hi all,
My 2 year old house rabbit is having on going problems with his tummy: he had a very brief bout of stasis at the end of last year and has not been quite 'right' since then.
Every day he leaves excess cecal pellets (that are in themselves normal looking). I have only very occasionally seen him eat these, so whether he is producing too many, or just not eating them I'm not sure. He also occasionally does tiny spots of wee on the floor - he is not really litter trained (that's a whole other saga!), but this looks more accidental, rather than him deciding not to use the box.
He is a good hay eater, and also has one or two science selective digestive health 'sticks' morning and evening. I've tried cutting them out too, feeding small amounts of bramble and herbs, cutting out all veg, and nothing seems to have made a difference. He eats masses of hay (and anything else you put in front of him!) and the other poos he does are golden brown and the right size. He consistently drinks an above average amount (maybe 350ml in 24 hours), but I think it is partly behavioural (he likes the bowl...:roll, and may also be because he has so much hay.
He is 'ok' in himself, but at times in the day is clearly uncomfortable and his tummy gets very bloated. He is just not quite right and I wish I could get him feeling better again. He has a lot of other health problems: his eyes constantly water (damage from previous home), and his nose is sometimes also runny (I think part of the same problem). He is in-bred and was kept in cramped conditions for the first year of his life, so is a slightly twisted shape and has very little muscle mass. With all this, it's hard to tell what's 'normal' and what may be a symptom of this problem.
I have just finished a 28 day panacur treatment in case of EC but this has made no difference to his symptoms.
My vet has checked teeth, and suggested the panacur, but doesn't know what else to suggest. He muttered about kidney failure, liver failure, diabetes, cushings disease, but said he didn't know how he would even check for the presence of any of those problems. I don't think they know a lot about bunnies, but I have already changed vets 3 times since moving here (East Devon) so I'm not sure where else to go to: it is difficult for me to travel too far afield as I care for my dad who is terminally ill, and therefore I can't leave the house for very long.
Sorry, this turned into an essay. Any help very gratefully received by myself and Hugo
Update: Just to add (as if this wasn't long enough) - this afternoon he has done both types of poo together at the same time (so the 'hard' poos mixed with the cecals). I'm sure this is not how it's supposed to happen......
My 2 year old house rabbit is having on going problems with his tummy: he had a very brief bout of stasis at the end of last year and has not been quite 'right' since then.
Every day he leaves excess cecal pellets (that are in themselves normal looking). I have only very occasionally seen him eat these, so whether he is producing too many, or just not eating them I'm not sure. He also occasionally does tiny spots of wee on the floor - he is not really litter trained (that's a whole other saga!), but this looks more accidental, rather than him deciding not to use the box.
He is a good hay eater, and also has one or two science selective digestive health 'sticks' morning and evening. I've tried cutting them out too, feeding small amounts of bramble and herbs, cutting out all veg, and nothing seems to have made a difference. He eats masses of hay (and anything else you put in front of him!) and the other poos he does are golden brown and the right size. He consistently drinks an above average amount (maybe 350ml in 24 hours), but I think it is partly behavioural (he likes the bowl...:roll, and may also be because he has so much hay.
He is 'ok' in himself, but at times in the day is clearly uncomfortable and his tummy gets very bloated. He is just not quite right and I wish I could get him feeling better again. He has a lot of other health problems: his eyes constantly water (damage from previous home), and his nose is sometimes also runny (I think part of the same problem). He is in-bred and was kept in cramped conditions for the first year of his life, so is a slightly twisted shape and has very little muscle mass. With all this, it's hard to tell what's 'normal' and what may be a symptom of this problem.
I have just finished a 28 day panacur treatment in case of EC but this has made no difference to his symptoms.
My vet has checked teeth, and suggested the panacur, but doesn't know what else to suggest. He muttered about kidney failure, liver failure, diabetes, cushings disease, but said he didn't know how he would even check for the presence of any of those problems. I don't think they know a lot about bunnies, but I have already changed vets 3 times since moving here (East Devon) so I'm not sure where else to go to: it is difficult for me to travel too far afield as I care for my dad who is terminally ill, and therefore I can't leave the house for very long.
Sorry, this turned into an essay. Any help very gratefully received by myself and Hugo
Update: Just to add (as if this wasn't long enough) - this afternoon he has done both types of poo together at the same time (so the 'hard' poos mixed with the cecals). I'm sure this is not how it's supposed to happen......
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