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Holy Poop! Megacolon bunny offering vs normal bunny [poo photo, you've been warned]

Bindi

Warren Scout
It is one of the great trials of being an animal parent that nobody else will find poop as fascinating as you.

For reference, I have two rabbits- Pandora, an eight year old female with relatively normal gut health, and Bailey, a seven year old male with Megacolon Syndrome. Both rabbits are the same weight- approx. 2.5-2.6kg.

After Bailey's recent stasis bout, I've been keeping an eye on the volume and quality of his outgoings. His normal poo is, unfortunately, a range of sizes, shapes and consistencies but typically either poorly shaped and very small, or huge and oval. When I went to check today, he'd done an absolute prize winner, so much so that I felt compelled to take a photo in comparison to some offerings by Pandora. I feel so bad for the poor guy.

I think I'm slightly in shock, I don't know about him...

uhnXJHZ.jpg
 
It is one of the great trials of being an animal parent that nobody else will find poop as fascinating as you.

For reference, I have two rabbits- Pandora, an eight year old female with relatively normal gut health, and Bailey, a seven year old male with Megacolon Syndrome. Both rabbits are the same weight- approx. 2.5-2.6kg.

After Bailey's recent stasis bout, I've been keeping an eye on the volume and quality of his outgoings. His normal poo is, unfortunately, a range of sizes, shapes and consistencies but typically either poorly shaped and very small, or huge and oval. When I went to check today, he'd done an absolute prize winner, so much so that I felt compelled to take a photo in comparison to some offerings by Pandora. I feel so bad for the poor guy.

I think I'm slightly in shock, I don't know about him...

uhnXJHZ.jpg
I know your pain, I have a bun with megacolon... That could be an Atticus poop [emoji38] does your bun produce normal poops like Pandoras on the left? Aswell as the odd ones?

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No, doesn't look like it. I thought he did at first, back when he was bonded with Pandora, but I can only assume now that they were all hers just in differing shades. His poop is horrendous. There were some other sizable stinkers in that batch but that one was just jawdropping. I was rendered speechless, had to comfort him a bit and even now sitting here with my legs crossed in sympathy. I don't know how the poor boy manages it.
 
Poor Bailey, my bridge bun Toffee used to produce some horrendous looking poops. On the other hand, Padoras look perfect little nuggets :)
 
Most of her poos are very normal, if slightly on the small side at the moment. If pooping was an olympic sport, she'd be a medallist. She is, however, going to the vets tomorrow partly because of her pre-existing nasal condition but also because she did a rather horrific pile of mess the other day and I think her tummy discomfort is still present on some level, so I think something gut related is going on with her.
 
Hello Bindi,
I would not have believed this can from a smaller bunny before I got Dash. My Dash has the same problems as Bailey. Dash weighs about 0.75-0.8 kg and one of his first poos after his latest bout of stasis was also a prize winner. It must be hard on his GI tract to pass these poos so I give him some Medicam for pain/inflammation for a few day following such a feat.
Dash has always made oval poos that are the size of 2 or 3 normal poos for a bunny his size. They range in shape and size-some are lumpy and misshapen, others smooth and oval. However, it is only when he makes his first couple poos following stasis/impaction that he makes the ones that are extremely long and/or wide.
Perhaps my Dash and your Bailey are related.
Dash and I are sending a blue ribbon to Bailey for is Guinness Record winning poo.
 
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Is Dash the bunny in your profile picture?

Those poops do sound rather like Bailey's!

Megacolon Syndrome is also called "Spotty Rabbit Syndrome" because it occurs often in rabbits with a particular coat pattern because of a genetic fault, which Bailey must have. If Dash is the little smoky nethie, there may be other lesser known causes of a megacolon formation that he has fallen foul of. I vaguely recall that the rescue I got Bailey from had another case where they suspected megacolon syndrome but the rabbit did not have the classic coat.
 
Is Dash the bunny in your profile picture?

Those poops do sound rather like Bailey's!

Megacolon Syndrome is also called "Spotty Rabbit Syndrome" because it occurs often in rabbits with a particular coat pattern because of a genetic fault, which Bailey must have. If Dash is the little smoky nethie, there may be other lesser known causes of a megacolon formation that he has fallen foul of. I vaguely recall that the rescue I got Bailey from had another case where they suspected megacolon syndrome but the rabbit did not have the classic coat.

