is this a poo problem?

[cookie627]

this morning i found in cookie’s litterbox that his poo was smaller than usual. more brown than blackish brown. yesterday he was pooping just fine. and for some reason he isn’t using his litter box. i didn’t change anything with the eating. he is acting just fine. so is anything wrong with him?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Is there a lot of fur in it?  Is it strung together like pearls?  It sounds like he may have an overabundance of fur in his stomach or it is not moving like it should be (maybe not enough fiber or a bacterial imbalance).  Usually I administer more papaya tablets to my two when this happens as it breaks up the mucus that binds the fur together like a "hairball" if that is what the problem is and in any other case would  try a little bit of yogurt or a flavored acidophilus tablet. It doesn’t sound too serious yet because he is still pooping.  Has he had an overabundance of grain treats? That will do it too.  It is what we would call an impaction (or the beginnings of one) and heavy, starchy treats can cause this.  Oh, has he eaten a lot of cardboard or phone book or newspaper?  This can also cause it as well.

[cookie627]

no fur and not strung. 2-3 raisinsa day. maybe an apple slice every week or two. no grain treets. no cardboard or newspaper.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm, has he been stressed over anything?  The problem with bunnies is their sensitivity and the smallest and seemingly most insignificant things can cause their system to go off-kilter. Is there any chance of undigested material to have collected in the stomach? I think I would just keep and extra eye on the litterbox to make sure stuff keeps passing and give an acidophilus tablet and extra papaya to help keep things moving as they say.  If it stops, call the vet right away (it may be an impaction).

[Gravehearted]

scarlet_rose shared some great ideas and points! it doesn’t sound like there have been any recent diet changes.

i’d also recommend hay. hay’s the single most important thing in keeping their gi system moving. so make sure to offer Cookie fresh hay, maybe even twice a day. i find my bunnies eat a lot more hay if i give them a big handful several times a day, rather than leaving a lot of hay sitting around in their houses.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Thank you gravehearted!  Hopefully we can get the bunny on the right GI track again.

[x liddo bunny x]

actually my bunny Moogle has been doing that too. funny part is, he doesnt eat many of the sweets i give. the most is a nibble of the papaya tablet but thats about it. i gave him a tiny piect of carrot as a treat but lately none. after careful observing, i found that he doesnt eat the hay as much. he would nibble on it but only enough to cut it in two and thats about it. =/ bad bunny. i think i take back some of the oat hay and put more timothy. and imma try to offer him some everyday and hopefully that does it. another problem i have is that he doesnt seem to use the litterbox and it seems like he cant control his pooing. i was holding him to brush him and he started to poo on me. patted his back so he would stop but he keeped going as i ran to the litterbox. ibe tried putting him in front of the box but he doesnt wanna go in. he just runs off. and when i put him in he runs out and away. this is getting difficult. mochi and emo dont really like their cage all pooied up since they have been better at their litterbox. ive rarely seen him use the box but sometimes he does. he now pees in it instead of the carpet but the pooie is a problem because it is everywhere. emo and mochi do a couple but a majority is his. i may have to increacse the boxes from 2 to 5 because he seems to be going in 5 different places. – -” good luck on ur pooing. let us know how it goes. offer more hay. =)

[cookie627]

today i checked like right now. it seems to be normal size.

xliddobunnyx – i have that same problem now. Cookie will not use the litter box!!!! he is mostly pooing in his cage not in the litter box. . . . when he is out to play pooing everywhere except litter box!!! lol

[BinkyBunny]

Cookie, I’m glad to hear that his poos are normal. This time of year, when many bunnies are molting, it can be the time to watch carefully, and make sure our bunnies are eating their hay to get the fiber they need to pass all of that hair.

I do what gravehearted does and offer a handful of hay a few times a day. For some reason this does really make them eat more, even though it’s the same exact hay that is in their hay bin from only the day before.

xliddobunnyx – OH gosh. Well, I’m sure having your lap be "poo bombed" wasn’t fun! What could be happening is Moogle is making a move toward dominance. Has he been acting any differently lately? Requesting to be petted more than usual. Have Mochi and Emo been acting any differently towards Moogle?

