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Poop question

B

Beebop

Warren Veteran
Morning all :wave:

Peter had another bit of a wobble during the week. I noticed his poops were dark and getting smaller and smaller but he was still keen enough to eat.

I noticed he was pooping in the hall and bathroom, which he usually only does when stressed. The neighbours are STILL getting work done to the house and its LOUD and makes me on edge let alone poor Pete. So I think this has something to do with it. Also to make matters worse my fire alarm started chirping at that high pitch to let me know the battery needs replaced and Peter was petrified and hid under the bed. So all in all, its not been a good week for him!:(

I gave him some metacalm and tummy meds and hes perked back up and was tripping me up from as soon as I opened the bedroom door this morning, begging for breakfast. :roll::lol:

However, he just did a load of poops about 15mins ago in his litter box and I notice they are still very dark and slightly damp to the touch (gross I know, sorry!). I suppose fresh poop should be slightly damp? Up until last week his poops had gone nice and golden and large. His diet is mostly hay based with dried forage mixed in, he only gets a handful of herbs/dandelions each day now.

So what could be wrong? How could his poops still be so dark?

Also it just so happens that I ran out of readigrass (Pete's fave) for about a week but he was munching away on other hays and dried forage no bother. Then as soon as readigrass was back on the menu he went off. This coincided perfectly with the drilling next door! So now I don't know if readigrass or stress or both could be the issue. Anyone ever experienced a bunny sensitive to readigrass????:? I've removed it the last 3 days but poops are still dark.

I don't believe its his teeth as they were checked in May and were fine and he sits and eats his hay no bother.
 
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Anyone any ideas? His poop is still smaller and darker than i'd expect but hes in good form and eating his hay!
 
I didn't want to ignore your post, but I haven't really got any definite advice for you.

My rabbits eat a lot of hay, but they also eat a lot of forage too. I find that the forage tends to make their poo dark. Just occasionally their poo will be more golden and I assume this is when there is a greater amount of hay consumed. Their poo is not damp though and feels dry to the touch even when fresh.

There have been posts on here where people have said that Readigrass has caused problems, although I have not experienced it here. I suppose it's possible that a new bag would be slightly different and could have caused Pete problems.

If I were you I would just monitor him carefully and see how he gets on.
 
Readigrass is essential dried grass and that does cause darker smaller stools. I would take the readigrass out of his diet for a few days and see if he perks up and his stools become more golden. The herbs/dandelions may also make his poop darker.
 
Beebop said:
Morning all :wave:

Peter had another bit of a wobble during the week. I noticed his poops were dark and getting smaller and smaller but he was still keen enough to eat.

I noticed he was pooping in the hall and bathroom, which he usually only does when stressed. The neighbours are STILL getting work done to the house and its LOUD and makes me on edge let alone poor Pete. So I think this has something to do with it. Also to make matters worse my fire alarm started chirping at that high pitch to let me know the battery needs replaced and Peter was petrified and hid under the bed. So all in all, its not been a good week for him!:(

I gave him some metacalm and tummy meds and hes perked back up and was tripping me up from as soon as I opened the bedroom door this morning, begging for breakfast. :roll::lol:

However, he just did a load of poops about 15mins ago in his litter box and I notice they are still very dark and slightly damp to the touch (gross I know, sorry!). I suppose fresh poop should be slightly damp? Up until last week his poops had gone nice and golden and large. His diet is mostly hay based with dried forage mixed in, he only gets a handful of herbs/dandelions each day now.

So what could be wrong? How could his poops still be so dark?

Also it just so happens that I ran out of readigrass (Pete's fave) for about a week but he was munching away on other hays and dried forage no bother. Then as soon as readigrass was back on the menu he went off. This coincided perfectly with the drilling next door! So now I don't know if readigrass or stress or both could be the issue. Anyone ever experienced a bunny sensitive to readigrass????:? I've removed it the last 3 days but poops are still dark.

I don't believe its his teeth as they were checked in May and were fine and he sits and eats his hay no bother.
Click to expand...


Bunnies can be sensitive to readigrass, but he's had it before no problem? It sounds like it's the drilling next door. I would put my money on that being the cause of the issue. How long is it scheduled to go on for?

If he's eating hay/readigrass/fresh grass, then there's no problem. It's basically the same thing. It will alter the look of the poops, but the fibre content is still good.

How's he doing today? :wave:
 
Hey guys! Thanks for the replies.

Hes not good! Poops are all sizes and very dark! Some very small and some larger and one large oval poop! He is in good form and the drilling has stopped since last thursday!!!

I don't know what is wrong! He is clearly hungry but when he eats it seems to hurt him! He did this last time back in May and got his teeth checked and they were fine and vet said could just be he had stsis and his tummy started moving as he chewed and it was sore. I'm calling carol the vet tomorrow. Hes on metacam and a gut stimulant in the meantime.

