My rabbit has been having very soft faeces for about a month and is quite skinny now . He is 10 yrs old . Still very lively. I held off pellets when started ,never made any difference and lost weight when not getting pellets . Seen vet while ago kidneys fine . Teeth fine . Had injections but no change . Was on fibre plex no difference really . Can anyone help . Have to bath him almost every day .
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Rabbit lost weight and diarrhoea
- Thread starter Lisacarv
- Start date
Liz47
Wise Old Thumper
I cant offer any advice re what could potentially be wrong with your bunny as I am not experienced with many illnesses but diarrhea/very soft poo is a very bad sign in rabbits, I'd get him to the vets ASAP.
Is he acting fine otherwise? What is his diet like? May also be questions Id be thinking about. Hope you get on at the vets ok with him, good luck
Is he acting fine otherwise? What is his diet like? May also be questions Id be thinking about. Hope you get on at the vets ok with him, good luck
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
I assume that the Vet ran a full blood profile as you say that your Rabbit's 'kidneys are fine' ?
MightyMax
Banned
When you say the kidneys are fine, did the vet run a blood profile? Did any other issues show up, if so?
Also, how did the vet ascertain he teeth were OK? Most vets aren't equipped to look into a conscious rabbit's mouth and can only see about 60% with an otoscope.
Hi yes i know its really bad which is why he as been put under had teeth checked had injections and nothing has improved . he still very happy eats well so not in a bad way . i do know its serious when gut stop moving with bloat ect but this is not the case . i just cant seem to get him stomach back in order . Other then lost some weight but could be his age as well he seems fine
teeth checked fine . urine tested all fine. Was put under vet very experienced with teeth
daphnephoebe
Wise Old Thumper
I'd request a blood test from the vet as a urine test is very limited and won't show any early signs of kidney issues.
It may also be worth limiting his diet to lots of different types of hay & some pellets and cut out veg but discuss this with your vet before doing so.
What was the dosage of fibreplex? It may be the dose was too low to make a good difference? Also, it may be worth supplementing with recovery food.
It may also be worth limiting his diet to lots of different types of hay & some pellets and cut out veg but discuss this with your vet before doing so.
What was the dosage of fibreplex? It may be the dose was too low to make a good difference? Also, it may be worth supplementing with recovery food.
I have stopped veg and i did stop pellets to but started giving it back to him after bout 2 weeks as he still been the same but loosing weight . when i offered pellets was like he was starving . He does eat hay ect probably not as much as he should though. I dosed the fibre plex according to his weight . Did use recovery food also with no change had to syringe it.
daphnephoebe
Wise Old Thumper
Do you have his most recent weight to hand? Sometimes with fibreplex you can give a different dose depending on the extent of the issue. It may be worth discussing it with your vet also as he may benefit from a slightly larger dose.
Also, what is his drinking habits like? Has it increased/decreased/about the same?
Try offering him a few different types of hay to increase his fibre intake.
daphnephoebe
Wise Old Thumper
With diarrhoea the body doesn't get the chance to adsorb the nutrients it needs- so it starts taking what it needs from fat reserves (hence the weight loss), as these reserves start getting low, the body will then start taking what it needs from the muscles. Resulting in muscle wastage. If it is to the point of muscle wastage I'd be inclined to say he'll need to be hospitalised & have an investigation to find the cause of the problem as he'll probably need to be put onto intravenous fluids to help support his body and have other supportive care.
cant quite remember know was 81 something so maybe 810 grams could be it . i should get some scales to weight him . i know in a week he had lost 30 grams. Vet also asked me drinking habits is all normal . I ordered fibreplex from net myself as was none at my vets. drinking habits the same
yes i agree but not sure vets know whats wrong . I will book him in with another appointment . was looking on internet bout bugs in the stomach seen cocidea . cant spell !
daphnephoebe
Wise Old Thumper
With that weight he should have been on 1ml dose, three times a day. So he'd receive a total of three granulations a day.
I know it's worrying when you can't find a cause for when they are ill, but I think if it were me I would make another appointment at the vets and have blood tests done and anything else diagnostic. It's distressing for both of you if you have to clean him up every day.
It really might only be a dietary problem. There have been numerous threads on here, where rabbits have had abnormal poos and it's just been a case of adjusting their diet. I feed Science Selective pellets and have no experience of Excel, but I can remember several others on here posting to say that Excel has caused mucky bottoms. Maybe use the search facility to have a look.
It really might only be a dietary problem. There have been numerous threads on here, where rabbits have had abnormal poos and it's just been a case of adjusting their diet. I feed Science Selective pellets and have no experience of Excel, but I can remember several others on here posting to say that Excel has caused mucky bottoms. Maybe use the search facility to have a look.
Last edited:
MightyMax
Banned
teeth checked fine . urine tested all fine. Was put under vet very experienced with teeth
From what you've said, it doesn't seem like the vet did a blood test, which would ascertain whether the kidneys really were working OK. Kidney issues can cause the sort of symptoms he is experiencing, but it would be good for you to have some better idea of why this is happening.
