Mucus in poop? (or whatever it is)

[toki]

I was just about to go to bed when I did a spot-clean of Toki’s litter box. There were about 50 total poops in there, and I noticed that one side of one of the poops had some yellow stuff on it. The rest of the poops were fine from what I could tell, but I didn’t inspect them all individually, I just sifted them around in the litter scoop. Toki is eating, drinking, acting just the same as normal. (He is 2 and a half years old.) I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it normally, but it just happened to catch my eye.

What could be causing this? Should I go to the vet? 

Edit: here are some pictures

Edit: After finding some more of this on one of Toki’s poops this morning, I’m not even sure if this is mucus. At first I said it was mucus as it looks a bit like the mucus from the ‘Bunny Poop Guide’ thread, but now I’m not even sure what it is. I found some of it on his litter pellets as well, but it is in very very small quantities and therefore hard to tell what it is. Any ideas of what it might be?

[ThorBunny]

It’s hard to tell from the picture, is it white or whitish yellow and chalky? It may be calcium deposits from dried up urine. I find poops that look like these in my litter box sometimes when Thor pees over a pile. It is normal for them to have some calcium in their urine so I wouldn’t worry too much if you only see these occasionally!

If it doesn’t sound like calcium, the concerning thing I can think they might be are parasitic worms being shed in the poop. Do they look at all like this? http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Parasitic_diseases/Nem_gen/Nematodes.htm
Worms are easy to treat so it might be worth a trip to the vet just in case!

[Luna]

Has Toki been eating a lot of fruit lately?

[toki]

Thanks Thor The colour is literally a mustard yellow. I’ve only seen two poops like this so far, one last night and one this morning. However if it was urine, would it be just on the one poop? Wouldn’t it be over multiple poops in the pile? Next time I find a poop like this, would it be worth smushing it to see what’s inside? I don’t like the thought of it, but I’ll do it if it helps solve the problem!

[toki]

No Luna, he doesn’t eat much fruit at all! He’s a very fussy bunny. Probably hasn’t had any fruit for 2 weeks or more.

[Gina.Jenny]

Podge used to get mucus coated poops, he has quite a sensitive tum. I took him, and his mis-shaped/mucus coated poops to the to the vets last year and was told it wasn’t necessarily anything to worry about. The mucus coating can be a sign of gut slow down though, so just keep an eye that he keeps eating and pooping. Reduced appetite/no pooping= straight to vet. I used some pro-biotic powder with Podge for a while, but what helped him the most was dandelion stalks! Simethicone can be wise to get in too, as it works wonders if a gas build up is behind any tum troubles.

[toki]

Thanks Gina, that helps to put my mind at ease. Toki is a great eater at the moment. He feasts on hay, then poops, then repeats over and over until it’s time to do something else. I’ll keep an eye out to make sure his gut keeps moving.

[toki]

Update; I was scooping the litter out of Toki’s box today, and at the bottom I found some more yellow stuff. This is the first time I’ve seen it actually reach the bottom of the box.

Now does anyone know what this could be? I’m starting to get worried about Toki but can’t seem to find much info on what this stuff actually is 

[Gina.Jenny]

could it be bladder sludge, ie excreted excess calcium?

[toki]

Hmm, maybe? Is that something I should go to the vet over?

[vanessa]

That looks sludgy to me. When Lancelot has mucousy poops, it looks like Vaseline and snot. Sorry for the choice of words…

[toki]

Thanks Vanessa. I’m thinking it might be sludge too, but I haven’t seen any actual sludge yet, only the chalky residue in the picture. All I found was that slight crusty layer on the bottom of the litter box. And I know that it was pretty fresh too, since I clean out the box multiple times a day, including last thing at night and first thing in the morning. If it is sludge what can I do about it?

[ThorBunny]

A while ago, I was worried Thor had bladder sludge (why I mentioned calcium before). My vet said that it is normal to have some calcium and even occasional sludge is ok (since that means it is coming out), but if you see this a lot it can possibly lead to kidney stones or other issues… Maybe ask your vet for advice? In case you are crazy like me, here is an exhaustive guide to rabbits and calcium my vet emailed me:

http://www.gcahlawrence.com/downloads/Rabbits%20Treatment%20Bladder%20Stones.pdf

[vanessa]

Yeah – mucous doesn’t get crusty. I can’t imagine how long it would need to sit there to get crusty…

[toki]

Thanks for the link Thor Yeah it’s only occasional sludge, or what I think classes as “occasional.” I only find very small amounts in his litter (if I’m not looking for it, I’ll overlook it completely), but I can spot some every 2 days or so. I will keep an eye out that it doesn’t become frequent, if it does I’ll contact the vet. Thanks everyone

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