Soft poos

[bunbun00]

So my bun, Onix is about 1 and is a double maned Lionhead. recently he’s been to the vet because I noticed some of his poo was too soft and was sticking to his fur. His diet has been changed since, even at one point I was just feeding him hay (he’s a good hay eater) and this was still happening. I don’t know what to do now but the vet told me it was fine. It clearly isn’t fine because he never used to do it and it’s not nice for anyone to have him dragging his wet poops all over the sofas and beds. He’s free roamed and is generally very well behaved, even to the point of letting me know if he needs a wee when we’re out somewhere. So I feel like I can read him well, but this I just don’t know.

Also he doesn’t seem in pain (as far as I’m aware) as he doesn’t act like he’s gassy. Any further info I’ll happily provide but I’d love some advice. Maybe on hay types or just ideas to feed him? He’s also not overweight as he was weighed at the vet and had his teeth checked over.

Please help

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, are most of his poops normal? And just some excess cecals sticking to him?

Or does it seem like most of his poops are soft?

Also, how long did you try the hay only diet? I’m surprised that didn’t help.

I wonder if a probiotic might help. I remember member Vanessa had success using Bene-bac to help one of her buns soft poops.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

Sometimes rabbits need a longer spell on hay only if they have poopy butt. That your vet said he was fine just means that his health isn’t in any immediate danger by poopy butt. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to do something about it, it’s bothersome for both the bun and the hoomins =)

Poopy butt means there’s a slight disruption in the microbial balance in the gut. Hay is the best rememedy, but it can take up to 3 months before the tummy normalizes. Some buns are extra prone to poopy butt and will have relapses now and then. You can try adding a probiotic as Dana says. Benebac is used by many of our members and it’s available in many parts of the world. There are other brands as well, I used a British brand for my poopy butt-prone bun Bam.

You can try different hays, in case he has a sensitivity to a certain hay. There are actually rabbits that are allergic to timothy! I myself am allergic to timothy so I try to feed other grass hays. Rabbits can eat and thrive on any grass hay that’s good for horses. The easiest available types are probably orchard and oat.

If your bun is a good hay eater, it’s risk free to switch him to a hay only diet, he’ll just eat more of the hay. If he is not a good hay eater, you should taper down his other food until you see that he actually eats enough hay. Otherwise the bun might eat too little or not be able to extract enough nutrients from the hay it eats (for this the gut must have enough of the appropriate microbes in the gut), and thus it will starve – which is very, very dangerous for a bun.

You can do a hair cut around the but if a lot of poop get stuck there. Beware not to cut too close to the skin. A vet or vet tech can do a full sanitary shave if needed. You can give your bun butt baths when he is particularly poppy, or you can do dry baths by massaging cornstarch into the poopy clumps and then comb or brush them out. The safest way to give butt bath is in a wash basin or other small-ish container that you place on the floor in case the bun jumps out. You just need an inch or two of lukewarm water. Make sure you dry him properly after so he doesnt run around with a wet butt and gets cold.

I don’t know if you have read this, but it’s a good article so I’m linking to it, other readers of this thread can perhaps benefit from it even if you yourself have read it already:
http//rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/

Part of this article is about true diarrhea, this is not what your bun has.

[bunbun00]

Thanks so much guys,

The vet actually shaved his bottom area which was great, but it still gets stuck. It’s like a huge raspberry…

He does normal poops too but there’s quite a lot of this poop around too.

So what I’m worried about is feeding him hay only for such a long time, I’m super happy to try it and will definitely start and hopefully it will work. But he acts like he’s always hungry anyway, hoping I don’t give in to his angel face!

[Bam]

If you have access to good hay, at one year of age he shouldn’t suffer from being on a hay only diet. You could give him half a table spoon of pellets every day or use alfalfa hay as a hay topper to make sure he really gets all the nutrients he needs for his teeth, skeleton and muscles.

You should monitor his weight -I weigh my bun weekly in a bowl on my kitchen scales. If the hay diet makes him lose weight, you need to supplement with small quantities of other food.

[Author]

Messages