Hair Molt Causeing Bunny Tummy Aches?

Hi everyone.

I have a year old Dutch buck. The past 1 month he has had trouble with bad tummy aches. One which resulted in a trip to the emergency vet and cost a small fortune.

I have worked out why he is getting the tummy aches i think and i am just wondering if anyone else experiences these troubles with their rabbits?

Beau's symptoms are:
He stretches out and is in a great deal of discomfort and pain
He stares into space
He stops eating
He keeps getting in his litter tray trying to go to go but nothing happens

I read on a previous forum before i found rabbits united that pineapple juice is great to keep everything moving in the rabbits gut so have been giving him small amounts in a bowl each day.

I have noticed his poos are like sausages all stuck together with lots of hair!!!

Is there anything i can to to prevent further tummy aches and help him pass these hairy poos?

Other than that Beau is a perfectly happy healthy bunny!

Any advice is greatly apreciated!

Thank you, Claire.

It is not really the fur that causes GI problems but rather that a Rabbit with a reduced GI tract motility gets a build up of ingested fur which can eventually form trichobezoars (furballs).

So first it is important to try to establish why your Rabbit's GI tract is not functioning quite as it should.

What is his daily diet ?

Does he have any Dental problems ?

Does he get a lot of exercise EVERY day ?

What is his daily water consumption ?

Re the Pineapple Juice. It is the enzyme (Bromelain) contained ONLY in FRESH pineapple that some believe helps. Bromelain will be destroyed during the processing of Pineapple Juice in cartons etc. Also, Pineapple contains a lot of sugar which can actually exacerbate GI tract problems in Rabbits.

Daily grooming will help to minimise how much fur he ingests

Thank you for replying Jane

Beau's daily diet is timothy Hay which he is really fussy about he eats the nice bits and leaves the rest so i try to leave it in there by mixing it up with new timothy hay so he eats it! And i have recently grown them some grass in trays which they eat on my balcony.

He also gets curly kale, brocolli, caufiflour, carrots, apple, bananna and sometimes half a slice of toast shared with my other bunny. He does not get all this every day! He has a few bits all together every other day. I have not given him any veg for a few days just to see how he has been and he has been absolutly fine.


His teeth are fine as far as i know. My vet checked them when he had his last mixi jab a few weeks ago so im guessing they are ok.

Both my bunnies are out of there cages as soon as i finish work but at seperate times as they are still not bonded. But they at least get 1 hour daily exercise.

I never knew it was just pure apple juice i thought the carton juice as ok so thank you for that advice there!

Beau seems to molt so much! Even though he is short haired i do keep on top of minimising any extra hair he sheds.

What does GI mean? I must seem really stupid but its all new this digestive thing.

Thanks Claire x