New Bunny – Crazy Poops

[Jack and Noggin]

Hi. I’m newly registered here but I’ve been visiting for quite a while.

Recently, we adopted our second house bunny, Jack. Jack and Noggin (our other bunny) have bonded nicely and are a great couple. Jack has been having some weird poops though and I finally had to ask. Noggin has rarely had health or digestive issues so I’m not really sure what to do.

Jack’s first week here, he had leaky cecotropes smearing all over. Chalked it up to a new diet and moving into our house. I fed hay as much as he wanted and pellets (2T per day) and the issue has resolved. However, now I’m noticing something else, his fecal pellets are different sizes – some are HUGE and others are teeny-tiny – both are slightly wet to the touch. This is SO different from Noggin’s uniformly round, dry poops that I’m not really sure what this means or what I should do for Jack. Any advice?

Thanks so much.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Jack&Nogs : )

So how long have you had Jack now? Has he had a vet visit since he’s been in your care?

both are slightly wet to the touch.

By this, do you mean they look wet. A slight sheen to them and smell? (Territorial poops)
Or they are hydrated, as if been sitting in the water bowl?

It may still be his adjusting to home and diet. Or the way he’s always been.

Your profile indicates he is a tri colour bun. So mainly white with some orange with black (or grey) spots?
This may or may not be significant…
There is a condition that seems to effect some rabbits with the spotting gene. But I’m uncertain if the description of his poos is an indicator though.

ETA: pics are always useful. .

[Jack and Noggin]

I’ll try and take some poo pics tomorrow – which is odd but I completely understand.

They are… damp I guess. Not hard and dry (like Noggin’s). They can squish without crumbling but stay solid when I’m tossing them.

We’ve had him for just about 2 weeks. I think what concerns me most is the dramatic size difference. He just doesn’t seem healthy. We have a vet appointment for Friday though because he has a mild runny nose too. Poor guy.

Yes, he’s mostly white with orange and black spots. He’s around 2 years old also.

[jerseygirl]

He just doesn’t seem healthy. We have a vet appointment for Friday though because he has a mild runny nose too. Poor guy.

That could well be part of the mystery. I would ask your vet to give his teeth a check as best they can. You may have to have him booked in at a later date to have this done under sedation.
Teeth probs can result in odd poos, mushy cecals and running nose. Though, it sounds as if you got the cecal problem sorted which is great. That will keep him in better health. : )
Even congestion from a resp. infection might prevent him from being able to chew his food adequately, resulting in odd shaped poos.

Your vet may suggest fecal testing be worthwhile also.
{{{Vibes}}} for Jack.

[Jack and Noggin]

Hi there. I had to change my loggin because of the “&” symbol but it’s the same person.

I snapped a few pics today:

http://postimg.org/image/ptf99mo8z/
This is one of the spots he leaves behind. He only leaves these “dribbles” in his napping/night-time spot – no where else.

http://postimg.org/image/ohvdr3et3/
And here is his poo. You can see it’s shiny. Different sizes. Some get bigger than this too.

He’s a really great eater and us very active and smart. I haven’t been giving any fresh greens (both bunnies are NOT happy about this). But he eats a ton of hay and drinks water like you wouldn’t believe.

[jerseygirl]

Nice to see pic (avatar) of ypur pair too!

The first looks like pee spots to me.

The poo certainly looks suspicious.

I don’t want to say with certainty “it is X condition” because I’m not qualified to do so. However, I do think your reading up on this syndrome could be worthwhile to see if anything rings true. It’s oddly known as Cow Poop Syndrome (or cow pile) and has various other technical names. Similar to mega colon but not true megacolon like cats or dogs would get.

Just be aware their isn’t a lot of scientific info out there and much about the condition is unknown. A lot of stuff is anecdotal info from owners. You’ll probably find a bit on these forums also. I know i for one have posted about it numerous times.

The cause of his odd poop could be something completely different but I do think knowing about this condition is worthwhile so you can ask your vet. Even show the the photo.

Keep us updated how you go Friday and best wishes!

[Jack and Noggin]

I think I’m going to post another thread because I have more questions but I just wanted to update you. We just got home from the vet and Jack is pretty ill. He has a bacterial infection from clostridium. The vet sent us home with 5 medications and Oxbow critical care formula to feed and flush his system with.

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