How does bunny diarrhea look like

She had turned quite aggressive too but has been much better since being medicated with a regular pain killer. The problem resolved for a long while but we also think her bunny partner was helping to keep her clean. Recently, the problem has returned a little but she is much older now and as it is only a very small amount, I am not worried about it at this stage.

Is she healthy, how can we stop her peeing outside her box, all help greatly appreciated. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Rabbits are amazing animals that come in an astounding variety of shapes and sizes, from the mighty Flemish Giant to the adorable Columbia Basin Pygmy and the feisty Netherland Dwarf.

And how much space it will need for a happy life? The Rex guinea pig is one of the most loved guinea pig breeds. Neutering is a routine surgery, and most rabbits recover from it quickly and easily.

So in this guide, we are covering the basics of caring for your neutered rabbit and what to expect after the op. Rabbits are generally clean, but some bunnies may have problems cleaning themselves due to age, ailment, or physical condition. This can lead to urine scald and dirty bottom.

Those problems left unaddressed, can become quite serious, indeed. Can dogs and rabbits live together? It depends on the dog, and it depends on the rabbit. Some dog breeds are more likely to get on with a bunny than others. Individual personalities also play a role. There are few more divisive questions in the rabbit keeping community than whether to house pet rabbits indoors or out.

Unsurprisingly, there are sound arguments. Jess Faraday January 15, 3 Comments. Why Rabbit Poop? Did you know that an average rabbit poops — pellets each DAY!? Click To Tweet Changes in droppings can provide a rabbit owner with an early warning system for a variety of digestive tract problems. More on that in a bit. Size and Shape Rabbit fecal pellets are usually round. Cecotropes are also round. You may see them sticking together like a cluster of grapes.

Consistency Pellets are harder than cecotropes. Cecotropes should be soft, sticky, and squishy. Cecotropes tend to be brown. They also have a glossy surface. Amount This might surprise you. What Does Bunny Poop Mean? Like many small animals, rabbits have a finicky digestive system.

After all, rabbits defecate both dry fecal pellets and cecotropes. Bunnies pass these pieces of partially digested food in groups and ingest them. Unlike normal rabbit poo, cecotropes are produced in the cecum, located between the small and large intestines. They are high in vitamin B, which bunnies cannot produce on their own.

Occasionally, what looks like rabbit diarrhea could actually be loosely formed cecotropes. When your bunny has diarrhea, what does it look like? Unfortunately, this can make them difficult to eat, or your rabbit may simply find the texture unappealing. A rabbit with diarrhea produces extremely watery, non-formed feces.

Unlike normal feces, which is hard and round with visible pieces of hay, if your bunny has diarrhea it will be soft and loose. This is more common in baby rabbits than adults. What causes rabbit diarrhea and soft cecotropes?

Also, overweight or elderly rabbits who are unable to reach their anus and ingest cecotropes may appear to only have soft stool or diarrhea. Unable to consume them, these bunnies simply sit on their cecotropes and press them into their fur, creating the appearance of runny poo. If your bunny is overweight, consider facilitating weight loss through exercise. Elderly rabbits should be taken to the veterinarian for possible arthritis treatment.

Whether they are still eating and how long the condition has been present are important factors to consider. A bunny with a healthy appetite and normal fecal pellets but frequent soft cecotropes should have their diet examined. They may also need to be evaluated for an underlying health condition. Often a simple change in diet can alleviate symptoms altogether. So remember to give your rabbit free-fed grass hay or include fiber-rich vegetables in their diet.

Insufficient fiber is one of the most common causes of rabbits with diarrhea. As is giving your bunny too much of a good thing, like pellets or starchy, sugary treats.

This can take a few days to a few weeks. Both can upset the normal digestive process. Seeds and nuts add a lot of extra calories and starches and can be part of the problem.

Once that happens then go ahead and switch over to the grass hay based pellets entirely. For one thing, they are generally part of the problem and two, they will provide enough calories that your rabbit may not get hungry enough to have an incentive to change to a new pellet or to start eating hay.

Divide this into a couple of feedings a day. Keep giving them hay. Once the pet starts eating the hay gradually reduce the amount of pellets to zero over the next week and continue with feeding only grass hay as described in the section above until the soft stools are gone for a week. Monitor the waste droppings as described above to make sure your pet is eating sufficient amounts of hay.

Alfalfa hay may be the only hay available in your area, or your pet may absolutely refuse to eat grass hay and will only eat alfalfa. It is better to feed some type of hay rather than no hay at all and you can continue with the same plan described for treating ISC with grass hay.

However, be aware that some cases will never completely resolve due to the high carbohydrate content of the alfalfa hay. You can still add green foods to the diet as described below if the ISS shows considerable improvement. Below are a few tips for enticing your pet to eat grass hay:. Once the soft droppings have resolved for at least week, it is time to try adding in some additional foods.

