Rabbit toilet issues? U/D he seems pretty normal now :) yay :)

Hi Guys,

This is my 3rd time now of being scared stiff that Biccy was going to go into stasis.

I think i kind of know why it happens, but don't know why. Probably makes no sense but here goes.

If we go out for the day and leave him in his penned area, we can often come back and find he has not peed or poo'd in his litter tray *at all*. This is the 3rd time it's happened and it again scared the **** out of me.

He was eating like a horse as usual and gobbled down his evening herbs.

Still no poops. Now i know i changed his litter tray at 3:17pm as i looked at my phone after doing it - so no poops or wee when i got in at 7:38pm.

He didn't seem himself, wouldnt chase me to the door, wouldnt jump up on the sofa etc, i was ready to call the emergency vets..but thought i'd try what worked last time..

so off i trotted to tesco (well drove, slightly faster than normal) and bought some pineapple chunks. Gave him two, let him munch through them and 20 minutes later, we have some slightly smaller and darker poops.

OH has gone to bed without me, as im not going to bed until i've seen some better poops and more wee.

Could it be he just doesn't like going while we arent here and does himself no favours becasue of it? Or should i be more concerned?

This is the 3rd time exactly the same thing has happenned and been fixed by the same thing.

Advice / Ideas please RU'ers.

Ta,

Gray

I don't have a clue but I wanted to say I hope it's nothing serious.

georgie_f said:

I don't have a clue but I wanted to say I hope it's nothing serious.

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Thanks, so do i.

Little ****** is playing me up - you can so tell he's a 'active at night' bunny, he's playing all over the living room with me right now. He did come up and lick my arm on the sofa a few mins ago though

Why do they do this to us?

GrahamL said:

Thanks, so do i.

Little ****** is playing me up - you can so tell he's a 'active at night' bunny, he's playing all over the living room with me right now. He did come up and lick my arm on the sofa a few mins ago though

Why do they do this to us?

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I don't know. Bunnies are funny things. They're the only pet I've ever had that can be absolutely fine one minute and sick as a pig the next.

I don't think you really need to worry unless he stops eating. I guess it takes quite a while to process such a high fibre diet.

Also, are you sure he's not got a secret poo stash under the hutch or hidden in his hay or something and you just haven't noticed? :wave:

hmm wierd... maybe when he has a little friend he wont get lonely and will keep pooping .... *hoping ginger is a good pooper*!!!

sorry im not much help but it is worrying - maybe hes just punishing you when you leave him all day so you have to stay up and play with him all night!! little monkey

georgie_f said:

I don't know. Bunnies are funny things. They're the only pet I've ever had that can be absolutely fine one minute and sick as a pig the next.

I don't think you really need to worry unless he stops eating. I guess it takes quite a while to process such a high fibre diet.

Also, are you sure he's not got a secret poo stash under the hutch or hidden in his hay or something and you just haven't noticed? :wave:

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100% sure, OH thinks im nuts. I got in his pen with him and went through everything, under everything etc to make sure he hadn't decided to ignore his 100% litter training record.

He's sat on the floor washing himself right now.

He's moulting quite heavily so i wonder if its a small fluffy blockage?

kaths101 said:

hmm wierd... maybe when he has a little friend he wont get lonely and will keep pooping .... *hoping ginger is a good pooper*!!!

sorry im not much help but it is worrying - maybe hes just punishing you when you leave him all day so you have to stay up and play with him all night!! little monkey

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Thats what im hoping!

And Ginger had best be! heh

Maybe he is just punishing me? :roll:

They are funny things. I guess he really likes company. As kath said hopefully once Ginger is there he'll settle a bit more.

kaths101 said:

hmm wierd... maybe when he has a little friend he wont get lonely and will keep pooping .... *hoping ginger is a good pooper*!!!

sorry im not much help but it is worrying - maybe hes just punishing you when you leave him all day so you have to stay up and play with him all night!! little monkey

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mmm - thats what I wondered too!:?
Perhaps he is so used to you being around in the day - he wonders why he is left bedhind:roll:....lets hope Ginger will help with this and Biscuit doesnt teach her to "hold" it all in when the hoomans go out...

Bless you driving off to tescos....
Ive also found that with Indiana when she didnt wan to eat once it was 1am in the morning...emergency vets told me over the phone to try a tiny piece of apple & to mix a tiny (like half a finger nail amount) in with some water to add some flavour....this worked a dream for me & Indiana gulped the water down and was hopping about the room half hour later....I was scared to death & in tears!