I know it’s all rather new, and sometimes once the new addition feels more at home, they try to solidify their permanence this way and even test out dominance moves.

[x liddo bunny x]

hmmmmm ic…… well mochi has been grooming Moogle a lot more than when he first came home. but it was weird, as i was carrying him he was dropping bombs as i walked him to the box. i guess it could be a sign of dominace. but its weird, barely any on the two floors. only on the ground. i figure the ones up on the floors are mochi and emo’s and the rest are Moogles. its weird, they look like they are in tiny groups and they are usually in the corners of the cage and one dead center. there are also some near the food. its kinda weird. moogle hasnt been asking for more attention from me. most of the time, he just sits around and would come over out of curiosity and when i am in the cage too, he tugs on me and i guess its to be petted because he puts his head down but it seems usual. however, there has been lots of digging and nibbling on their blankie towel. looks like Moogle bites…. i found pieces of the towel everywhere. emo and mochi will dig and tug on it in their mouths but never bitting hunks out. =/

[cookie627]

oh wow!!!!!

[BinkyBunny]

Well, I think it is normal until he feels completely at home.    Plus it really is hard to say because bunnies really speak such quiet language, and we have to watch carefully.  Since Moogle is being groomed he has been set up as the dominant one, but maybe something made him feel insecure.  

Bunnies will also poop when they are nervous, so while you’re carrying him, he may drop poop bombs due to anxiety. 

How long

How are his litterbox habits right now?

 

[cookie627]

too much paper is bad for rabbits right?

[x liddo bunny x]

sorry cookie, i turned this post into a moogle post. =P i think paper is fine for bunnies, however, like many things, too much of one thing can be bad.

Binkybunny – yes he is being groomed but i dont think he is the dominant one of the pack. i think you were right now he is slowly wanting to establish that so i see for the reason he may be doing that but its been 3 weeks so far and no improvements so far with his litter habits. even with treats and limited space. what i have also noticed was that he has been stealing a lot of food from emo. even though it may be love at first sight, i dont think hes being a good husbun =( she has lost a little bit of weight an she doesnt eat as much as she is used to. i felt bad for her so i split her from moogle (i just put a couple of cubes up to split their cage into two. emo and mochi are together and moogle is all by himself now. he seems to feel very un easy i think he keeps trying to go over to their side but emo and mochi dont seems to care much about him now that they are together. and it looks like emo seems to be in a way better mood. she seems much happier than she was before. at first she was sitting in the corner once and a while coming out due to her curiosity issue but she didnt accept food from me. i was so scared it was the fur in her tummy but since ive spit them she seems to be doing much better. including mochi. its kinda weird. they dont seem to care that he is not with them. its like they are ignoring him. but boy did he poo a lot. he doesnt seems to like to pee in the litter box either. he will get into it but he always seems to like to pee off the edge. you would think his litterbox maybe too small for him but no….. it is pretty big and the edges are tall. ive even been putting less litter for him. However, i have a feeling emo and mochi dont like him in the house with them. when i take care of his side of the cage and i come back to emo and mochi they seems to do this “i am not talking to you” thing to me. =/ i feel bad for him but at the same time i really dont think emo and mochi like him but are just tolerating him. i think i may have to see if he is better with another mommy or daddy. =/ what do you think? i feel bad for him but at the same time i can see that emo and mochi dont like him too much but are just tolerating his presence. they dont even lay near him anymore.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Cookie – Yes, too much paper is bad.  It can cause an impaction in the stomach and make sure it isn’t any glossy magazine pages or color paper other than a phone book, (newspaper is OK) it’s the dyes that may be toxic.

[BinkyBunny]

xliddobunnyx – they may be seeing his move to poo as a way to claim territory, and they are not ready to accept him fully. Until they are all bonded this pooing issue will continue. But the fact they are not being aggressive is good. Don’t despair. It’s normal for them to go through some adjustment

Him feeling uneasy will also make him poo, poo, poo.

