Rabbit not pooping

[Rabbitslover]

My baby bun of 9 weeks which we got two weeks ago suddenly had diarrhoea one morning..

Peppy had diarrhoea since Thursday morning.. he was drinking a lot of water but eating less. Friday morning I heard his chattering his teeth loudly so I knew he was in pain. My partner took him to the vet who then sedated and injected him with fluids. After that he didn’t eat the whole day as he was sedated. Then on that night we both went back to the vet to get a syringe and force feed him for an hour or so because he didn’t eat or drink whole day. This morning he is eating and drinking by himself. I went outside to pluck fresh grass from our garden as advised by the vet, and he ate non stop. I also bought him a grass mat which he never used before and he was digging and pulling the grass out to eat it. Drank a bit more water than yesterday too and licked his salt lick. He had lost a lot of weight as he looks bony.

The only issue is that he still hasn’t pooped. Last night I saw a gooey strand of poop hanging from his butt which has a jello chewing gum rubber consistency.. I saw one very small black poo which indicated he is dehydrated.. I don’t know what to do. He is just sleeping on his fleece now and hasn’t pooped in 3 hours since I last fed him outside grass. I’m worried the little guy won’t make it through.. ;(

[Bam]

I think you need to take him back to the vet. The gooey-jello-like poo can mean he has intestinal parasites (coccidia). This is common in very young rabbits and they must get medicine.

I’m a bit surprised the vet you went to didn’t do anything other than fluids and sedation. Are there other vets in your area or could you talk to this one and suggest coccidiosis? There are antibiotics that kill coccidia.

It’s very important you keep him warm. Give him a warm water bottle and call a vet right away.

[Rabbitslover]

Hi bam, thanks for replying. He is eating hay now and drinking more which is good. Still not as active as before but much better than yesterday.
He only had the gooey poo once. I’m still not fully relieved yet as he hasn’t peed much despite all the water he drank today. but I’m glad I saw his poop, which aren’t hard but aren’t wet like diarrhoea if that makes sense. It certainly looks shiny and is a bit moist, irregular shaped, some large some small. Is this normal?
The doctor didn’t help much and in Australia it costs 200 bucks at the vet I went. I might try a different vet.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Any update today?

[Rabbitslover]

Pep is much better now, eating (A LOT) of hay and water. He is still more lethargic than usual but he has pooped a lot. Thanks guys!

[Bam]

I’m happy to hear that he’s doing so much better! It might take a while for his tummy to right itself, you can expect poop irregularities for 1-2 weeks after a bout like this. Hay is the best food he can eat.

[Author]

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