HELP~ Diarrhea!!!

[MStewart87]

Hello to all. This morning when I woke up Scooby had diarrhea and I had to clean his bottom off and sutff. I have no idea why this occurring so I changed his litterbox and his cage so that I could tell if it happened again. Well I went out and ran some errands and came back and there was more on the towel. I called my vet and were closed. I called the local emergency vet and they said they can see a rabbit in an emergency situation, but they were not experts. So I figured this was probably not the best option as he is acting himself and eating (can’t tell about the drinking yet but I am keeping an eye on it as I know they can get dehydrated). Any suggestions? When he went to the vet about 3 months ago they took a fecal sample and said everything looked good.

I know horses and rabbits GI tracks are the same and when our horses get diarrhea we give them a little bit of pepto. I am NOT going to do this until someone tells me that it is ok. UGH what a stressful day. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Floppy]

umm….Yeah I would probably just wait for the vet …that sucks I’m sorry
youre stuck in such a stressful situation! I hope he will be ok!

[Scarlet_Rose]

MStewart, what did he have to eat? An over-ripe or very green banana can cause this. I would steer clear of the pepto, and if you really want something to do, try a flavored acidophilus tablet and a tiny bit (1 teaspoon) of oats/oatmeal to settle the stomach. If it persists get him in to the bunny savvy vet. Don’t worry, keep an eye on him and if he stops eating, drinking, pooing and goes lethargic, take him in right away.

[MStewart87]

Well I have kept an eye on him all day went to the store got him fresh greens and some pumpkin and mixed it with water (the pumpkin) and he loved it. I put that on one side of his dish and some pellets on the other and he ate everything and I saw him eat a huge pile of hay too. I did see him drink water too. After I stalked the poor thing for like 5 hours I saw him go into the litterbox and poo. Then I saw a lot of poos and now there is a normal looking pile of poos in there. I am guessing he is ok, but I am going to keep an eye on him. He is grooming himself too so that is good. Like I said poor thing probably thinks I am stalking him.

[Scarlet_Rose]

*chuckle* too funny I can hear him in bunny-speak now "Lady the restraining order says to stay back 200 feet!" Part of being a bunny owner is being a poopologist as that is a good sign of knowing how things are going with a bunny. It sounds like he is just fine and simply had a bit of an upset (thank goodness). Glad to hear he is back to normal!

[MStewart87]

This morning when I noticed his first mess I had to have the boyfriend help me as I could not hold him upside down and wipe with a wet towel at the same time and all I heard was “eww this is gross” I am like well either we are going to get this taken care of or we are going to smell poo all day. He quickly did as I asked and just gagged the whole time. My response after that whole ordeal was over was “what are you going to do one day when it is kid poop? Tell the baby to deal with it themselves?” Bunny poop is a lot less repulsive than kid/baby poop!

[osprey]

As Dad of 2, I can tell you that I’ve done the bunny poop and I’ve done the baby/toddler poop.  Children are easier to clean because they do not have fur and can be washed, but nothing quite compares to when you are potty training your toddler and they don’t quite make it to the potty…..yikes, little people can make lots of poop.  In your boyfriend’s defense, however, I will say that cleaning a dirty bunny bottom will make your eyes water and turn your stomach if you are not used to it.  I had one bunny I was caring for who I had to trim the fur on his bottom because I could not get the poop off of him.

Yes, bunny people are obsessed with poop, yes they are….

 

[MStewart87]

Ok, so Scooby is eating and drinking just fine and acting like himself. But for the past two mornings when I get up and take him out his bottom is dirty and like moist and looks like it has been poopie. I did not take him to the vet as he did not act sick at all. I wonder what the deal is? Any ideas? My only thought was he is producing more cecal pellets than he needs to or is not eating them like he is supposed to? I am not too sure what is going on but I am up for any ideas. Thanks.

[Gravehearted]

well cecal pellets look a bit different – they almost look like lil clusters of grapes. Well, a common cause of loose poops is too many carbohydrates in the diet. I’d really cut out the treats for now and encourage him to eat hay. Grass hay is really helpful with getting a bun’s tummy back on track. Have you been offering him any new veggie or fruit these last few days?