Can you remind me (if you said already) how they are set up and what is their daily bonding routine right now?

[cookie627]

ok and towels can be bad for bunnies if they eat too much right? because cookie eats newspaper when he can. . . . doesn’t chew it up. and i am not really sure if he eats towels.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Yes to that too Cookie.  A good rule of thumb is anything that can remain in the stomach undigested (i.e. things that are not food related or certain types of foods that contain a lot of starch or ones on the no list, depending on their properties) can cause an impaction as it is vital that their gut stays in constant motion, thus why you see them eating all the time.

[cookie627]

oh ok. . . thanks!!!!!!!

[Scarlet_Rose]

No problem, it’s my pleasure to help!

[x liddo bunny x]

Can you remind me (if you said already) how they are set up and what is their daily bonding routine right now?

right now, they are not separated anymore but for a couple days eariler they were set apart but were able to be together for about a couple hours or so a day. he still pooed there. – -” and it looked like they ended up liking him and showing lots more affection now than they did the previous weekend. when i let them out they would lounge right next to each other, the three of them and it would look pretty cute. too bad my brother took my camera for that weekend. =( i think what did the food thing was me stopping him everytime he did it. id push him pretty far right as i saw him do it. =) as for the poo issue. TIME TO START FROM SCRATCH =) i have to go find a covered litterbox too. – -” i found him trying to do it before. luckily i stopped him. wish me luck. ill let you know how it goes. oh yea, i think it is nervousness. feel bad for him because his nails grip on me as i hold him. kinda hurts but he is beginning to relax a itty bitty bit. =) giving him papaya tablet and rasins when i hold him and pet him to help him relax.

[BinkyBunny]

Oh that’s great that they are now able to be back together as a trio. I wish you luck with starting back from scratch. Has this changed the litter habits of your other two at all so far?

I am too going to "retry" the covered litterbox as Bailey loves to dig, and though I could put a screen in her litterbox which prevents digging all together, I actually want her to get exercise from digging, (in her box)plus she really seems to like it. So before I go out and buy a good covered box. I decided to get her used to one by making one with the box she has now. Well, my husband made it. He made a cardboard box top and cut an entrance and we taped it to her existing box. (you can see it on the webcam – rather ugly, but it’s temporary.) She went right in, but was still able to throw out the contents. So then we put up a paper door to help her get used a door. She promptly tore that up. We are now going to try a sturdier door to see if she’d still go in. Eventually I’d probably get the one like in Poopy’s video with the plastic door. I did do that once before, but she didn’t like it, but I think with this method of using her existing box and making a temporary cover, it is helping her get used to it.

Let us know how it goes for you!

[MooBunnay]

xliddobunnyx – i think its good they are together – bunnies really like routine, so sticking to a precise routine for the next couple weeks should definitely help Moogle out, as well as Mochi and Emo as they get used to their new friend. Also, as they get into the routine Moogle will start to feel more at home and less need to mark his territory. I have also found that with my bunnies (and Bri’s pointing it out) that its easy to “project” how you feel on your bunnies. E.g. if you are nervous about something, you can also think your bunnies feel the same way. Like when were first got the new apartment, i thought all my bunnies were “sad’ and missed home because I did (and they were laying down on the ground) then my b.f. pointed out that my bunnies were doing what they usually do when they are actually HAPPY and I realized he was right. So maybe the fact that you are a little anxious about Moogle is giving them the same reaction – I think pets are very good at picking up on how we feel – so as you get more comfortable with him I think they will too.