This is the fourth or maybe even tth stasis incident this year and i dont understand! I took him off grain pellets n hes on rosewood grain free n seemed to do well on those. His veg intake is minimal, just some herbs or dandelions.

Its really getting to me this! :cry:
 
Beebop said:
Hey guys! Thanks for the replies.

Hes not good! Poops are all sizes and very dark! Some very small and some larger and one large oval poop! He is in good form and the drilling has stopped since last thursday!!!

I don't know what is wrong! He is clearly hungry but when he eats it seems to hurt him! He did this last time back in May and got his teeth checked and they were fine and vet said could just be he had stsis and his tummy started moving as he chewed and it was sore. I'm calling carol the vet tomorrow. Hes on metacam and a gut stimulant in the meantime.

This is the fourth or maybe even tth stasis incident this year and i dont understand! I took him off grain pellets n hes on rosewood grain free n seemed to do well on those. His veg intake is minimal, just some herbs or dandelions.

Its really getting to me this! :cry:
Click to expand...


Were his teeth checked under anaesthetic though? If a vet cannot/won't do 'conscious dentals', then they can only see 50% of the back teeth with their otoscope.

How are his back teeth, really? What you've said sounds classic tooth pain ... I could be wrong of course :lol:
 
No it was done under anaesthetic by a very rabbit savvy vet and his alignment is perfect and he had no spurs as of 14th may. Hes been eating hay pretty much since so i dont know how he would have spurs! :(
 
He gets about 8-10 rosewood hay pellets spread into 2 or 3 feeds, unlimited hays- timothy, meadow and oat etc with a large handful dried herbal forage from.pets at home. Then 1 or 2 small handfuls of herbs or dandelions.
 
Beebop said:
No it was done under anaesthetic by a very rabbit savvy vet and his alignment is perfect and he had no spurs as of 14th may. Hes been eating hay pretty much since so i dont know how he would have spurs! :(
Click to expand...


Great that his teeth look good :)

Are you going to ask the vet for diagnostics? If he is hungry and goes to eat, but then stops because it hurts, there is something that clearly needs sorting out.

Another of these bunny conundrums - they don't make life easy for us humans, do they? :?
 
Beebop said:
He gets about 8-10 rosewood hay pellets spread into 2 or 3 feeds, unlimited hays- timothy, meadow and oat etc with a large handful dried herbal forage from.pets at home. Then 1 or 2 small handfuls of herbs or dandelions.
Click to expand...

I tried to find a detailed list of the ingredients of the Rosewood pellets, but without success. Is it stated on the packet?

When you talk to your vet, I would ask if it's worth cutting out just one of the foods for a week or two and see if you notice any improvement. I would start with the pellets. I know they are grain-free (and they sound marvellous), but it could be just a small ingredient used to bind them together for instance. Some rabbits can't tolerate any pellets without having digestive issues.
 
Sorry Omi, I took a picture of the ingredients but had such trouble with photo bucket I gave up.

Peter *touch wood* is back to being a poop machine, all poops are normal and hes eating away at a variety of 7 different hays, including some readigrass, and seems to be doing very well. The building work has finally stopped next door!!

Peter is booked in to be neutered on Friday, so hopefully that won't be too stressful for him!
 
Beebop said:
Sorry Omi, I took a picture of the ingredients but had such trouble with photo bucket I gave up.

Peter *touch wood* is back to being a poop machine, all poops are normal and hes eating away at a variety of 7 different hays, including some readigrass, and seems to be doing very well. The building work has finally stopped next door!!

Peter is booked in to be neutered on Friday, so hopefully that won't be too stressful for him!
Click to expand...


Can you get the vet to have a good look at his teeth at the same time? :)

Glad he's back to being a poop machine and the building work has stopped :lol:
 
Hi Beebop, hope Peters neuter goes well on Friday. I have just noticed you r in Northern Ireland! Me too :wave: I read you r looking a female companion for Peter? I know Assisi have no singles at the moment but I have a contact for a guy that rescues in Dublin who travels regularly to Northern Ireland. All his buns are neutered and vacinated so if you would like his details you can PM me. If the bond doesn't work out he will take buns back.
 
nickybunny1 said:
Hi Beebop, hope Peters neuter goes well on Friday. I have just noticed you r in Northern Ireland! Me too :wave: I read you r looking a female companion for Peter? I know Assisi have no singles at the moment but I have a contact for a guy that rescues in Dublin who travels regularly to Northern Ireland. All his buns are neutered and vacinated so if you would like his details you can PM me. If the bond doesn't work out he will take buns back.
Click to expand...

Hello! :wave:

I think i have pm'd you....on my mobile and its being awkward!lol
 
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