Cecal dysbiosis made worse by hay only diet

It sounds like you do everything you can for him! Maybe try without fresh grass and readigrass and see if he improves.
I hope he gets better soon!

Sending positive vibes for your boy.

So over the last few days we've had a bit of change. He's having some pasty poo every day now, something we'd never really seen before the antibiotics. I'm not sure if it's the liquid getting better or if it's his normal poos getting worse. Awaiting a response from my vet on whether we can do a blood test as the next step in finding out what's up.
I did stop the readigrass and grass like Walli suggested, and I've cut down on the protexin too as he seemed to be over the really bad patch of liquid poo.

No need for anyone to respond really, just updating for my own sake.

BattleKat said:

So over the last few days we've had a bit of change. He's having some pasty poo every day now, something we'd never really seen before the antibiotics. I'm not sure if it's the liquid getting better or if it's his normal poos getting worse. Awaiting a response from my vet on whether we can do a blood test as the next step in finding out what's up.
I did stop the readigrass and grass like Walli suggested, and I've cut down on the protexin too as he seemed to be over the really bad patch of liquid poo.

No need for anyone to respond really, just updating for my own sake.

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I hope that blood tests may give some clue as to what is going on x

Fingers crossed it is the liquid poo getting better and not the normal getting worse.
I hope your vet responds soon and the bloodsamples can be taken

Blood tests showed nothing in particular. She did say he's a little anaemic but that shouldn't be causing any problems.
We're going to do another poo test to see if the coccidiosis is back/didn't happen to be present in the last one and if that's not the cause she said she can either refer me for further tests elsewhere or we just say "it's not bothering him, lets leave it be".

Dental officially off the table which is a big relief for insurance purposes.

BattleKat said:

Blood tests showed nothing in particular. She did say he's a little anaemic but that shouldn't be causing any problems.
We're going to do another poo test to see if the coccidiosis is back/didn't happen to be present in the last one and if that's not the cause she said she can either refer me for further tests elsewhere or we just say "it's not bothering him, lets leave it be".

Dental officially off the table which is a big relief for insurance purposes.

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Well I am glad the bloods were OK but of course the mystery continues as to what is causing the problem x

Good to hear the blood tests were ok!
But of course it´s also frustrating not knowing what the cause is.
Is he doing okay at the moment?

He had to have a trip to the vet yesterday because he had a damp patch on his face. I thought it was likely his teeth but vet confirmed the teeth aren't bad enough to be causing any problems. The damp patch is a rash /eczema type thing, probably because he's been getting the liquid poo on his face. They had to shave the fur off and I'm bathing it twice a day with hibiscrub which he hates.

Overall he does seem to be doing quite well. It's hard to say because I haven't always kept a diary but I feel like the periods between the liquid are getting longer and the periods where he's doing the liquid are shorter. His normal poos are still in a pretty bad way though. The vet we saw yesterday said keep a close eye on him, stick to the hay only with protexin as and when he needs it and be prepared for it to take months for improvement.

My main problem right now is that Obi is on his own and obviously lonely. He's been coming up for cuddles on the sofa every night and it's breaking my heart because he should have rabbit company 24/7 .
An ex-RU friend wants to get out of the rabbit cycle and has a bereaved doe with a minor long term health issue I agreed to try and bond with Obi. I'm now torn between introducing a new stress (trigger number 1) that might give him some extra security and improve his wellbeing in the long run, or keeping things stable but both Obi and the other rabbit are unhappy on their own. Obi seems generally ok besides looking for a lot of affection from us, but the other rabbit is really unhappy and has become quite destructive in her current home.
I've had a very difficult few years of rabbit ownership with lots of intensive care and on a personal level I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the idea of Obi with his issues and then another rabbit with extra needs, but I'm also getting upset on the daily seeing him on his own.

He had to have a trip to the vet yesterday because he had a damp patch on his face. I thought it was likely his teeth but vet confirmed the teeth aren't bad enough to be causing any problems. The damp patch is a rash /eczema type thing, probably because he's been getting the liquid poo on his face. They had to shave the fur off and I'm bathing it twice a day with hibiscrub which he hates.

Overall he does seem to be doing quite well. It's hard to say because I haven't always kept a diary but I feel like the periods between the liquid are getting longer and the periods where he's doing the liquid are shorter. His normal poos are still in a pretty bad way though. The vet we saw yesterday said keep a close eye on him, stick to the hay only with protexin as and when he needs it and be prepared for it to take months for improvement.

