Help! Soft mushy/applesauce like stool everywhere! Diarrhea?

[Keao]

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone can help me.

My bunny is around 11 wks old and got out of his cage while we weren’t home. When my husband and I got back home there was dark, mushy piles of stool everywhere around the house! Strong smell and very soft and mushy, like apple sauce. Not like soft cecotropes. Mushy and soupy looking. Is this diarrhea? What do I do?

We didn’t find any evidence of him possibly eating something he shouldn’t have…but we aren’t sure. What could cause this? Stress of being out without us? He’s been out around the whole house WITH us before, but never alone…could it be stress?

We were able to get him cleaned up a bit, it was everywhere. We got him back into his cage and he’s been drinking water fairly well but doesn’t really want to eat. He seems like he just wants to rest and is lethargic. Not his happy self. We’ve seen him eat maybe 5-6 small pieces of hay in the last 12 hours. We check on him very 1 1/2 to 2 hours so there is a chance that he has eaten a little more when we aren’t looking. 

Any advice? Should we got out and get Critical Care? How long should we monitor him before being very concerned? How much food is enough in his system to keep him from going into a stasis? We don’t hear any loud sounds coming from his belly which is something I read that you would hear if he was in a stasis….

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[Bam]

Since he’s very young he’ll get dehydrated fast so you’ll need to get him to a vet. Diarrhea in young rabbits is often due to a condition called coccidosis. It is very serious. Please call a vet, preferably an exotics vet, and take him in. This is an emergency. 

I wish you the best of luck with this!!!

Deleting your other thread, this one ios in the right section!

[jerseygirl]

Yes, definitely get him tested for coccidia.

Another cause can be any new food he’s tried (fruits or veggies)

BUT

Coccocida is a stronger likelihood.

I’m quoting below one of our forum leaders explaining seeing this around his age as she states it so well.

Beka27 Cleveland, Ohio (USA) Forum Leader 15936 posts 4/11/2013 5:59 AM

To clarify further on Coccidia which I briefly mentioned… A lot of what happens is coincidental. Rabbit breeders treat their “breeding stock” and the babies with a diluted medication to control Coccidia. The dose is usually too low so it CONTROLS it, but does not CURE it. Next… You bring home your baby bunny at 8 weeks and suddenly he/she is no longer getting this low dose medication from the breeder, so the Coccidia is allowed to flourish. Pet store bunnies have been without this medication even longer, that’s why they sometimes seem “sicker”…

Fast forward to 12 weeks old… Sources say you can start feeding veggies at 12 weeks old. People start feeding iceberg lettuce (or any lettuce). Coincidentally, this is also when the bunny starts showing symptoms of Coccidia (diarrhea, listlessness, weight loss). Not being aware of what Coccidia is (and not seeking prompt vet care), people assume the illness is due to lettuce and they stop feeding it. The bunny does not get better though (if vet care isn’t provided), and passes away. Now this person thinks… LETTUCE = DEATH, which is simply not true. So that is the long version of the misconception about lettuce and bunnies. Hopefully that helps!

* Bekas original response was to a query about Iceberg lettuce which is why it is mentioned above. The part about how coccidia often presents around this age is more relevant and what I wanted to emphasise here.

[JackRabbit]

Coccidia is common in young bunnies and as the others have expressed, vary serious and can be fatal if not treated by a vet. The good news is that it can be successfully treated fairly easily and the meds that treat it are tasty. Get your bunny in to see a rabbit savvy vet asap and take a fresh poop sample with you when you go.

Two of my three had coccidia when we got them. They were given Albon for 10 days or 2 weeks (can’t remember which), retested a couple of weeks later to make sure they didn’t need more and all was well. The one bad part is that you must clean everything daily to prevent reinfection (50/50 mix of vinegar/water or better yet, use a hand-held steamer which is the best way to kill coccidia). Also, steam clean any carpet that the bunny has been on and keep bunny off the carpet until cured.

[LBJ10]

I agree with the others. Coccidia is definitely a concern and it’s at the top of the list of suspects here. Get your bunny into the vet and have him tested ASAP. I wouldn’t worry about any of the other stuff until you know what the problem is. So to answer one of your questions, the time to be concerned is now.

[Beka27]

(It’s always weird reading my posts from years ago!)

Please seek vet care as stated above! This is very treatable if caught early! And please update us when you can!

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