somethings not right with my rabbits poop....

Had noticed over the last few weeks that my rabbit was doing a LOT of really loose smelly poo throughout the day. I initially put it down to a wee imbalance in his digestive system. However after a couple of weeks nothing had changed so we had a trip to the vets to get him checked. The vet could not feel anything abnormal so we left with a 2 day treatment containing very high fiber paste and a month treatment called lapizole for worms and parasites, this treatment is now complete and nothing has changed....he is still having really smelly poo through the day and it everyday we have to clean his bottom as it is all stuck to his fur...

Took him back to the vet still nothing found and does not know what to suggest as he is fine in himself just this poo thing!!


He is eating well, balanced pellets and plenty of fresh hay daily, no treats or nasties in his diet.

rabbit is male, 3 years old. Mini Lopp

Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

What pellets is he on? Also does he have fresh vegetables, as they can cause wet, stick, smelly poos. Some pellet food can be high in protein, and some buns have this problem when on Allen & Page, so maybe gradually swapping him on to a different brand of pellets may help.

How many pellets does he get and how much veg does he get? :wave:

How much do you feed him? I was over feeding Bella and she used to get them. Its the poo they usually eat but if theyre being over fed they cant manage the amount the body is producing so dont bother with it. Could it b that?

el1983 said:

How much do you feed him? I was over feeding Bella and she used to get them. Its the poo they usually eat but if theyre being over fed they cant manage the amount the body is producing so dont bother with it. Could it b that?

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He is on pets at home own brand rabbit food, he gets the recommended amount for his size, vet confirmed not over feeding. He gets either broccoli or pineapple 2 times a week. He gets no other treats etc. I have changed his food before gradually and this made no difference, also have given less pelets and more hay and this didnt help either....Im stumped!! Thanks for your help folks.

I never trust the recommended amount on the bags :lol: I feed science selective and what I 'should' be giving mine was just ridiculous, they just want you to finish the bag and buy more!

Rabbits really don't need pellets, it's more commercial, so it's recommended that around an egg cup a day is enough Bunnies diets should be 90% hay, 5% pellets and 5% veg/herbs or something like that.

Mine now have much less than that as I was having problem poos too, so my pair get around 7 pellets a day each. They just have hay then, I don't feed veg just the occasional herb I would definitely reduce the pellets though.

What type of hay does he have and how much does he eat?

Broccoli can be gassy but 2 times a week sounds fine I *think* pineapple is high in sugar, like carrot and banana so I might even reduce that even more. I didn't even know they could eat pineapple! Green, leafy veg would be better, spring greens, kale etc just introduce slowly

I'm no expert at all, but mine had the same problem so I looked it up and swopped from excell to science selective and all was well.

Aly&Poppy<3 said:

I never trust the recommended amount on the bags :lol: I feed science selective and what I 'should' be giving mine was just ridiculous, they just want you to finish the bag and buy more!

Rabbits really don't need pellets, it's more commercial, so it's recommended that around an egg cup a day is enough Bunnies diets should be 90% hay, 5% pellets and 5% veg/herbs or something like that.

Mine now have much less than that as I was having problem poos too, so my pair get around 7 pellets a day each. They just have hay then, I don't feed veg just the occasional herb I would definitely reduce the pellets though.

What type of hay does he have and how much does he eat?

Broccoli can be gassy but 2 times a week sounds fine I *think* pineapple is high in sugar, like carrot and banana so I might even reduce that even more. I didn't even know they could eat pineapple! Green, leafy veg would be better, spring greens, kale etc just introduce slowly

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Hiya, We have always given our rabbit pineapple, its nice and high in fiber and our vets recommend this or broccoli 2 times a week (one or the other...its usually broccoli we give him as we dont often have pineapple in the house) and tell us to avoid leaves as these are very wet and can cause the loose poo as well...

He gets a good clump of hay every day...probably eats about 2/3rd of it. It may be too many pellets...will try and give him less and see what happens there...thank you.

Debbie

I read that pineapple is good for them in very small amounts every so often as it helps break down and fur they have swollowed. Your better off giving greens as in leaves, cabbage, or spring greens. I cut right back on the pellets and it helped. Good luck x

el1983 said:

I read that pineapple is good for them in very small amounts every so often as it helps break down and fur they have swollowed. Your better off giving greens as in leaves, cabbage, or spring greens. I cut right back on the pellets and it helped. Good luck x

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thanks I will try less pellets and see what happens. Thank you for your advice. I was worried that he was sick but he isnt acting ill in any way. Thanks again.

Pineapple is very sugary which can cause digestive upset. Sometimes it's recommended for breaking down fur in the tummy but the sugariness of it negates the positive effect so the tablets are better. Personally I don't bother as my vet who is a specialist with rabbits told me that in his experience fur in the digestive system doesn't cause stasis and it usually passes through fine. I brush my furry rabbit regularly instead.

I don't feed broccoli either as it can cause gas and one of mine gets tummy gurgles after eating it. They get plenty of fibre from their hay and if they need something to top it up I feed bramble leaves and other natural foods.

One of mine used to get lots of wet poop, the thing that sorted it other than reducing food and upping hay by refreshing it regularly was to feed herbs and natural, wild foods instead of vegetables, so mine don't get veggies full stop other than the leaves of things like carrot and fennel and an occasional pea pod.

Just reduce pellets slowly and perhaps more fresh hay a few times a day, mine go crazy for fresh hay and act like they've never seen it before :roll: Mine didn't eat as much hay until I started buying hay for pets hay The timothy and rye is really stalky and fibrous :thumb:

http://www.hayforpets.co.uk/products.html

The 9.5kg bag is £16 (including delivery) and lasts me about 2 months and mine get their hay racks filled up 2 or 3 times a day :thumb: I just use baled meadow hay in their litter tray so it saves me money as it gets emptied daily, they seem to ignore the cheap stuff (bale is only £6!) :roll: :lol:

See how well it goes down? :lol:

My buns when I first got them were on the pets at home nuggets and in retrospect we were giving them too much. They are now all on eexcel (though I am aware that excel can cause a sticky bum in some rabbits). Anyway they get 25g per kilo of body weight; some may say this is too much but it seems to be ok for mine. They get an endless supply of good quality medaow hay from the hayexperts and this is topped up everyday. All of my buns go absolutely mad for their nuggets and the hay, they act as if they are ebing starved!

If you are worried, you could also buy a pro-biotic powder and put in the water. Pets at home selll one for about £3-£5 and helps with the gut flora.

Hope that helps