So if tescos is closed...try that!

Hope Biscuits ok now...bless him...

GrahamL said:

100% sure, OH thinks im nuts. I got in his pen with him and went through everything, under everything etc to make sure he hadn't decided to ignore his 100% litter training record.

He's sat on the floor washing himself right now.

He's moulting quite heavily so i wonder if its a small fluffy blockage?

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It could be a little fur blockage if pineapple made him go again, I'm sure pineapple helps blockages :wave:

Hope he seems better this morning, they love to worry us!

I can hear two possibilities in your story. Separation anxiety as others have mentioned, or your Biccy has an underlying condition making him prone to ileus and the separation anxiety is enough to tip him over into ileus when you leave him. Nino used to do a similar thing when we left him, unbeknown to us all those years ago he had a serious underlying condition causing mild ongoing chronic pain which would take hold combined with his anxiety when we left him - just the added stress slowing the bowel. Of course a heavy moult can predispose or even cause ileus in isolation.

I personally think you need to rule everything out to minimise the reoccurence. I would have him vet checked thoroughly to look for obvious issues, dental spurs etc. get him a companion ( I don't know if this is on the cards?) Nino's episodes went away for a year or two after we bonded him with Poppy - the anxiety of being left alone disappeared as he was no longer alone. I would also brush him daily during heavy moults, just reduce all the triggers. I would also up his fibre intake - increase his hay (adjust his diet slightly).

Pineapple contains papain and bromelain enzymes which 'some' people report can aid in breaking down fur blockages - HOWEVER there is NO scientific proof that this is so and it is thought by most vets more likely that it is the additional fluid rehydrating the bowel which helps bunny to recover, not the fruit itself. Personally if my bun was verging on stasis I would avoid anything sugary that could further tip the caecal balance (something so closely linked to gut motility) including pineapple and other fruits unless used primarily to stimulate bunny to eat again. Much better would be a couple of syringes of warm herbal tea or plain water, or offering bun a bowl of water flavoured with probiotics, or even a pile of wet leaves/herbs.

hope biscuits okay today

hope all is well wiv biscuit.

well at 1am i just couldnt keep my eyes open anymore, so had to go to sleep. Got up at 6am to check on him and he'd done a few more poops, slightly larger but a little more golden

By 11am he'd done a fair amount of regular sized golden poops so i was a lot happier.

He's munched like theres no tomorrow as usual today and done a few more poops - made me much happier - was ready to call the emergency vet i was sat there ready to burst into tears.

Thanks all for your comments and advice i'll take all into account and arrange a vet visit next week aslong as he carries on okay over today/tomorrow morning or it'll be emergency vets.

Prettylupin - he's got a friend coming in hopefully the next few weeks. Just waiting for her to put on enough weight to be spayed. Thanks about the idea of the pineapple - i did syringe him a little water, but it didnt seem to have much effect, so maybe the item in the pineapple, almost acid like i guess helped to break it up.

I'll get him checked out though to make sure he's alright i think

Seems his normal happy self atm, digging away in his dig box and nomming hay!

Am i able to purchase probiotics 'online' or over the counter anywhere so i can keep them in my bunny emergency kit?

VetUk and the hayexperts between them stock fibreplex, profibre pellets, biolapis, avipro plus and avipro with Vit C. I would go for a fibre enhanced probiotic such as biolapis or profibre pellets if possible. Fibreplex is very good for emergency occasions but is better for just 2-3 days use rather than ongoing use. I personally don't like avipro due to the fact both varieties contain sugar/sucrose.

Glad Biccy is doing much better. Am sure having a little wifey will help him loads.

Missed this thread last night due to chatting to parents when they got home from their holiday, but glad Biscuit seems more like himself. I note you've had lots of good advice, and I do also wonder if bunnies like to make us worry somtimes? :? I don't go out for long very often, and if I am planning to do so Spenser sometimes does a squidgy poo just before I go just to make sure I worry about him. :roll::roll:

My Dudley used to do this, he wouldn't go for hours then I'd get a little pile in the tray. It did used to fighten the life out of me.

I also had to do the tesco run in the middle of the night, Duds used to like pineapple juice, rather than the chunks, but it used to do the trick.

I now have Oxbrow papaya fruit plus in my first add kit, it helps break down the fur, if Biscuits having his moult it might help. They are on the pricy side but if they sort him out it's worth a try. Here's a link

http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/special_detail.asp?prod_id=3367

Hope your getting lot more poops soon