Brown liquid in my buns cage!

[SammieAndFig]

Hi all,

I left my bun this morning to go to work and she was fine but I came home to this brown puddle in her cage a few hours later.
(I have a picture but for some reason it won’t attach here).

It’s too thick to be pee and has a strong smell.

She is acting normal and ate her breakfast like normal.
She is an unspayed female (around 6 months old).

She has been showing signs of being in heat, could this be related?
Should I bring her to the vet?

[Kiki]

Sometimes Indie spills water and it gets on a poop and that happens. I don’t know about smell because well, you’re a braver soul than I. I would keep an eye on her and if she stops eating, or that issue reoccurs then maybe take her to the vet. You could always make an appt and cancel if everything works out, just to put your own mind at ease,

[Kiki]

Also, I’ve never had an animal go into heat because I got them all spayed prior, but I think it could maybe be related to that. I mean dogs have like a period right ?

[SammieAndFig]

Haha yes! Fig does that sometimes too but this is not at all see-through like the water on poop generally is. It’s an opaque thick liquid ?

[SammieAndFig]

I know buns don’t have periods….which is why I’m a bit nervous about it.

She has an appointment to get spayed! Now I just want to make sure she’s fully healthy before I put her under.

[Kiki]

Sorry, I don’t know much about it. My only other thought maybe uti or diahhrea? Idk, my thought is if she is eating, peeing, and pooping normally for now and doesn’t seem lethargic, I might wait it out a day or so to see if it happens again or if it was a fluke. Either way, I wish you both luck!

[Asriel and Bombur]

Bunnies don’t actually go into heat. Hormones are hormones. They will act hormonal until spayed. They can get pregnant at any time, and they don’t have periods. If a female is bleeding it’s an emergency as she could be having reproductive issues.

is there a chance it could be diarrhea? This can be fatal in a bunny and requires immediate vet attention.

[Bunny House]

I would spray it with hydrogen peroxide and if it’s blood it will start to fizz, if it’s true diarrhea, like A&B said, it can be fatal.

[Bam]

Are there normal round poops as well as the brown thick liquid?

As A&B says, true diarrhea is very serious in rabbits and often fatal. Rabbits can however have very loose stools without it being true diarrhea. You tell the two conditions apart by checking for normal poop as well as runny poop. If there is normal, round poops, it’s not true diarrhea. The cause is a less grave disturbance in the intestines, often in the gut microbiota. Because your girl’s puddle smells so strong, do you think it could be very liquidy cecals? Do you see any mucus or a gel like substance in the puddle?

Rabbit poop is rather complicated seeing that they produce two different kinds. Here is a good article by Dana Krempels a biologist who’s specialized in rabbits, it’s called the Mystery of Poop:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

A rabbit with true diarrhea tends to be very weak and wont eat or drink. The rabbit must be kept warm and rushed to a vet.

[Author]

Messages