cecals?

[PeppersMama]

Sorry i know i have been posting alot lately, but im a new bunny mommy and im still learning and i want to make sure i do a good job

Pepper poos alot just like any bunny, and his poos are always the normal hard round poos. when i first got him i brought him home in a pet taxi and i saw a few cecals in there, i could obviously tell the difference between them and the normal poos so i know what they look like. well since the first trip home i havent seen any cecals anywhere! i dont know if this is a bad or a good thing. Is he not producing them or is he just eating them before they hit the ground so to speak? i dunno what to think. whenever i clean his cage i always search for them but i never find any. i clean his cage every other day.

For information purposes his diet is a quarter cup of pellets a day in the morning ( they are approved pellets by the binky bunny diet guidelines), and unlimited timothy hay (it is the second cut timothy hay a.k.a. sweet grass) and that is all. he is still a young bun only 11 weeks, i got him at 8 weeks, so he doesnt and hasnt received any special treats. can someone help about this? is he producing cecals? im worried but he eats just fine!

Also i had a questions about licking my blankets. whenever i put him on my bed he obsessively licks my blankets and pillows, he doesnt chew just licks…does anyone know why and is this bad for him? thanks all

[TARM]

I have two babies and I’ve never seen a cecal poo. I assume that they eat them before they hit the ground, that’s what everything I’ve read says they do. That’s what I learned in bunny class too.

Licking your stuff is supposed to be a sign of affection. I’m not sure why licking YOU isn’t the sign…but the bunny lady in the bunny class said they’d lick your stuff and watch to make sure you see they’re doing it so they know you know they love you.

If that makes sense…

[PeppersMama]

good this makes me feel better that other people dont see the cecals either

Yeah he licks my stuff and he licks me, he tends to love to lick my face. he usually wont lick my arms or legs, but he will sometimes lick my hands and he loves to lick my nose and eyes. i always make sure to only let him do this when im not wearing makeup tho! i dont want him to get sick from some face powder! i guess i just worry about him licking up the fibers, although my blankets have been washed several times.

I wish we had bunny classes here i could take! that would be nice! i have read books and stuff on the internet but it would be nice to have some first hand bunny teacher and classes!

thankyou!

[JK]

I have never seen a cecal because Edson eats them as they come out!  I believe that’s what is supposed to happen.  They know when a cecal is coming!  I can always tell when he looks like he’s grooming down there and comes up munching!

[PeppersMama]

hahah knowltons! i bet thats funny to see! lol thankyou so much for making me feel better about this!

[Ana]

Maybe I’m not very observant, but I’ve never seen Evie eat cecals– look like she’s grooming down there then come up chewing.  Should I be worried?  Also, all her poo in the cage looks exactly the same.  Don’t know what a cecal looks like, and don’t recall her seeming to be eating someone coming out… Is this a concern?

[JK]

Actually it’s kinda gross to think they eat poop!  Actually I’m sure your bun produces cecals.  Just watch and if you see the mouth munching on nothing it’s probably the cecals! Edson does this maybe 3 or 4 times a day.

[skunklionshow]

I used to wonder the same thing (i.e. wasn’t sure if they were eating them).  I also didn’t know what they were initially & brought my rabbit to the vet thinking they were sick!  They look like shiny little grape clusters.

Just a few things that I’ve observed.  One of the reason the bunny bed tends to be stinky is b/c it is their main cecal eating locale.  Post-neuter, after Leo opened up his sutures, I noticed that Leo kept  licking down there.  I was so nervous that he was attacking his sutures again, but then realized that he was chewing when he came back up.  You might not be noticing b/c it’s not such a big deal unless something isn’t right.  That’s when you notice extra cecals or some other behavior makes you notice how often they “groom” down there.

[PeppersMama]

now that i think about it….he is prolly eating his cecals then licking my face! eww lol! thats why he likes to lick my face he thinks its funny hes getting his poo breath on me! lol!

[Ana]

Ew. That is gross to think about… I wonder if bunny saliva is like dog saliva– really antibacterial. :/ I would imagine so… Thanks for the info!! I’m not going to worry about my bunny eating or not eating her poo until it becomes visual. :p

[Erbear]

I think radar waits to eat hers until company comes into the room. It’s the same everytime.

“Awe, what a cute little bunny… what is she doing?”

“She’s eating these special pellets that are…”

“Ewe! She’s eating her poop?!”

“Kind of… she’s actually….”

“Bunnies are kinda gross…”

My mom calls her butthead for this reason.

[JK]

Now that is very funny!  Figures doesn’t it!  My dog used to scoot her butt in front of other people when we would stop and talk to people when we were out for walks and I used to be so mortified!  They save their best behavior for company!

[Beka27]

lol Erbear! i know aren’t bunnies hilarious…?

if you’re not seeing them, this is a good thing. i have never seen any from my bunnies. the problem lies in them getting a diet that is too rich, then they overproduce the cecals. they eat their normal amount, but the rest get smushed everywhere. that’s when you see them. they’re not ahrd and compact like regular poo. they are very soft and look like a grape-cluster.

does he finish all of his pellets during the day? you can actually feed more than that (maybe a half-cup) since he is a baby and still growing. it’s not until betw/7 months and one year that their pellets need to be reduced. you can also add in some afalfa hay if you want to since it is higher in calories, but it’s good that his base hay is timothy.

they usually recommend starting veggies at 12 weeks, but some people start them as early as 8 weeks, so i think you would be good to start slowly introducing them, one at a time. try something basic like romaine and parsley for the first two weeks and see how he does.

[Ana]

This might be a stupid question, but what makes a diet too rich (to overproduce cecals)?

[Beka27]

read this article.  it is awesome and talks in-depth about bunny poop.  it will explain everything better than i can… http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

[PeppersMama]

thankyou beka! i will start slowly introducing some herbs and veggies to his diet from the list! i gave him a very small piece of black berry yesterday and he loved it!

[PeppersMama]

oh and yes he finishes his pellets, i put it all in his bowl in the morning and he usually eats half in the morning and half at night, but i will start giving him a bit more at the beginning

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