Bunny has a certain schedule?

[alisha]

Hello I have a 4 month old mini lop rabbit and I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. I change his litter tray every morning when I wake up and it is full and most of his pellets/water are gone but when I go to work and come back it is still empty. He naps for most of the day but doesn’t start eating/pooping again until about 6pm. He’ll continue to do this and be active acting like normal (playing with toys, running around doing binkys and flopping) until about 10am. He does this exact routine every single day.

 

He had gas just over a week ago so I gave him some infant gas drops and massaged his belly until he started eating/pooping again. He free roams downstairs and gets unlimited hay, pellets & water. I’m currently not giving him any greens as I tried him with a small amount and I think that is what caused his gas. I am going to slowly introduce greens & treats then change his diet when he becomes an adult.

 

Just wondering if this is normal or if I need to take him to the vet about this? Any help is appreciated thanks 🙂

[Bam]

It does sound normal. Rabbits tend to rest a lot during the day, esp if they’re alone and nothing is going on. When they rest, they will poop a lot less than when they’re active.

It’s reasonable to think that it was the introduction of greens that caused the gas. In general rabbits can ve started on greens at around 3 months of age, but that’s not written in stone. Some buns need more time to develop a sturdy and diverse gut microbiome that can handle new food, so it seems wise to keep him on hay and pellets for a bit longer. Hay is the best thing for the bunny gut, it’s the perfect food for all the beneficial bacteria and yeasts that a bunny tummy is dependant on.

Nothing of what you’ve describe seems to warrant a vet visit. It’s of course always good to get a yearly vet check-up. In areas/countries where vaccination (against RVHD and/or myxomatosis) is recommended, the vaccinating vet will often do a basic exam.

 

[alisha]

Thank you, I feel much better now 🙂

 

Last year I had 3 rabbits that all suddenly passed from RVHD within a few days and it broke my heart. They weren’t vaccinated as I had no idea about it even though we took them to the vets regularly and they didn’t tell us anything about it. The first thing I did when I got Smokey was get the 3 in 1 vaccine, they did a check up on him and he was all fine 😀  I also have pet insurance which includes 2 yearly check ups. I’m just much more paranoid after what happened so I worry if he doesn’t eat/poop for so long.

[Bam]

I’m very sorry you lost your buns. RvHD is a horrible disease. I’m happy to hear  your little one is vaccinated. My buns also get the triple vaccine, I’m in a high risk area. I also have insurance, and I really recommend that for bun owners in countries where bun insurance is available.

No wonder you are a bit paranoid after what happened to your three buns! But from what you’ve described, Smokey seems like a perfectly normal little bun. It’s great that youre keeping an eye on his poop. Amount, size and shape of bunny poop say quite a lot about the bun’s general health.

[LBJ10]

I’m sorry that happened. 🙁

What you are describing sounds perfectly normal though. Bunnies are less active during the middle of the day, so they tend to eat less and poop less. Then there will be tons of poop in the evening once they are active again.

[Author]

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