think it would be more consistent. Maybe some other members with “dental buns” can weigh in about that.

Looking at the Sherwood tablets, it doesn’t list sugar content, but it says it contains papaya, banana and pineapple. Maybe remove that from the diet and see if it makes a difference. It could be that they are more sensitive to sugar now that they’re older.

What type of hay do they have? Any drop in hay consumption?

[Meg]

Yes, that’s a good idea about the Sherwood tablets. As for hay, they’ve never deigned to eat Timothy, so they get oat and meadow hay (a bit of both morning and evening). Since the summer I’ve been adding a little sprinkle of alfalfa on top since that gets them excited for hay again. I can’t tell exactly how much they’re eating but I do see them both eating it every day.

Thank you so much again!

[Author]

Messages