My main problem right now is that Obi is on his own and obviously lonely. He's been coming up for cuddles on the sofa every night and it's breaking my heart because he should have rabbit company 24/7 .
An ex-RU friend wants to get out of the rabbit cycle and has a bereaved doe with a minor long term health issue I agreed to try and bond with Obi. I'm now torn between introducing a new stress (trigger number 1) that might give him some extra security and improve his wellbeing in the long run, or keeping things stable but both Obi and the other rabbit are unhappy on their own. Obi seems generally ok besides looking for a lot of affection from us, but the other rabbit is really unhappy and has become quite destructive in her current home.
I've had a very difficult few years of rabbit ownership with lots of intensive care and on a personal level I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the idea of Obi with his issues and then another rabbit with extra needs, but I'm also getting upset on the daily seeing him on his own and I feel like I'm failing this other rabbit before I've even got her.

Well you could try to introduce Obi and the other Rabbit if you feel certain that you can cope with all the emotional and financial implications of taking on another Rabbit with chronic health problems. You know that Obi may go through a stress induced bad episode but this would be the case whatever Rabbit you tried to bond him with. The alternative is to wait for a few more months to see if Obi’s condition resolves, or at least that the bad episodes continue to reduce in frequency and severity.

I'd say its definitely worth an introduction if you can afford the new buns problems. Just to see if it looks positive?

Although bonding is stressful for them, it might give Obi an extra reason to improve if things go well.



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Financially it's not a big concern as her current owner has agreed to keep paying for her insurance and Obi is insured (with dental coverage starting this time next year). Emotionally is another matter. It's difficult that I feel like I have to make a decision very soon so that the other rabbit's owner can decide what to do if I can't take her.

It's reassuring to see that other people think introductions might be worth it, thanks to everyone for the support in this thread. This forum is a real lifeline

When my previous rabbit became unwell she and Obi fell out and had to live on opposite sides of a fence but they both seemed to get comfort from each other. I wonder if even that type of set up would be an upgrade for both of them while not being as stressful as bonding and it would still be easy for me to track Obi's input/output.

The living side by side set up has definitely lifted Rodney out of his grief.

Especially before we started bonding, he's a bit less impressed with pretty Blossom now he realises shes chinning all his stuff. It's hard work rechinning everything every day [emoji23]

And I still remember the day we brought Rodney home so clearly. Primrose had been bereaved for a few weeks and so so sad.

The moment we brought him into the room
she just lit up, so eager and enthusiastic!

It made me realise just how special those bonds are to them. Just being able to see another bun makes such a difference.



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That's exactly how Lola was when we bought Obi home.
She was always a pretty cheery and upbeat little thing and she was quite people oriented, always grooming us and having cuddles even when she was in a pair/trio, but after her sister died she was spending 7+ hours a day on her own which I knew wasn't good for her.
The day we bought Obi home she was doing zoomies up and down the hallway all day and she woke me up the following morning by binkying all over the bed and repeatedly flopping over on me - even at the grand old age of 10! I'd never seen her so obviously elated.
They weren't put together for a good few weeks but she spent all her time after that day hanging out with him through the bars. Even after they fell out she'd choose spending separated time with him over time with us.

I think I'll suggest to Martha's current owner that she come and stay with me for a weekend to help Martha settle in and if it all goes **** up she can take Martha home. I can set up my spare room for Martha so Obi won't lose any space and Martha will still have as much space and human interaction as she does in her current home.

Martha is coming on Sunday! Both excited and very very nervous.

BattleKat said:

Martha is coming on Sunday! Both excited and very very nervous.

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Oh I really hope that things will work out with the bonding. Good luck x

Miss fluffy chops arrived on Sunday. She's very much still settling in but it's already gone much better than I thought. After an initial half hour of being very very upset at a new presence in the house (lots of running away, thumping and grunting) Obi doesn't seem to give two hoots now. He occasionally goes for a sniff of the gate but hasn't shown any aggression or even a desire to get in with Martha. Martha hasn't been brave enough to approach the gate yet but her interest is certainly piqued when Obi is around.
Best of all, we are currently on an 8 day streak of no liquid poo and Martha's arrival doesn't seem to have affected that side of things at all.

I missed all of this! Martha is gorgeous good luck with it all

Oh I really hope that everything will work out well for obi and Martha Fingers crossed x