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My Rabbits Stomach

H

h0llyharris

New Kit
Hey,
i got my rabbit about a month ago now and i’ve noticed that ever since i’ve had him, his stomach is always making loud gurgling noises. I’ve researched and read that it’s normal if your rabbit is flopped/stretched etc, but Auggie’s stomach seems to always be making them. He eats plenty of hay, drinks plenty of water and also gets an egg cup full of pellets for each 2kg of his weight (spread once in the morning once at night). Does anyone know what might be causing this, and is it something i should be worried about. any help would be really really appreciated:(
 
You don't mention his poop, I'm assuming that's normal as well?

While I'll admit that the gurgliest rabbits I've had have had intestinal issues, if everything is going in fine and coming out fine he could just be noisy.
 
his poop is normal, sometimes there may be little clusters but following research those are just Cecotropes and shouldn’t be anything to worry about. You said when you’ve had intestinal issues with past gurgling rabbits, could you recommend that there’s anything i should look out for? thankyou in advance
 
h0llyharris said:
his poop is normal, sometimes there may be little clusters but following research those are just Cecotropes and shouldn’t be anything to worry about. You said when you’ve had intestinal issues with past gurgling rabbits, could you recommend that there’s anything i should look out for? thankyou in advance
Click to expand...

Changes in eating habits, changes in poo output- small poo, less poo, abnormally shaped poo, oval as opposed to round. Mucus in or around poo, soft,wet fecal poo. Rabbits should eat all their cecotrophs so if he is not doing so this could be due to a diet too high in protein/ carbs (pellets) and not enough fibre (hay). Not eating cecotrophs can lead to dysbiosis.
 
How old is your Bunny and was he a Rescue or from a breeder? If he is over 6 months old he should only need about a tbsp of pellets per day, lots of hay and a small portion of veg/herbs or forage.
 
he is about 4 and a half months. that’s interesting so thankyou i wasn’t aware, usually i put an egg cup full on pellets into his bowl and later at night i put the other egg cup into his foraging mat. do you think that’s too much or that i should cut down? he gets super excited when he sees that i’m getting his pellets too, maybe i could be over feeding him then which is a nightmare because i’ve always tried my best to be consistent and to not 😅he was also from a breeder (i’m aware that isn’t great but she is a good family friend and she felt as if she couldn’t handle him a lot and that he needed a good home where he could run around and get as much attention as possible and as i can free roam him i decided that i was ready, later on i’m definitely looking into rescuing one when Auggie is older and settled!)
 
Last edited:
interesting, he isn’t always eating them. i think that i could be over feeding him pellets so for the next week or so i’ll cut down and track if there is any change in that or any change in his poop, behaviour, drinking etc. thankyou so much for your help!
 
h0llyharris said:
interesting, he isn’t always eating them. i think that i could be over feeding him pellets so for the next week or so i’ll cut down and track if there is any change in that or any change in his poop, behaviour, drinking etc. thankyou so much for your help!
Click to expand...

I’d advise you to weigh him every 2-3 days to make sure he is still gaining weight if you reduce his pellets. He is still growing at the moment so he should not be loosing weight. What pellets do you feed ? Excel Pellets are known to cause excess cecotrophs in some Rabbits.
 
i use the harrignton natural optimum pellets, i searched through many reviews before getting them and struggled to find a bad one but of course every rabbit reacts differently. i’m not sure if they’re the problem i hope not because i have a 20kg bag of it lmao!! if i don’t notice a change perhaps i’ll change them. do you recommend a specific type?
 
h0llyharris said:
i use the harrignton natural optimum pellets, i searched through many reviews before getting them and struggled to find a bad one but of course every rabbit reacts differently. i’m not sure if they’re the problem i hope not because i have a 20kg bag of it lmao!! if i don’t notice a change perhaps i’ll change them. do you recommend a specific type?
Click to expand...

I feed my Rabbits a pellet free diet. But if I were to feed a concentrated feed I’d opt for Fibafirst Sticks

https://supremepetfoods.com/products/science-naturals-fibafirst/
 
If he is only 4.5 months old he shouldn't be over-fed with 2 eggcup fulls. Do you give him anything else, apart from hay?
 
he sometimes has some greens, but he hasn’t for about two weeks now. he’s definitely around 4 and a half months, he was 3 and a half when i got him. I’d say he’s 5 at a push. I don’t think he needs a vet appointment or anything because like i said he’s always had it, and it hasn’t gotten worse or his stomach is never hard etc but i’ll definitely watch him closely. thankyou for your help again!
 
You don't need to cut his pellets down as he is still a baby. Did you carry on feeding him with the same pellets he was eating at the breeders?
 
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