Caecal Pellets v No Teeth

[SallyT]

Can anyone help? Have read threads about excess caecal pellets but my house bunny has only ever been on high fibre pellet only food (similar to Excel but PAH own brand) as he has no teeth so cannot eat a mix. He has a fresh basket of hay daily and bowl of mixed herb, grass & veg daily.

He poops normal hard pellets in his litter tray but leaves the caecal pellets all round the house!

Was wondering 1) is he not using litter tray for caecal pellets as they're not 'technically' a poo and so therefore he doesn't feel the need to 'go'? and 2) is he leaving them lying around as he's unable to eat them because of his lack of teeth?

If so, what can I do? any ideas?:?

[HS]

It's more likely to be an inbalance in his diet. How many pellets does he have a day?
I have a toothless house bunny, and he eats Allen and Page Natural pellets which are high in fibre. Other pellets seem to upset his tummy.
He used to leave caecals around the house until we changed his food over. Now he doesn't leave any. It's a little gross :blush: but he doesn't eat his caecal poos from his bottom like other bunnies, but leaves them on the floor and eats them from there.

[SallyT]

Thanks for this Helen, i give him 50 grams a day (as per his weight) which he demolished in his first few days. Now I've increased hay and greens he probably eats about half this.

I'll try the pellets you use, see if that makes a difference.

[SallyT]

Oh and Helen as you have a toothless house bunny too ANY info, tips, advice would be gratefully appreciated. Like toys - he can't gnaw so what should I give him? he has balls to roll and a weeble food dispenser to knock, what else could I try?

And how to I keep his bottom clean as he's not, um, 'eating' his caecal and sits in it instead?

[HS]

Squidgy has a treat ball, and a wobbly toy to knock over. He likes tunnels and things to hide under, so we've fashioned a couple of 'tents' for him in 'his' room.
I chop up his hay for him adn we just let him run around the house, whichever room we're in - he loves to explore! And of course, being toothless, he can't chew anything he shouldn't :D
He should stop the mucky bottom once his pellets are changed. Make sure you swap them over slowly. In the meantime, babywipes are good for cleaning up messy bottoms!
Any pictures? Squidgy's the bun in my avatar and on the left in my siggie.

[Ben's mum]

None of my toothless buns (had 3) had problems eating their caecal pellets. I'd definately say it was likely to be the diet - quite a few buns produce excess caecotrophs when on Burgess pellets and PAH is very similar (if not identical).
Buns only need a small amount of pellets - a handful or two - just to maintain weight and provide vitamins to indoor rabbits.

[jrn1310]

Can anyone help? Have read threads about excess caecal pellets but my house bunny has only ever been on high fibre pellet only food (similar to Excel but PAH own brand) as he has no teeth so cannot eat a mix. He has a fresh basket of hay daily and bowl of mixed herb, grass & veg daily.

He poops normal hard pellets in his litter tray but leaves the caecal pellets all round the house!

Was wondering 1) is he not using litter tray for caecal pellets as they're not 'technically' a poo and so therefore he doesn't feel the need to 'go'? and 2) is he leaving them lying around as he's unable to eat them because of his lack of teeth?

If so, what can I do? any ideas?:?

I have fostered a number of rabbits for ARC which are front toothless buns, they all have managed pelleted dry foods without any problem, including science selective, excel and bunny basics T. As you rightly say they usually are unable to eat a mix due to the small size of some of the particles.

I see that you are feeding P@H pellets which has the same protein and fibre content as Excel. Excel is only 16%, where as Science Selective is 19% and Bunny Basics T is approximately 25%. From my own experience with foster buns who come into the care of ARC with dirty bottoms or excess caecal pellets, the majority of these are on a mix or on excel, once these are weaned over to a higher fibre diet with more hay / grass this problem is usually resolved.

If this was my rabbit I would slowly wean him onto a higher fibre food stricktly ensuring that I only give the amount which is recomended.

If he is eating none, either he cannot get them due to his lack of teeth or he may be unable to reach them, if he is he may be unable to reach them due to his size. If this is the case cutting back on the pelleted food may be required until he looses some weight and is able to reach them. If he is eating some but is producing to many, only give enough pellets to ensure that the caecal pellets produced are all eaten.

[SallyT]

This is great advice thankyou guys.
will defo ween him over to higher fibre food and keep his bum clean in mean time.
Haven't figured out how to attach pics yet but George is on the left of my avatar pic (the black thing is Bridge my kitten! They share most things except my bedroom which is Bridget's domain!)

[SallyT]

Squidgy looks adorable - you must be very proud Helen! have got George a tunnel too which now he's sussed out he likes to 'dig' inside it and he's also sussed his weeble food dispenser.
Thanks for your advice :wave: