Mushy cecotropes

Hi everyone..

Another question..:roll: (thanks for creating this forum)


I don't really see our buns cecotropes as he tends to eat them, he used to leave them laying around when he was younger but as he got older he started eating them straight from his bum.,

Anyway, the last few that I have seen have been kinda mushy and unformed like little chocolate puddings.

He has had a respitory infection and been on baytril for the last 2 weeks, but one of his cecatropes was mushy before that, I did mention it to the vet but she didn't seem too concerned.

I have been giving him avipro plus half a scoop on his food, and the other half in his water.

I read somewhere that it could be because his diet is too high in carbohydrates and not enough fibre etc, so I was wondering which foods contain the carbo hydrates so I can reduce them, it's all kind of confusing..

He eats mostly dried foods, but I think my gf may be giving him too many treats etc,

I'm not sure what the best way is to help get his cecotropes back to normal.

thanks

Martin

It definately sounds like his intestinal flora is out of balance. If you have just had health problems in the past recently, there should be no way he should be given treats so soon after, IMO, until his digestive system has stabilized.

Do you have hay available at all times? I would restrict to a simple diet of hay hay hay and his daily amount of pellets only until everything gets sorted out.

Do young bunnys sometimes not starting eating all their cecotropes till they get a little older :?

Hi Rabbitbaby and Wendy,:wave:

Thanks for your reply.

Yea, I have seen the normal ones (like small bunches of grapes sort of thing) from him, but the last few weeks theyre kinda mushy, they dont stick to his bum and he still eats them out of his bum, but occasionally leaves a dollop behind..

Do you think I should keep adding avipro to his feed?.. I noticed too, that since he started getting avipro his hay consumption seems to of gone down and I was wondering if that was because of the effect of the avipro?

also if I reduce his foods do you think that would encourage him to eat more hay? I'm just worried he will starve himself..

Thanks, and sorry about all the questions..

M

:wave: Baytril can upset their tummies a little so I wouldn't be surprised to see this after a couple of weeks of antibiotics - I would just stick to hay, and give a small amount of pellets and a small amount of veg if he is used to it - but no other treats - and see how you go. I would keep giving the Avipro for now.

Hi Alison,

I noticed the odd pudding type one before he was actually on the baytril, but yea.. that's the only thing about anti biotic is they dont seem to distinguish between good and bad bacteria:roll:

I will keep him on the avipro then, I just wasnt sure if you could give him too much sort of thing, and follow the advice, (none to minimal treats have to EMPHASISE that with my gf) and as much hay as possible, I will cut his food right down and try get him to eat more hay, but I will keep an eye on him in case he starves himself.. he has a pretty big appetite though so hopefully he wont.

I'm trying to think back to what he was on, or what has changed since I last saw a perfectly formed cecotrope, but can't think of anything..

Thanks

He seems fine in himself and other poops are normal just want to get everything balanced.

M

Also - how old is the little chap and what brand of food do you use? You shouldn't really be seeing any caecatrophs at all, so I wouldn't worry too much about how well formed they are; if his intestines are working properly and his diet is right, he should be eating them all straight from his bum and you should never get the opportunity to inspect what they look like

Hi Alison

He's about 7 months old now I think, and yea I hardly ever see them, I watch him and he does eat them straight from his bum, but occasionally he leaves a bit behind and it's kind of mushy.

We tried several foods but he's soo fussy, he will only eat the mix he's been on since birth but I get that from a pet shop so not sure what brand it is, I expect it's probably not a premium one though, but it's the one he's been used to since he was about 6 weeks.

We have tried him on wagg, and bunny brunch but he doesn't really seem into it, so I'm thinking of weening him on to science selective or another brand (he's such a fussy little devil though).. maybe the Science selective..?

he doesn't seem to like timothy hay, wont touch it, but will eat the brome hay, and meadow hay.

M

:wave: I wouldn't worry about the timothy hay then as long as he's munching happily on meadow hay with a bit of brome for some variety. I would suggest trying science selective, most buns seem to find it jolly tasty. Mixes tend to have far too much protein and not enough fibre content - made even worse by the fact that they tend to eat all the tasty, bad for them bits, but leave the healthy stuff!

My Dudley was on a mix when he arrived here, he'd been on it for 2 years, and it took about 4 weeks before he would even start eating the SS. They tend to just be naturally suspicious and avoiding of anything new, so if you mix it in and he leaves it, just keep doing it and he will eventually get used to the smell and taste and should start eating it. You can slowly start decreasing the amount of mix and increasing the amount of SS until you are completely using the SS. If you can't find SS then try excel lite (I would only use the lite version, not the standard), but my personal preference is SS.

At 7 months he should also be on very limited amounts of mix now, so it may take a while for him to get the hang of a new routine, but stick with it and hopefully you will have a sticky-poo free little chap!

Hey!..

That's interesting what you wrote.. just making notes of everything, there is so much to learn. I can truly understand now why they call them exotic pets..

Yea, your right, he is picky and only tends to eat the bits he likes and leaves the rest, usually I noticed all that is left is what looks like barley or little bitty bits. That's good adive about getting him used to the mix too, he would nibble at new mixes but you could tell he just wasn't that into it.

I was going to order some ss from the hay experts, as I have ordered from there before with no hassles. the shops round here are rubbish and don't stock decent brands.

where you mentioned at 7 months he should be on limited amounts? why is that?. will they tend to over eat?.

We have always kind of allowed him to regulate himself but I noticed lately and strangley since the avipro too, that he seems to be somewhat chubbier than he was, since he's been moulting his fur is changing too though so I don't know if hes changing but I think he may be part lion head as he seems to be developing a main and has a strange tuft of fur sticking out of his cheeks.

(I will try and get some pics in the light tommorrow)

I just took some quick pics now while hes chilling on the floor... he looks kinda overweight?.. almost like he has a double chin, but Im not sure if its a dewlap.

Sorry about the rubbish quality of the pics, but rubbish camera and I will take some decent ones in the day light with my other camera..

Anyway, thought I would upload them here to see what you think






He looks too chubby?...:?

OK - firstly, please forgive the obvious question...but is he definitely a boy? Has he been neutered, or if not, does he have obvious 'boy bits'? The dewlap does make him look a bit like a girl...

Martyjoe said:

where you mentioned at 7 months he should be on limited amounts? why is that?. will they tend to over eat?.

Click to expand...

The main constituent of any rabbit's diet should be hay/grass. Leaving pellets or mix out all the time is a bit like leaving a big bowl of sweets on the table and then wondering why the children won't eat any vegetables They will be lazy and tuck into the pellets/mix if it is there, and won't eat enough hay.

Consequently - by not eating enough hay, their teeth are at risk of overgrowing (their teeth grow constantly, and they need hay to give the right chewing action over a long period of time to grind them down) and their guts do not work quite as well as they should, because they are not getting enough fibre. So you need to limit the pellets/mix/veg in order to make sure that they eat enough hay.

Hope that makes sense

Hi Alison

Yea, he is a boy and he's neutered, it's strange you can only see the dewlap every now and again, it depends how he sits/lays etc..

He's a little monster when his food is missing, or it's down to the bits he doesnt like, he goes on a destructive rampage and starts destroying things, walls, furniture etc, and starts basically misbehaving and climbing into spaces he cant really fit in, etc.. constantly naughty (at least by human standards) then as soon as I replace his food he stops and is in heaven tucking into his grub then all chilled out again..

whos training who eh?.. lol

But that makes sense what you said, really I would like him to eat mostly hay and have a couple or so meals a day, try and keep things very basic and nutrutional but without it being boring for him.

I was just worried that he would sort of starve himself or get depressed if we limit his food because of the way he acts when its low or not there..but I will try him and keep an eye on him and see if he eats more hay.

I'm thinking of gradually switching him over from his dry mix food to Science selective then at least I know hes getting all the nutrients etc from his feed., hes such a picky eater too..

Thanks for the reply and the suggestions, Here goes!........

M

I would keep a close eye on his weight whenever you make a change to his diet/amount of dried food, just to be on the safe side.

You could also try mixing his food in with hay or putting it in places other than a bowl so he has to forage for it; it may encourage more hay eating and will also keep him busy! For example you can buy treat balls so the bun has to push the ball around for the pellets to fall out. You can stuff boxes, cardboard tubes etc with hay and mix a few pellets in too, or hang hay from a suitable rack (one bunny can't get caught in!) with some pellets mixed in. Be creative, you can then give him things to spend his time destroying to good effect!