Leaving caecotrophs

Gerry is my new rabbit whose recently successfully bonded to Molly. He's been used to eating excel pellets with hay and vegetables. He's a great eater, loves his leafy greens and hay and has around an eggcupful of excel pellets.

Since we got him around 2 weeks ago, he's left around 5-6 caecotrophs a day. I know this is due to too much protein in his diet and probably the excel pellets. I'm gradually changing him over to fibafirst pellets to see if that sorts out the problem. As I'm slowly introducing them, he's only getting about half a stick at the moment and can't see a difference in the amount of caecotrophs yet. However, can veg cause excess caecotrophs? He gets around 1 cup of leafy greens per day.

Shall I just wait and see if the new pellets will help? When should I see him start to eat them?

Has he had a Dental check ? Not eating cecotrophs can occur in Rabbits with molar tooth problems

In my experience green leafy veg is less likely to cause 'not eating cecotrophs' problems than is feeding too much pelleted feed. Carrots and fruit may cause problems due to their high sugar content

Has Gerry's problem only started AFTER bonding to Molly ? If so, is Molly the 'top Rabbit' ?

Have you tried a hay only diet for a couple of days ?

Jack's-Jane said:

Has he had a Dental check ? Not eating cecotrophs can occur in Rabbits with molar tooth problems

In my experience green leafy veg is less likely to cause 'not eating cecotrophs' problems than is feeding too much pelleted feed. Carrots and fruit may cause problems due to their high sugar content

Has Gerry's problem only started AFTER bonding to Molly ? If so, is Molly the 'top Rabbit' ?

Have you tried a hay only diet for a couple of days ?

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Thanks for replying. The rescue we got him from said he had a dental check but he hasn't had one with me so I should get that checked. He doesn't eat fruit or carrots. I bonded him straight away to Molly and she is the top rabbit. I haven't tried hay only diet, I might try that for the next few days.

LionheadLuver said:

Thanks for replying. The rescue we got him from said he had a dental check but he hasn't had one with me so I should get that checked. He doesn't eat fruit or carrots. I bonded him straight away to Molly and she is the top rabbit. I haven't tried hay only diet, I might try that for the next few days.

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Stress is another reason a Rabbit may not eat their cecals. So moving to a new home and immediate bonding to a dominant Rabbit could also be playing a part. Just make sure Molly is not bullying him, especially over food.

Jack's-Jane said:

Stress is another reason a Rabbit may not eat their cecals. So moving to a new home and immediate bonding to a dominant Rabbit could also be playing a part. Just make sure Molly is not bullying him, especially over food.

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Thanks. I'll keep an eye on them. She does chase him a bit but they do spend a lot of time snuggled together. Also they are on a course of panacur. I don't know if this effects the taste of the caecotrophs, but Molly's still eating hers. I suppose it could be a range of causes, so I'll try to rule out as much as I can.

LionheadLuver said:

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on them. She does chase him a bit but they do spend a lot of time snuggled together. Also they are on a course of panacur. I don't know if this effects the taste of the caecotrophs, but Molly's still eating hers. I suppose it could be a range of causes, so I'll try to rule out as much as I can.

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Panacur may effect the gut flora and in some Rabbits this can mean that their cecals dont taste 'right'. One other possibility is arthritic discomfort in the spine. But if he is youngish and active arthritic problems are less likely, although not totally impossible.

My Levi is quite prone to excess ceacals if given too much veg. I never give either of mine a cup a day of veg anymore. Instead they get occasional bits of veg and more of the forage variety of stuff. I made the mistake of giving him half a strawberry as a treat the other week. I paid for that by getting covered in poo as I tried to clean him up after he'd sat in some excess ceacals!

Stress is another reason a Rabbit may not eat their cecals. So moving to a new home and immediate bonding to a dominant Rabbit could also be playing a part. Just make sure Molly is not bullying him, especially over food.

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I never realised how much stress affects bunnies in this way until I got Poppy. Her diet is very restricted these days which really helped but she seemed to stress easily which would cause loads of excess cecals. Any slight change in her routine, even something as silly as hubby feeding them instead of me, would set her off. I've just bonded her and its been a total turn around, she seems to take comfort from her new husbun and we haven't had any tummy probs since they were bonded. I'm totally amazed.

I put Gerry on a hay only diet for 2 days and he's still producing the same amount of caecotrophs, so I know it's not due to his diet. I think now it's either the panacur changing the taste or his spine/hips or his teeth. He does hop slightly odd and he hasn't binkied yet. I'm getting him checked by the vet soon to check his teeth and back. He is 5 years old and did spend a lot of time in a hutch at the bottom of the garden. (he's a rescue)