Hello Bindi,
The bunny in my profile picture is my late CX, a Siamese smoke pearl Netherland dwarf rabbit. CX was a retired show bunny with chronic upper respiratory problems for over half of his 13 year life.
Dash is himilayan colored Netherland dwarf who is white with grey fur on the areas of his body that are cooler (ears, feet, nose, tail). He does not have the typical broken, spotty coat pattern most commonly associated with megacolon, yet he has the symptoms. My vet also said Dash shows signs of dysautonomia. His littermate, Evan, also had GI issues. Evan passed away in December even though he was only two and a half years old following a serious stasis event that we could not overcome.
 
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Poor little guys. What a good innings for little CX. I love Nethies, I've had two now (both rescues). Megacolon Syndrome is such a rotten thing for them to go through, I'm glad that Bailey has such a strong bouncy personality the rest of the time. Aside from his enormous poopage, he usually only has a couple of episodes a year, although somewhat concerningly he's had stasis three times since November. He is getting older though, he's at least seven at this point.
 
You are so right about the typical ND bunnies having lots of energy, although there are exceptions like my Gemini.
Of course, Dash even has more energy that most ND bunnies. When I say he bounces off the walls, I am not speaking figuratively. Dash is quite the acrobat.
His late littermate, Evan was the opposite. Evan was a very laid back lap bunny.

I may have finally uploaded the early pictures of Dash and Evan in the Stories and Photos section of RU.
Dash has larger ears and he is always on the move investigating everything as you can see from the blurs (images) in my Dash photos.
For such a little bunny he is aptly named because he has dashing good looks (like your Bailey), plus he dashes all around. He rarely sits still unless I am doling out dandelion greens (his favorite).
When he is not active, it normally means it is another stasis episode. This explains why I jumped up and got meds/fluids ready when he was having an afternoon snooze!
Dash was doing well for many months, then in Spring he began having more frequent episodes of GI stasis; and they are also lasting more hours/days. He even got his latest GI stasis while I was still giving him Cisapride from a prior episode.
 
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Sorry to hijack your thread a little, I'm just wondering if you guys think this is pretty standard? As in do your megacolon buns produce stuff like this (sorry it's a bit grim, this was taken this morning and the tray and hay was clean at 11pm last night) there's different sized and shaped poops but also just splats... [emoji38]
97f3243889e575b0857abaee11c96921.jpg
aedea0e96428518fcef9f500811e8e39.jpg
76d6a79c9fa0e732d63ac90e41c4cbff.jpg


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Hi Gracie,

Dash was getting a very doughy/firm cecum and having regular stasis attacks along with his large oval/irregular/misshapen poos. My vet checked him for parasites, yeast/fungal, bacterial infections, and other possible causes before telling me about Megacolon and Dysautonomia.

I have had bunnies without Megacolon and Dysautonomia who will produce odd shaped and irregular poos when they are shedding a lot or having gut slowdowns for other medical conditions or dietary reasons.


Perhaps you can take some fresh poop samples to you vet to have them analyzed for other possible causes.
 
Hi Gracie,

Dash was getting a very doughy/firm cecum and having regular stasis attacks along with his large oval/irregular/misshapen poos. My vet checked him for parasites, yeast/fungal, bacterial infections, and other possible causes before telling me about Megacolon and Dysautonomia.

I have had bunnies without Megacolon and Dysautonomia who will produce odd shaped and irregular poos when they are shedding a lot or having gut slowdowns for other medical conditions or dietary reasons.


Perhaps you can take some fresh poop samples to you vet to have them analyzed for other possible causes.

Thanks for getting back to me :)

When it first started happening when he was a baby I took samples to the vets and they said there was nothing wrong with the samples (other than obviously the shape and consistency) they looked for all kinds of things but found nothing.

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I cant remember if Atticus's gut problems started before or after he reached puberty, or before or after he was neutered ??
 
I cant remember if Atticus's gut problems started before or after he reached puberty, or before or after he was neutered ??

