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Poopy bum bun

aerofine

aerofine

Warren Scout
Hi all

My 2 year old Dutch rabbit has got the runs, quite bad. It must have only started in the last 24 hours, as I didn't notice anything on Saturday night, but noticed this morning when going into their shed. I found a couple of pools of poop. He is fine in himself, apart from a dirty bum. I have tried to clean him up, but will redo later when I get in from work. He was dirty but not overly dirty. His sister however, is fine. I have removed all green food, as I am thinking they have had too much this last week - they have had strawberry tops and broccoli, along with some different kinds of lettuce. I have only left them with some pellets and museli. I've read I should take all food away for 24 hours? Should I o this when I get home tonight? Will his sister be OK with no food for this time?
 
Likely the cause of this is poor diet. You are feeding way too much fruit and veg unfortunately.

I would suggest a veterinary check up for her health and a change of diet. DO NOT under any circumstances leave a rabbit without food completely for 24 hours, you will make them very poorly.

A rabbits diet needs to be 85% good quality hay, 5% pelleted feed (mix in your case, which can be changed to a pelleted feed slowly, over the course of 2-3 weeks, 5% new food 95% old food for ~2 days, then 10% new food 90% old food etc etc..) and 10% veg.

Cut out all fruit and vegetables for now and start from scratch would be my opinion.

There is a safe list of foods in the top of the 'diet' section here.

Too much fruit (very sugarry) and veg will cause exactly what you are seeing, which is known as dysbiosis i expect.
 
Yes they have got hay in their litter box. I can't remember the name of the lettuce but it wasn't iceberg. They have had it regularly and never any issues before. I'm thinking it's the strawberry tops, as I have been eating more strawberries recently and giving the tops to the buns. I will just feed pellets and mix - but how long for and when should I reintroduce any kind of veg/greens?
 
Liquid diarrhoea is serious. The rabbit is probably already dehydrated and may get weaker. I would take him to the vet at lunchtime if poss (and then pick him up after work if he is well enough) or else leave work early to take him in, so he gets subcutaneous fluids, recovery food and anything else the vet deems necessary.

Probably at least 2-3 weeks before reintroducing veg. Fruit isn't good for rabbits as the sugar can easily upset their digestive system. If he eats hay, then a hay-only diet (without pellets and muesli) is best for recovery.
 
Unfortunately I can't get to the vets today. He doesn't have any other symptoms of anything else. He is running around and eating, no mucus, no congestion or matted eyes, I have seen him drink yesterday and he hasn't lost any weight.
 
aerofine said:
Unfortunately I can't get to the vets today. He doesn't have any other symptoms of anything else. He is running around and eating, no mucus, no congestion or matted eyes, I have seen him drink yesterday and he hasn't lost any weight.
Click to expand...

I really hope you get him to the vets as soon as possible, even if it is nothing to worry about, i'd much ratehr be safer than sorry.

Vibes for your little man, hope it is simply a case of dysbiosis. Cut out all veg/greens for at least a week and check him every day, at least several times to ensure he hasn't got faecal material attached/matted to his back end.
 
aerofine said:
Unfortunately I can't get to the vets today. He doesn't have any other symptoms of anything else. He is running around and eating, no mucus, no congestion or matted eyes, I have seen him drink yesterday and he hasn't lost any weight.
Click to expand...

They go downhill very quickly with diarrhoea. I hope he somehow recovers, but he could be very different and very weak by the time you get home (I assume you last saw him about 8.30am or so if you work standard hours)
 
I will update later when I get home, just can't get to the vets today. Like I said, he spent at least 3-4 hours yesterday morning running around the yard, and had about an hour this morning before I left for work. He's charging around, so I wouldn't thought he was feeling sick. I was going to clean him up again when I get home, and check his litter tray. I'll only offer him a smaller amount of pellets, to see if he'll eat more hay. He does eat hay though.
 
Vita said:
They go downhill very quickly with diarrhoea. I hope he somehow recovers, but he could be very different and very weak by the time you get home (I assume you last saw him about 8.30am or so if you work standard hours)
Click to expand...

Yes I left at 8.30am. But my Dad has just left our house literally 5 mins ago, and he has just put them back in the shed after being out since 9.30am. I asked him how he was and my Dad said he was fine, running around chasing the cats.
 
He's doing fine. I've not given them any green food or veg since the weekend and I haven't found any more liquid poop. His bum is practically clean and he's running around like normal. I haven't taken him to the vets. If the runny poop had continued I would have. He's not very happy about just pellets though! When can I give him small amounts of veg again?
 
I would stick with lots and lots of hay for the time being (hay is the most important part of their diet) and a v small amount of pellets.

I would, however, still recommend a vet check.
 
too much fruit and veg i think, but not positive. Did you say the hay is in a litter box? you could provide a hay rack and filll it with hay, so the rabbit would want to eat it rather than pooping/peeing on it, which would be quite unappetizing, (sp? :S) and could possibly cause illness. Another possibility is fly strike, where flies lay eggs on a rabbits backside and cause inflamation, infection and sometimes diarrhoea. but this usually happens in warm weather, and its not looking that way here at the minute anyway :) any chance you could get a picture of the dirty area on the rabbit? :) x
 
There is no dirty area now, he's practically clean. I only cleaned him once, and he must have cleaned himself. The litter box is huge, and I mean huge. There's plenty of hay for them to nibble on whilst they sit and poop, like rabbits do. I used to offer hay in a basket as well, but they hardly touched it. I've given pellets, hay and some alfalfa sticks. He seems fine, with no runny poop since.
 
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