Although technically a rabbit could survive on good quality mixed grass hay, it is likely that it will not be complete for the life of the rabbit and will be missing some trace nutrients.

In addition, rabbits are used to eating a wide variety of textures and tastes and it is much healthier mentally to have a variety of foods in their daily lives. These foods provide a variety of nutrients as well as moisture. We suggest adding one new green food every 48 hours to make sure no soft stools are being formed.

You can easily determine which items are problematic if you only feed one green food every 48 hours, then remove the offending item if needed.

Once you have tested several green foods, then you should feed at least three types daily to your pet Feed a maximum of about 1 packed cup of green foods per 2 pounds of body weight at least once a day or this amount divided twice a day. When your rabbit returns to normal stool production and after the introduction of green foods you can try feeding small amounts of fruits and other vegetables as treats. As with the green foods, if you see any soft stools, remove the item from the diet. The maximum amount of a treat food is one tablespoon per two pounds body weight of any combination of the following:.

After introducing greens and fruits and vegetables back into the diet for two weeks without any relapse to soft cecotropes, then it is time to try pellets again. It is important that you only use the grass-based pellets and not alfalfa-based pellets because you increase the likelihood of a problem with the high calorie alfalfa-based pellets. If the soft cecotropes return, remove the offending pellet and you may try a different brand of grass-based pellet. If the soft cecotropes return no matter what brand you feed, then you may have a rabbit that simply cannot tolerate pellets.

In this case you can increase the consumption of greens to twice the amount listed above per day. Never again feed commercial rabbit treats or high carbohydrate snacks which include those found in the following list:. Your veterinarian may prescribe a vitamin supplement during the initial treatment for ISC, particularly if this has been a long-standing problem.

If a rabbit cannot eat the cecotropes, then she may be missing vital nutrients those special droppings provide. Vitamin supplementation should be short term and need not continue once the pet is on a healthy diet and is producing normal cecotropes.

Some veterinarians feel that giving vitamin C during the treatment of ISS is helpful in improving the integrity of the wall of the cecum and decreasing toxin absorption into the body. A rabbit will normally poop a number of times per day, producing anywhere between individual pellets this number will change depending on the size of the rabbit.

Cecal impaction is when matter stops moving in the cecum, where cecotropes are formed, due to a blockage. Gastrointestinal stasis refers to slowed or prevented movement of matter throughout the gastrointestinal tract.

Both are caused by impaction and present themselves through similar symptoms. Internal impactions are usually caused by a combination of:. Impaction is uncomfortable for a rabbit.

Not only does the blockage cause fecal matter to build up in the gut, but the bacterial colonies are also thrown into disarray. This causes gasses to build up as well, causing even more painful bloating and harmful bacteria to overthrow the beneficial bacteria.

Asides from a lack of poop, or oddly small amounts of poop, there are a number of signs indicating impaction. Most rabbits will adopt a hunched posture that keeps pressure off of the abdomen, which is a sign that there is an internal blockage causing discomfort.

Rabbits will also avoid eating or drinking and become quite lethargic or reluctant to move. A rabbit may also show signs of being in pain depending on the level of bloating. Severe bloating and fecal impactions can sometimes be seen or felt. At times, GI stasis can also result in diarrhea or sloppy poops. In this case, the impaction could be causing an imbalance of bacteria in the gut.

Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents stated that gastrointestinal stasis can rapidly become lethal. Treating it can be tricky. Preventing it largely involves ensuring that your rabbit has a stress-free environment and a proper diet full of fresh grass hay. Rabbits can produce too many cecotropes. However, the first thing to determine is if the rabbit actually is producing too many cecotropes, or if it is just not eating them. There are many reasons why a rabbit will not eat cecotropes, and a few of them are signs of an underlying illness.

Rabbits will naturally produce more poop when fed an improperly balanced diet. Specifically, rabbits will produce too many cecotropes when fed a diet high in protein. The rabbit may choose to only eat a portion of the cecotropes. A rabbit may choose not to eat its cecotropes if they have not formed correctly as a result of cecal dysbiosis, or other digestive issues. Such issues can cause the cecotropes to have abnormal smells and textures, making them undesirable to eat. Uneaten cecotropes can make quite the smelly mess, and should be cleaned up quickly.

It could be an indicator of other problems, including:. Although a rabbit grazes throughout the day, over-feeding a rabbit may encourage it to not practice coprophagy. Often, the first visible signs of health issues in a rabbit will be found in its poop. Highlighting the importance of knowing the difference between normal and abnormal poops.

Apply a tiny amount of starch baby powder, the kind without fragrances, no talcum but starch based. This dries fur allowing poop to come off. Google how to do that. Only wet spots or bottom. Your email address will not be published. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. Contents hide. Normal Rabbit Poop Color. Normal Rabbit Poop Smells.