[x liddo bunny x]

you know what moobunny, you may be right. because he was tense, i always have a problem with the way he is held. so i guess till i find a way he and i both like him held, i think he will be tense. that and i believe that i give him much attention and love that he doesnt understand it and looks at me with the expression “what is this girl doing to me?” so i think i am going to continue to put him on my lap and pet him and move to more different stuff than what i do with emo and mochi. as for the pooing fest, it doesnt seem like it is territorial marking. it looks like he does not know what he is doing. he is laying down and they roll off of his bottom. so right now i had them separated while i took moogle out to do some potty training… boy did he poo. – -” but i noticed that when emo and mochi were out, (the little cage/gate thing i started out with when i let them out) they didnt poo out side of the litterbox as much as moogle did. both did probably about 3-4 in an hr interval, now but before. they did almost as much as he did. i guess they picked up his bad habit. but now no more. things seem to be looking well but i think my little mochi maybe sick. not to sure, need more observing. she is still eating fine. however, i am beginning to hear sneezez here and there. =( that and she peed a bit outside of the litterbox but she stopped mid peeing and ran to the litterbox. poor thing. may bring her to the vet as soon as i can. maybe this weekend after my friend’s mother’s funeral. =( poor guy

[poopy]

carolyn how long ago was he neutered?

[x liddo bunny x]

to tell you the truth, they didnt know even in his information packet it didnt say. the lady from the shelter gave me a follow up call and said that she thought bun bun was already potty trained from what she can remember. but she also said that because she is only there over the weekends, there is a good chance that the people who work there and clean them may have cleaned everytime before she was able to see but they were supposed to contact her if they were having litterbox problems. =/ oh well.

[BinkyBunny]

xliddobunnyx – how are things going with this?  Any improvement?

[x liddo bunny x]

been a while since ive been online. so many art projects. – -” well so far….NO IMPROVEMENTS!!! =( to make matters worse, emo and mochi are picking up on his bad habits. in addition to that, i found some stuff (brown gue stuff) so i was getting closer to get a better look and it looked like it was going to open more. i am now scared to touch him. well, as i said, his habits have not improved and it seems like he is refusing to adjust. and to boot, hes figured out how to open the cage door even when locked…. – -” apparently under is not a problem for him…. he did that 3 times and freed mochi and emo and they went on a poo fest all over my room…… i had already left for school and it was about an hr in when i got the phone call from my brother…. i was in the middle of class and i wouldnt be able to get out for another 4-5 hrs to catch them so it took my brothers 3 hrs to do what would normally take me 10 minutes to do….. so now i shrunk their cage to minimize the pooing and put weights on the door of the cage so he cant lift it. to boot…. remember the stealing of food… hes now pretty plump while the other two are not as plump anymore. =( i am going to take him back to the shelter to get checked and i guess the only thing i can do now for his potty habits is to keep with it…. hopefully he gives soon

[Gravehearted]

bunnies sure can be crafty when they want to be! it sounds like you’ve done the right thing by limiting his territory. If he’s plumping up and having issues with loose poops, you may need to start feeding your buns separately.

[BinkyBunny]

It’s good to see you back xliddobunnyx, we’ve missed ya! Sounds like you have been very busy. Well, I’m sorry to hear about the stubborn poopers and Houdini bunnies. I think the changes you are making is good. You can also try and add a litterbox and see if that helps. Put healthy treats in the box and see if that will also encourage hanging out in the box more.

[x liddo bunny x]

oh yes…. there were three in the bigger cage. now there is two….. – -” apparently not enough…. and for the past few days ive separated them again….. – -” trying not to feel bad this time…. but hes hear the other two so they still see each other and they have playtime together but hes in a smaller place. and a larger litterbox and it still not enough….. now i only see poos outside… i think there is a huge problem and when i squirt him with the bottle when he is in mid pooing, it doesnt seem to stop i am scared that there is something really wrong with him so because i can take him back to the same shelter for a vet checkup for free, i am going to do that to make sure he is all good. i feel bad for the poor boy but gosh darnit did he teach my other two girls bad habits. =(and as for treats in the box… doesnt work….. tried mint and rosemary… even tried his papaya treat…. he eats it and leaves… =/ bad bunny. however, even though he is, i still love him because he can be sweet sometimes. well back to my graphic design project…. deadline tomorrow. – -“

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