Not eating Cecals?

[tanlover14]

Nora is over-producing cecals I believe.  She has been leaving them around during play time.  Yesterday she was out for 4 hours – so I gave her time to eat them but she never did.  

 

I want to make sure I’m right – I’ve had her on alfalfa pellets now (unlimited) – she is estimated to be 6ish months old around mid-June.  I took the Tans off the alfalfa pellets around 5 months but have left her on them a little longer because coming from a pet store who knows how bad her nutrition and ability to gain weight was.  She has topped off at about 2.5 lbs though.  She has grown but not as much as the Tans. 

If I remember correctly, the over production could be to rich of a diet?  Which can be caused by having too much alfalfa in her diet, correct?  I’ve began switching her over to the timothy pellets as well…. I was going to limit her pellets beginning at 7 months rather than 6 months like I did with the Tans because when we got her she was so malnourished.  Should I begin limiting her while also switching the pellets or simply do one at a time?

 

Thanks for the help, as always! 

[Sarita]

Not necessarily but in many cases it is the result of diet. Some rabbits just produce more cecals even on the correct diet.

That being said, I would switch her to see if that helps – I think start switching and then reduce once she is full time on the new pellets.

[jerseygirl]

She has been leaving them around during play time.

Ainsley does this at times. Like he marks with cecals. He hadnt for a while and then tonight, bam! Smelly!

He’s the only rabbit I’ve come across that does this. I asked a friend and she said some of her do it. I’m not sure why it happens.

[RabbitPam]

I think it’s a good time to wean her off the alfalfa pellets and get her on the adult kind. If you need her to gain more weight, just be sure she has plenty of her good foods, pellets hay and greens, with the occasional fruit for treats. She might always be smaller than the boys, but if she is progressing steadily I think you’d be doing the right thing for her.
Make sure she’s moving perfectly normally and is flexible. ie. that she can reach her cecals, just chooses not to. She may be marking a bit with them instead of pee since they are her personal stink.
It’s been some stressful times you’ve been through lately, so she may not be in any real routine just yet, being so small and vulnerable. She might be a bit sensitive to the latest changes.

[tanlover14]

Thanks for the responses!

She is quite flexible, I have seen her eat them and clean herself (quite far below!). Haha! I checked her bum and she has no problems with messy bum like Simba had (when he was having an overproduction of cecals that led to his stasis).

Jersey – she did start doing it when we moved her area from our hallway to an x pen in the living room. Maybe thats why? Some of the other rabbits have ran on the floor right there so maybe she’s just doing this?

Sarita – she started it quite out of nowhere which is why I was worried that maybe I had her on the alfalfa a little too long. I mean, really we are all just guessing on her age. We thought she was about 2-3 months when we rescued her but every time she’s been seen by the rescues vet it is always a very quick appointment as it’s usually last minute so they have forgotten to have her aged twice. Lol! If we got her around 2-3 months it would make her 5 1/2-6 1/2 months right now.

RabbitPam – I do think she has had a LOT go on in her few months of life, poor girl. Between her head scanning, upper resp. infection, the fire, and since we have moved her to the living room for play time in the x pen she has realized there are other rabbits in the house. They can hear each other making noise but no one can see each other. But they all sure try! She is also a hormonal mess right now. She doesn’t know whether she wants attention or hates it, whether she’s happy bunny or grumpy, lol. She’s a hot mess currently. Her spay should be in a week or two – depending on the priorities of the rescue. Maybe that will help?

With the problems between her and Simba lately – I’m on edge about everything new we see, haha!

[jerseygirl]

I think you’re right about her age. Her hormonal behaviour seems right on for a 5-6 month old.

If it is marking, you could see it reduce after spay. I’ve only just had Ains desexed 3 weeks ago so I’ll have to keep note if it stops with him. He does do the normal territorial poos too, along with the running and humming excitedly. But sometimes all these scattered cecals also.

Though… as I write, I’m currently watching Rumball (6 1/2 yrs old & long time desexed) humming, marking and humping & spraying. Bunnies don’t stick with hard and fast rules it seems.

[Author]

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