• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Another messy bum question.

MichG

Mama Doe
I started my new job last week as a Veterinary care assistant at Companion Care vets based in a P@H store.
Friday was our official opening day and one of our nurses went and "borrowed" 2 bunnies from P@H for photos. One of the she picked up was emaciated, has nothing on her, she is so tiny that she looks like a guinea pig with ears :( So we immediately confiscated her from P@H and told them we would get her healthy and then rehome her, otherwise they would have sent her back to the breeder :(

So she has come to live with me at the bunny fat farm! She is a food monster and will quickly munch her was through the pellets I give her and I have given her plenty of hay (un eaten) and she has had a very tiny piece of carrot and a dandilion leaf last night.

This morning I have come down and found a glob of poop about the size of a ping pong ball in her cage, it is gloopy sticky poop with some normal poops stuck to it, it doesn't look like caecal matter, she has produced 2 slightly smaller amounts of this in the past 30 mins, but is her normal self eating her breakfast etc.
I will take her to work with me but we don't open until 10.30 so is there anything I can do in the mean time? What could this be?
 
Sounds like a case of gut dysbiosis, potentially serious in a Baby Bun

I would also be concerned re coccidiosis given her background, so do make sure you keep her quarantined and exercise barrier nursing when caring for her.

I would not feed her ANY Veg, but especially not carrots.

I would ask the Vet to get a fecal test done to check for coccidia as *if* this is an issue then ALL P@H Rabbits on sale are at risk and they should IMMEDIATELY stop selling Rabbits and seek prompt Veterinary attention for ALL Rabbits in the store.

Hopefully getting as much fibre as possible into Baby Bun along with a good probiotic will re-establish a healthy balance of gut flora. But her emaciated condition is a real concern and does point strongly toward a coccidia overload.

I'd get her teeth checked too. Bad breeding may mean congenital malocclusion.
 
Thanks Jane, I did consider dysbiosis, unfortunately I fear if it is Coccidia then the whole littler will be sent back and euthanaised :cry:

We have only been open 2 days and taken 2 buns from them (the other is a giant with serious mallocclusion, possibly a pts as it seems to have shifted her whole jaw out of alignment but we won't tell until GA today) I hope that now we have opened in there we can work with P@H to help with their problems, I know this will create a lot of heart ache in the short term but hopefully in the long term we can change this. We have opened in the store which gets the most complaints about their livestock, thank goodness me and the head nurse are bunny mad, the vet isn't the most rabbit savvy at the moment I don't think (could be wrong!) but will soon have to learn!!!

I hope my little one can get better and we can find her a lovely home (by the time she is better P@H won't want her as she won't be a cute tiny baby bunny any more!!) which will be able to cope with her digestive problems (I understand dysbiosis to be lifelong)

If she isn't eating hay then what is the best source of fibre? Recovery diet/Critical care?
 
Back
Top