Poorly tummy...changed food not sure what to try next.

Hi,
I have a 6 month old mini lop.
He started on excel but that never suited him & most nights would look uncomfortable.
Have tried fibreplex and also a solution in his water to try and calm his tummy.
Recently changed over to SS but he now seems to be getting looser poo at around 11am which is nearly 18 hours after he's had dinner. Are changing over from excel to SS so slowly as I know he has a delicate stomach.
Vet gave us worming medication but I'm worried about using it as it says it may cause diahorrea and with his tummy the way it is I'm worried.
He eats so much hay and drinks plenty and is lovely when his tummy isn't playing up.
Have been nervous about starting fresh foods. What is a good fresh food to start with that would be gentle on his tummy? If pelletss don't agree with him then I'd rather give them up as long as I can give him fresh foods.
He is moulting a lot at the min but groom him every day.
Should I try the worming med? I have fibreplex I can give him should I try this again?
I've switched the pellets so many times I worry if I stop completely without having some fresh foods in place to replace the pellets he's going to lose weight.
Any help/advice would be gratefully received
X

Hi, welcome to the forum. How much pellet food are you actually giving your rabbit? They should really only be having the equivalent of an eggcupful a day. rather than the amounts suggested on the packet.

Supreme's Fibafirst is more of a natural type of pellet food as an alternative.

Herbs are usually tolerated quite well to start with e.g. parsley, coriander or basil. Also blackberry leaves are very good for a rabbit's digestion.

Hi, thanks for the response. He has a very small amount of pellets at the moment. I would say about half an egg cup as I don't want to over do it and make his tummy worse.
I will have a look at supreme fibafirst. I'm jaunt worried about Kel changing pellets.
He's so happy but then when he gets his moments and looks uncomfortable it's horrible. Have taken him to the vets so many times and hey don't seem too concerned and have just given fibreplex.
Should I try the worming treatment? I just don't want to make him feel worse.
Can you buy blackberry leaves? I will give herbs a go and see how I get on. I'm guessing only a small amount and see how he gets on.
Thanks.

Regarding the worming treatment, I think I would only use that if my vet suspected that there was a definite need, rather than it might help.

Yes, you would be able to buy dried Blackberry leaves - Galen's Garden is a good website to look for dried rabbit forage. You should also be able to find fresh wild Blackberry plants though. They'll be looking a bit sorry for themselves this time of the year, but should still have some leaves.

Yes, regarding the herbs, I would try one sort to start with and then only a small amount until you can see they are well tolerated.

Also if you conduct a search on this forum you will find lots of threads where people are not feeding pellets at all. I have linked this one, but there are several others http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...d-of-Pellet-Museli-Feed&highlight=Jack's+Jane

One consideration would be to remove pellets completely and feed a hay, forage, herb diet only. I had one rabbit that I had to remove pellets from his diet completely as they were causing continued digestive upset. I fed him hay, forage, and leafy greens only. Once I stopped the pellets he was completely fine and never had issues again. I can only assume he became intolerant of a common ingredient in pellets, as I had tried several different types with him with the same results. On his no pellet diet he always maintained a good weight and had no other health issues in the 2 years before his death from unrelated causes. Continued monitoring of weight was important to ensure the change of diet wasn't causing unwanted weight loss.

Once I removed the pellets, the best way I found to try what other foods would be ok, was to start from a hay only diet and make sure that all signs of digestive upset had stopped, and also ensuring the hay is being eaten without any difficulties and in sufficient amounts to make up for the lack of pellets or other foods in the diet. Then I would pick one forage/herb/leafy green item and start with a very small amount for a few days to see if it lead to any digestive difficulties. If everything remained normal I would very gradually increase the amount. Then once I was done introducing that item I would try introducing another in the same manner. I stuck with a few select forage items and leafy greens/herbs. I never fed sugary foods, grains, or sugary/starchy veg, as these would also cause problems. I also avoided cruciferous veg/greens as they can also sometimes cause digestive upset. You may find that you can't give too many different foods because the digestive system may be too sensitive. I just always took it very slow and once I found a few safe foods to give, I stuck with those and didn't change what I gave him after that.

I don't know if it will help your rabbit, but it did work for mine, so might be worth discussing with your vet and giving it a try.

Thanks for you help. I've been reading this evening and now I'm wondering if the alfalfa based pellets aren't helping as I've read alfalfa can cause tummy problems. I have found a Timothy hay pellet so will try this & if no improvement then the pellets will go.
I've ordered some dried blackberry leaves so will see how they go down.
Would be lovely to have him happy all day rather than worrying about him all the time. He's gorgeous when he's running around & playful & id like him to be like that more often.
Thanks again. I'll update hopefully with some good news x

Jbun said:

One consideration would be to remove pellets completely and feed a hay, forage, herb diet only. I had one rabbit that I had to remove pellets from his diet completely as they were causing continued digestive upset. I fed him hay, forage, and leafy greens only. Once I stopped the pellets he was completely fine and never had issues again. I can only assume he became intolerant of a common ingredient in pellets, as I had tried several different types with him with the same results. On his no pellet diet he always maintained a good weight and had no other health issues in the 2 years before his death from unrelated causes. Continued monitoring of weight was important to ensure the change of diet wasn't causing unwanted weight loss.

Once I removed the pellets, the best way I found to try what other foods would be ok, was to start from a hay only diet and make sure that all signs of digestive upset had stopped, and also ensuring the hay is being eaten without any difficulties and in sufficient amounts to make up for the lack of pellets or other foods in the diet. Then I would pick one forage/herb/leafy green item and start with a very small amount for a few days to see if it lead to any digestive difficulties. If everything remained normal I would very gradually increase the amount. Then once I was done introducing that item I would try introducing another in the same manner. I stuck with a few select forage items and leafy greens/herbs. I never fed sugary foods, grains, or sugary/starchy veg, as these would also cause problems. I also avoided cruciferous veg/greens as they can also sometimes cause digestive upset. You may find that you can't give too many different foods because the digestive system may be too sensitive. I just always took it very slow and once I found a few safe foods to give, I stuck with those and didn't change what I gave him after that.

I don't know if it will help your rabbit, but it did work for mine, so might be worth discussing with your vet and giving it a try.

Click to expand...

I agree 100% with Jbun, especially the parts I've put in bolded font.

Lovjm8 said:

Thanks for you help. I've been reading this evening and now I'm wondering if the alfalfa based pellets aren't helping as I've read alfalfa can cause tummy problems. I have found a Timothy hay pellet so will try this & if no improvement then the pellets will go.
I've ordered some dried blackberry leaves so will see how they go down.
Would be lovely to have him happy all day rather than worrying about him all the time. He's gorgeous when he's running around & playful & id like him to be like that more often.
Thanks again. I'll update hopefully with some good news x

Click to expand...

I have had issues like this with one of my rabbits, and I took him off his normal pellets and put him onto Oxbow Basics, and the problems cleared up. I reckon the other pellets were either too rich or too oily.

Most people find it difficult to maintain rabbits without any pellets, especially such a young one as yours.

Regarding the worming treatment, I think this depends on how rabbit savvy your vet is, and if he really thinks that worms may be part of the issue. I see no harm in giving a nine day course of Panacur to a rabbit if that's what your vet is suggesting.

The other thing you could pursue if things don't clear up, is coccidiosis.

Just for info, don't let it scare you

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Protozoal_diseases/Cocc_en.htm