Why does Gizmo suddenly have “poopy butt”?

[brianamonster]

Hello all! Gizmo is my 7 year old holland lop baby. When he was younger he never seemed to have issues with a sensitive tummy, although his brother Pongo always had issues and we were constantly having to help clean him. Probably in the last year, I’ve noticed that Gizmo seems more sensitive to his foods. Admittedly, I have not been the best at always providing him with fresh greens, although he does occasionally get lettuce and parsley. He obviously gets unlimited hay and fresh water, and I give him a scoop if pellets once a day (I think it’s 1/4 a cup). A while back I had tried incorporating more fresh greens into his diet daily which resulted in a poopy mess everywhere. Any ideas why he suddenly seems sensitive to his foods? I know I should feed him more fresh foods, but I do know plenty of bunnies live long and happy lives without it so I can’t imagine that has caused this. Any way to help prevent it? Maybe less pellets?

Thanks for any advice!! It is much appreciated

Briana

[Sarita]

Have you had a vet check his teeth? That is many times the reason for “poopy butt”.

[brianamonster]

Oh really!? I haven’t had the vet check that but he is due for his check up so I will be sure to have him look. He did have one instance when he was maybe 2 or 3 and they had to file a tooth down but his teeth have always been fine in the past since. He eats perfectly fine..he loves food LOL I’m wondering if maybe I should cut down his pellets a little and try getting him to eat more hay. Maybe that could help everything digest the way it should?

[Sarita]

You might be surprised at how much dental problems can affect digestion problems and cause poopy butts and at his age and his breed, it’s a very big possibility he has molar spurs.

[brianamonster]

Hmm, interesting! I will definitely try to get him into his vet for a check up on Wednesday then! Ever since Pongo passed away in January I feel like I have become more conscious about Gizmo’s health and doing whatever I can to keep my little guy around as long as possible

I picked him up earlier and gave him a little tummy rub (just in case lol) and cleaned off a spot on his bum and now he is upset with me but I think he will thank me later when he realizes how much more comfortable it is to have a clean behind lol!

[brianamonster]

I would also like to mention that I occasionally hear his tummy gurgle. I always hear it when he drinks water (I think that is normal for him), but sometimes when he is getting his nightly cuddles I can hear it gurgling. Are there any fresh veggies that could help with this, or would that just make it worse? I suppose the vet will know what to listen for to decide if he is having some digestive issues

[LongEaredLions]

In the meantime, you could try some different greens-ones that he hadn’t tried before, to see if he is just sensitive to particular greens. Remember to introduce very slowly, a teeny bit, wait a few hours, then try again with a bit more.

[JackRabbit]

Moshi has a sensitive tummy. He’ll have mushy poops and excess cecals when he has too many greens. Romaine lettuce does it to him every time so we cut that out of his salads. He also gets a smaller salad than my girls. Cutting back a little on pellets should increase hay consumption (which is always good!). LEL is definitely right about introducing greens slowly too.

[Sarita]

Also at his age another possibility is arthritis. I think people with senior rabbits don’t realize that there are other issues that could involve having poopy butt rather than their diets. Especially if it’s something that has just seemed to have happened.

[brianamonster]

Thank you all for your input! We’ve tried a handful of greens in the many years that we have had him. For a long time I gave him and Pongo cilantro daily until I read that they actually shouldn’t have too much cilantro (I hope I’m remembering this correctly). He seems to do well with parsley, which he loves. Every once in a while I’ll give him a little piece of carrot, or some lettuce (and I’ve given him a tiny piece of apple maybe twice as a treat). It had been a long time since I had read up on sensitive bunny tums so I re-educated myself last night with BB’s experience. I’m going to take him to the vet tomorrow morning for his check up and in the meantime today I’m going to slightly reduce his pellets and get him to eat more hay. I’m definitely going to start introducing some more greens into his diet. Since he is older, I don’t want to reduce his pellets too much, because I feel that helps him maintain his weight (but perhaps I’m totally wrong about that LOL). I know I tend to over-worry, and I had myself so stressed last night as I kept reading more about it! He’s my baby and I would hate if there is something wrong and I disregarded it

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