Never stop worrying

[Shelby]

Hello,

I’m new to binkybunny but, have been reading forums on here for a long time. I have had three rabbits in the past 4 years however, two of them have passed away from improper bunny wisdom at the time. :'( both of them passed away from G.I stasis because I didn’t do my research as many rabbit owners don’t. However, on the bright side I now have so much more knowledge on these wonderful creatures.
I rescued my current baby, Caramel, from a farm that was feeding him nothing but apples out of the garbage. He is a 3yr old Dutch male. When I first got him I still didn’t know that they needed extra special attention for their tummies as I still didn’t realize that my rabbits had gotten gi stasis from improper diet. As I started learning more and more that they need a balanced diet full of hay, fresh greens, and high quality pellets I did just that or I thought I had. My husband and I went on vacation for a few days in July and our caretaker overfed him Oxbow pellets. The next morning after we had gotten home, he was pressing his belly to the floor, hiding, not eating or drinking or pooping so I knew it was an emergency. We rushed him to the vet but, the rabbit Davy vet was out of the office that day. He took X-rays, gave him motility drugs, and critical care. Within just a few hours of being home, he started pooping drinking and eating and he was on the road to recovery. We took him for a checkup the next day with my rabbit Davy vet and she told me it was most likely bladder sludge from the calcium in the oxbow pellets and that I should put him on an all hay diet, she said his belly probably cannot handle veggies either. She had also stated that she wasn’t 100% positive if he even had GI stasis or if it was just bladder sludge.
Since then, I’ve been doing tons of research on the best hays and best pellets. It’s been an up and down battle, I had him on the adult Sherwood pet food but, I noticed that alfalfa was the first ingredient and it was causing him to lose weight all over his body and gaining it in his gut. He was also leaving behind cecals and not eating them so I knew something was wrong. He was pooping massive amounts as well, I know it’s normally “good” for rabbits to be pooping a lot but it almost wasn’t normal I could just tell. I’ve been reading a lot of forums on here about pellets! So I’ve switched him over to the American pet diner Timmy formula, he seems to be taking to it much better than the Sherwood brand. He also eats Timothy, orchard, and pat hay everyday! At LEAST his body weight worth! He also drinks about 8oz of water a day. He has less than 1/4 cup pellets a day because more than that upsets his tummy. He’s gained weight back, had a healthy shiny coat, and bright eyes.
However, I continue to worry about him CONSTANTLY. I over analyze everything he does to the point of making myself sick. This is his daily routine:
He eats/drinks a lot of hay in the morning, also has a small portion of pellets. He poops quite a bit and then from 1-8 he sleeps. I can tell he wakes up and snacks throughout the day because there are a few poops here and there. But I do see him eat the cecals from his anus a few times a day as well so his poops during nap time seem to not be as much. Then around 8, he wakes up and eats a LOT of hay also has another portion of pellets. He will poop quite a bit and back to bed it is! He does the same routine throughout the night as well. He’s a very laid back bun
The thing that has been concerning me this week is I’ve noticed he has been having the “string of pearls” poop once a day. I know it’s only once a day because I clean his poop up morning and night. It’s about 3-5 poops strung together with a fiver like strand coated with mucous. But shortly after he will have his normal light brown/green poop full of hay. He probably has 80-110 normal poops a day.

Does anyone else over analyze everything their bunny does and how do I stop myself from worrying? I think I worry so much from my past bunny expierbces but, I know those bunnies had horrible diets :/ he’s the healthiest he’s ever been too so I feel crazy.

Thank you for reading!

[Luna]

Hi! That farm sounds horrible, so thank you for rescuing him! I think over analyzing everything our buns do is part of being a bun owner . They can be so good at hiding illnesses that we have to constantly keep an eye out. Since he has gained his weight back, have you thought of cutting his pellet amount back even more? For tummy troubles, some members here give their buns probiotics (I’m also looking into that option). Just remember, any diet changes with your bun must start small and slowly.

[Bam]

Thank you for rescuing him! Strung-together puitable for bunnies. Strung together poop as a rule means he’s ingesting hair and needs more brushing. If he’s a normal shorthair bun (as opposed to lionhead or teddy) you can try a lint roller on him. Many buns prefer being lint rolled to being combed or brushed.

Benebac is a probiotic that has some of the right bacteria for the rabbit gut. You can try that to help his digestion.

“Normal” water-consumption for a bun is 100 ml per kg body weight and day. (It varies though, they drink more when weather is hot, and buns that get fresh veggies drink a lot less). If your bun is around 5.3 pounds, 1/8 cup of pellets would be enough for him.

As for worrying, it’s difficult. Forum leader Jerseygirl said wise things to me when I worried a lot about the RVHD2-virus. There’s only so much a human can control and we shouldn’t let worry overshadow the great joy bunnies bring us.

You are giving your bun excellent care. You saved him from a bad situation. Every minute he’s been with you has added to his happiness and well being. Nobody can control what happens in the future, us hoomins can only ever try to do our best.

[Author]

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