Changes in rabbit behaviour – concerned

[Theodorusrex]

Hi all,

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted here on binkybunny.

I have a house rabbit – Theodore – who recently turned 5 years old. So he’s getting older but not exactly over the hill yet! I have noticed some changes in his behaviour over the past few weeks which I am quite concerned about – I am hoping someone might be able to offer some advice.

I have noticed the following

-Less flopping (he used to flop all the time and often would nap all day in a flopped position) – now he flops rarely and doesn’t stay flopped for long. He is sleeping in loaf position now.

-He has been chewing up his normal poops (not cecotrophs) and spitting them out onto the floor. He previously had excellent litter habits but now every morning when I come down to feed him I find chewed up poop all over his area. He has never done this before and now he is doing it every day.

 

Other things of note:

-There have been huge changes to his routine (due to lockdown in our country due to the Covid outbreak) in that me and my husband are home all day everyday and he is used to getting the house to himself 9-5 Monday to Friday.

-He is definitely eating less (worryingly so) hay than usual. He has a fav hay (oxbow orchard grass) and won’t touch anything else – but now he is eating very little of the oxbow stuff.

 

Theo has a long running history of GI problems – he has nearly passed away from GI stasis 3 or 4 times and has had several bouts each year since we’ve had him (we adopted him at 8months old) so this is really stressing me out. Diet wise – other than hay – he gets one fibafirst stick in the morning with a scoop of protexin probiotics, then greens at night, and another scoop of probiotics at bedtime. He is eating and pooping normally – and other than the things already mentioned acting normally. He is still active and very sociable.

 

Does anyone have any advice? I’m really worried about my little guy 🙁

[jerseygirl]

Hello!  Long time, no see.  I hope you are staying safe.

I do remember you had to deal with nursing Theo through GI stasis several times.    I don’t remember if his teeth were part of that issue?  With his biting fecal poops and eating less hay, I would look to teeth first. Always worth keeping an eye on with stasis-prone bunnies.  Do you think he could be eating some of the fecal poops entirely?  That wont hurt him, but it could be a sign that he’s looking for the fibre if he’s having difficulty with hay. Is he maintaining weight?

Is he marking with poop at all?  Those ones can smell different and maybe it’s appealing to him.  A little like how some will drink a bit of their pee occasionally but not make a habit of it. It’s thought they might be attracted to some hormones they detect in it. Maybe more so in spring?

Less flopping (he used to flop all the time and often would nap all day in a flopped position) – now he flops rarely and doesn’t stay flopped for long. He is sleeping in loaf position now. 

I was concerned my bunny (now 9) wasnt laying stretched out much anymore. I wondered if he had developed some arthritis..  but these past few months, I did see more of that posture again.   I do think they sit in the loaf more when have some discomfort.  You might even notice they suck the sides in a little.  Not to say the loaf always indicates discomfort!  It’s also a completely normal bunny pose.     If Theo was such a regular flopper though, it is possible he’s not finding that as comfortable position at the moment for some reason. Sorry, that’s not very helpful!

Im glad to read he’s still active and social in general/

[Theodorusrex]

Hi Jersey – I hope you are safe and well.

Thanks for your response. You know, somehow, his teeth being the problem had never occurred to me (duh!).  You just sparked a memory in my head that when he last had his teeth checked (around 6 months ago) the vet did say that they weren’t wearing evenly but otherwise looked healthy, and didn’t seem to be concerned in the slightest about it. He’s never had any problems with his teeth before that (we never did get to the bottom of his GI problems – all vets who’ve seen him are stumped). I had wondered if the poop-eating (lovely) was because he was missing fibre or something else in his diet – it’s just such an out of character behaviour for him as he is usually meticulously clean and tidy.

I don’t believe he’s marking with his poop (usually poops are confined to his pen rather than other areas of the house he has access to) but I’m honestly not sure about that!

I do wonder if his tummy is somewhat uncomfortable due to lack of fibre in his diet from lack of hay and that’s why he’s not stretching out like he usually would. I had (briefly) worried that his joints were starting to give him trouble – then I saw him leaping 3 foot from the ground onto our sofa arm rests and reassessed that thought process 😉

Anyways – I called my vet just now and have an appointment this afternoon for them to give him a quick once over and check his teeth (sadly, one of the benefits of being a frequent flyer is getting appointments quickly haha!). Hopefully it might shed some light on what’s going on with him.

Thanks again, Jersey 🙂

 

 

[Hazel]

Hi Theodorusrex, welcome back! 🙂

I agree, sounds like he’s having trouble eating hay and turning to the poo because it’s easier to chew. Good luck at the vet, I hope it’s an easy fix. Keep us updated!

[Theodorusrex]

Thanks, Hazel 🙂

 

The vet went well – he checked Theo’s teeth and thought they looked perfect – the unevenness from the last vet visit had completely corrected itself. So I’m obviously super happy about that- I was so worried we would have to have a nasty tooth procedure and as Theo gets older these things seem scarier and scarier! The vet did weigh him too and he had lost around 100 – 150g since his last check up around 6 months ago. I felt bad about this because tbh we spent a couple of years getting the excess weight off Theo so I hadn’t even considered weight loss 🙁 I feel like a bad rabbit mama. So we need to try and get his weight up a little. That could have something to do with his lack of flopping maybe?

Anyway – vet gave him some Metacam and metoclopramide because he didn’t hear many gut sounds when examining him – in the hope it might kickstart his appetite and get him eating hay  again. Vet suggested that the poop biting could be a mix of him searching for fibre and also annoyance because his stomach is uncomfortable. The change in him overnight has been immense – no bitten poop in his cage this morning and soooo many binkies on his morning runaround – hopefully it continues!!

[jerseygirl]

The change in him overnight has been immense – no bitten poop in his cage this morning and soooo many binkies on his morning runaround – hopefully it continues!!

Oh, that’s great. 🙂  Yes, lets hope it continues!

[Bam]

Fingers crossed for Theo! I’m glad his teeth are fine. Hopefully this round of meds will get him back on track. If this is in any way related to arthritis/joint pain, the metacam would help against that too.

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