[MStewart87]

Ok so it is almost a week later and the loose poops are still going on. I have done somemore research and I am thinking since the little one has been stuffing himself with pellets he may be getting too much starch and that may be causing the mushy stool (I have determined that it is not really diarrhea). I have been giving him unlimited pellets and maybe he is just losing self control and dosnt know when to stop eating them! I am going to try to limit the amount of pellets he gets big time and increase his greens and maybe try a little pumpkin to increase his fiber. Of course I will keep his timothy hay available too and try to get some different types of hay this weekend. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts/opinions. Thanks!

[Deleted User]

We have been battling loose stool with connor for a while now. He was diagnosed with Giradia but the vet said it is not proven if this is causing his poop problems or not. His loose stool has gotten better since we changed a few things. First he did get started on the medication for giradia so this might have helped but I am not sure. Then we started giving him two papaya tablets a day, every day. No fruit sweets what so ever. That means no rasins or crasins. His greens are only parsley and spring salad mix. I am trying to switch him over to the oxbow pellets but he is not taking that to well, and the last is the different hays. Connor will not eat Timothy hay so I have been trying every other choice I can find. He ate brieflt the bunny blend (from here) and also the oat hay (from here). But eating those was a one time thing. I have since ordered Brome hay from oxbow and I think he is eating this. It is very hard and course hay, I hurt my finger pulling it out of the bag, and it is very fragrent. I line his litter box with it and it does seem that there is less and less everyday. But I have never seen him eat any. I am also mixing his salad greens with a little bit of bunny blend hay to try to sneak a piece here and there in. I have the oxbow botanical hay on order and I am going to try that one next. He had almost a week with no loose poops and today he had a ton of them. This is so frustrating because he goes and sits in them and gets it stuck to his butt. I read somewhere that steaming the hay will help entice the rabbits into eating it but I am not sure if this works or not.

[Sarita]

That sounds like a good plan MStewart87 – I bet he is overmunching on his pellets, it’s a good idea to measure the pellets out instead of letting him eat unlimited pellets.  I have a feeling too as you said it is the cecals – overproduction of them.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Medina, I would say that either the Giardia is causing the diarrhea or it is something that the giardia is doing to the small intestine that is causing the poo problem.  Since he is on treatment for it as well, what are the side-effects of the meds? The normal route for this parasite is through water, so my guess would be a dish of water that was sitting out, some polluted water supply or untreated water from a lake, river or even well water is where he may have contracted it from.  I am wondering if the meds are ridding his body of the parasite through the poo, because the small intestine is compromised or something else, maybe even the meds. Would you say that the poo problem has improved since being on the meds, how long does it take for the meds to work, if at all?

[MStewart87]

So when I went to the feed store in another town that carries the different Oxbow hays it was closed!!So, I did not get he different types of hay that I wanted to. I will find the time to go sometime this week so I do not have to pay shipping from the internet. Still have mushy stool though, but he is so excited now when he gets his tiny bit of pellets. I feel mean and like hes always hungry when he acts like that 🙁

[Scarlet_Rose]

Think of it this way, pellets are more like a treat than anything, so of course some just go crazy for them, especially the alfalfa ones that are not good for adult buns.  It’s like junk food to them and can cause obesity.  In your case it is the poo issue, you are helping him by not feeding so many. Those big soft eyes are so cute though I know.

[Deleted User]

Connor just had his second dose of the meds since we diagnosed it. He has not had any loose poops since I posted the other day. He is eating less pellets and more greens, and he LOVES his papaya tablets. Every morning he jumps out of his litter box and acts like he is a crazy bun until i feed them to him. He won’t eat many pellets because they have the oxbow mixed in and he knows it. I am still trying to convert them and it is not working. I do think he is eating some of the hay but not much. I put a large handful in his litter box and now there is only about half of that. I am not sure if it is the medicine or the change in his diet that is causing this. But I am not about to argue the change. One thing though is he acts starving all the time. He practically attacks my hands with the papaya tablets, and his eyes bulge when he is eating the greens. He acts almost frantic to eat. Is he starving from not eating many pellets? It is seriously like less than 1/4 cup and he is 9 some odd pounds.

[MsBinky]

Papaya and Pumpkin are both given to help a bunny in stasis  I would hold off on it for a bit. Cut back on his pellets and provide more hay to compensate. He might be being fussy only because he is enjoying the sweets too much. The meds can definitely cause some GI upsets. Have you tried some boiled rice water? You can give him just a tad bit to help solidify the poop. What are the greens that you are feeding?

You can also sprinkle just a tad bit of apple juice on his hay to get him chomping on it more.

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