POOP! And sneezing…

[cactuspancake]

Since my bunny is new I’m not 100% sure what is healthy and what is not, and also I’m a first time rabbit owner of my baby angora, Franz. His poops are very hard and oily on the outside. I can hear them hit the floor like someone dropping a small screw.  I have not seen night droppings at all, and I’ve only seen him eat one of his turds.  I’ve had a chance to see all of his poops because for a few days his cage had the poops fall through to a litterbox.  His poops are dark brown ( I guess like they are supposed to be&#160, not light; an indicator of wool block.  I just read that oiliness and “very hardness” isn’t good also. 

I’m just extra worried because he has been sneezing more and more since we got him, and now they are loud… I can hear them in the next room… and sometimes successive (maybe over 6 in a row). also they are … louder and not as “cute” today…. sound a little… grainy? For lack of a better term.

also… he’s only drank water probably twice every day, today only once. (bottle in his cage). Also I’ve been supplying a little bowl of water in case he wants to drink out of that. He hasn’t touched it today…

I’m calling the vet anyway to get him in for a grooming as he came with a few mats on his belly and I can’t groom him yet because he doesn’t like being handled, so I’m going to buzz it so we can work on a calmer feeling of being groomed without knots!

Despite my concerns he is very friendly and woke me up with kisses today. He eats everything I give him and binkys and runs around.

[RabbitPam]

I always recommend a young bunny have a complete baseline exam by your vet so she has a record of any changes and gets to know him. You have enough questions to warrant a better check up than just a grooming, especially with the sneezing. I would schedule a regular appt. with the vet and ask that a basic grooming be included. The sneezing may be an allergy, but even if it’s only that, you will need to find and eliminate the allergen. It sounds like more than that to me though.

[cactuspancake]

Umm my bunny made a poop necklace connected by a few strands of wool… I know this is bad. Calling the vet in the morning. I fed him papaya pieces and he is still very happy and pooping/ eating/ drinkin/ and binkying all over but still sneezing snotty sounding and might be getting wool block. Well it was prolly from grooming other bunnies.. He doesn’t eat his own hair which is good. Ill give an update tomorrow. Also found a maggot in the lettuce I gave Franz…we had just used it for hamburgers! I hope they are not parasites like my guinea pig got when I was younger

[Monkeybun]

Definitely need to groom him alot. You need to get him accustomed to being handled. Angoras need daily grooming to keep their fur under control. Bunnies ingest alot of fur when they groom themselves, it isnt usually from them purposely eating it. It just happens. Best way to keep it going through their system is LOTS of hay, and water. And definitely get rid of the maggots!!!! They can be bad bad bad news. Good luck at the vet!

[Deleted User]

It is good that your angora bun is passing the hairs in him. There will always be some hair in him, the important thing is that it comes out of him on the other end. Getting him to eat hay and brushing him daily is the best health insurance for angoras. Start getting him used to being brushed vey gradually. he will freak and squirm but even if you can start by holding him still on your lap wrapped in a towel, just stroking his head with a brush — he will learn to tolerate it over time. Kits can be wild.
The sneezing definitely needs to be examined by a vet, let us know what the vet says. Have you noticed a particular timing of the sneezing, or does he sneeze without any pattern?

[cactuspancake]

No, Franz is just sneezing everywhere. He hasnt sneezed much today yet.

The maggot came from some lettuce I got in my local farm food share box and we had just put some on the burgers!!! Gross lol. It’s fresh and crispy… Probably because they don’t use pesticides?

[lashkay]

I looked up what Barbi Brown has to say about sneezing rabbits, you might want to read it:
http://barbibrownsbunnies.com/sneezing/htm

Excessive ammonia from urine build up or ineffective litter-absorbency can cause sneezing just like heavy perfumes or room deodorizers, too. I use carefresh but if that’s too expensive, I’ve heard wood stove pellets are popular too, but only a certain kind.

You might try giving him a few oats, about less than a tablespoon of plain Quaker rolled oats (not instant oatmeal) I found when I used to feed Dustor oats as a treat, it made his poop moist, with some coming out normal and a few coming out a gel-like toothpaste consistency. since then I wouldn’t give him the oats now unless his poops were hard or small as now they’re normal on the diet of pellets I give him plus unlimited timothy and oat hay and orchard grass (knock on wood). It’s good that you’re giving him the dried papaya bits.An English show lionhead fancier said that in the several years he’s been giving his lionhead (another wooly breed) papaya bits, they’ve had no wool-block. But only give your baby Angora 2 diced bits a day or less. I give my two bunnies (one a 12 week old baby) 2 bits papaya/day. About less than 1/4 cup pure freshly squeezed pineapple juice (not canned) has bromelaine which can also be a preventative of wool-block. Just a few things to confirm with your vet.

[cactuspancake]

Thanks for the advice! I’ve been cleaning his litter every day thoroughly replacing most of it. I was using newspaper pellets but switched to wood pellets because they disintegrate when peed on so it easier to tell I think what’s wet and what’s not. His sneezing seems a lot better in the past two days. I will totally use oats when I have to thanks!

[Monkeybun]

Did you take him in to the vet yet?

[cactuspancake]

Vet appt is on November 2nd; everyone is booked. I’ll take him in obviously if something is wrong but Wednesday doesn’t seem too bad.

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