Thanks for replying Jane :D

So looking back he was around 9 - 10 months old ish when the problems started (was neutered at 6 months old)

I remember at the time William said it was megacolon, but tbh i've been watching him more and more recently and the splats seems to be unformed cecotrophes - he mainly makes very golden round poops pretty normal, but some are more oval etc, but the worrying stuff is the darker wet stuff. Without putting you off your lunch... I saw a cecotrophe come out the other day and it wasn't the nice grapes shape but just a mess...like if the cecotrophe had no definition to it (kill me now pls :lol:) and the consistency wasn't right.. it wasn't smooth.. Idk if this is part of megacolon or is something else entirely :( don't want to jinx it.. but he seems fine in himself, always has done, the only time he wasn't was after being neutered, he didn't eat for two solid weeks and William said he'd had a bad reaction to the vetergesic and tbh he looked like he was having a bad trip - he was very aggressive after this incident and for a while my mum said we should have him put down - he used to bite me and was very very aggressive - he's never been the same bun as before the operation, but no one could find anything wrong with him physically... he isn't the same bun, but he isn't aggressive anymore, he isn't like the others though, it's kinda hard to explain it, but he doesn't really behave like them. He also seems to miss signs from Clementine all the time... and after Clementines first bladder flush (I took them both) he came back okay but then was aggressive with her the following morning - idk if there's something with the vets.. it's almost like he has ptsd.. which probably sounds ridiculous...:lol: sorry for the essay D:
 
Thanks for replying Jane :D

So looking back he was around 9 - 10 months old ish when the problems started (was neutered at 6 months old)

I remember at the time William said it was megacolon, but tbh i've been watching him more and more recently and the splats seems to be unformed cecotrophes - he mainly makes very golden round poops pretty normal, but some are more oval etc, but the worrying stuff is the darker wet stuff. Without putting you off your lunch... I saw a cecotrophe come out the other day and it wasn't the nice grapes shape but just a mess...like if the cecotrophe had no definition to it (kill me now pls :lol:) and the consistency wasn't right.. it wasn't smooth.. Idk if this is part of megacolon or is something else entirely :( don't want to jinx it.. but he seems fine in himself, always has done, the only time he wasn't was after being neutered, he didn't eat for two solid weeks and William said he'd had a bad reaction to the vetergesic and tbh he looked like he was having a bad trip - he was very aggressive after this incident and for a while my mum said we should have him put down - he used to bite me and was very very aggressive - he's never been the same bun as before the operation, but no one could find anything wrong with him physically... he isn't the same bun, but he isn't aggressive anymore, he isn't like the others though, it's kinda hard to explain it, but he doesn't really behave like them. He also seems to miss signs from Clementine all the time... and after Clementines first bladder flush (I took them both) he came back okay but then was aggressive with her the following morning - idk if there's something with the vets.. it's almost like he has ptsd.. which probably sounds ridiculous...:lol: sorry for the essay D:

Well, I have a totally unqualified opinion about cases like that of Atticus. I reckon that there is a connection between the function of the colon and the production of hormones. Lord H's GI tract issues, similar to Atticus's, started after he was neutered. His neutering was NOT straight forward and he actually nearly did not survive. Like Atticus when Lord H's GI tract 'Megacolon like' symptoms kicked off he was never ill within himself. He never had any periods of anorexia or abdominal pain. Despite his guts working like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdAjaB0_xuo

and sometimes passing no formed cecals at all, just horrible splats and fluid. Copious amounts of it, he even ended up getting :censored: in his ears..........



I am currently trying to do a bit of research about it all as, without wanting to tempt fate, for the last 7-8 months Lord H's GI tract symptoms have completely resolved :shock: :? As to why, I have no idea. He has remained on the same pellet free diet, absolutely NOTHING has changed. I will keep in touch and let you know if I find out anything that might be helpful for Atticus. It's good that he is fine within himself, but I know how difficult it is to care for a Bunny with his type of GI tract problems.
 
Dash and his late littermate Evan both had GI issues the Saturday I took them home. I got them to the vet on Monday and both had coccidia for which they were treated. Evan seemed normal after medication (I later learned he had the same issue as Dash) and Dash was making the large oval poos and having a doughy, sometimes firm, tummy. Dash had several serious stasis episodes so my vet and I decided not to subject him to a neuter. He is neither territorial nor aggressive to me, even on his home turf. Evan was neutered and he did have more stasis episodes after the neuter, though not immediately after, than before his neuter. I presumed it was because his condition was progressing.
Like Bndi's Bailey, Dash is having more frequent occurrences of GI stasis.
 
Well, I have a totally unqualified opinion about cases like that of Atticus. I reckon that there is a connection between the function of the colon and the production of hormones. Lord H's GI tract issues, similar to Atticus's, started after he was neutered. His neutering was NOT straight forward and he actually nearly did not survive. Like Atticus when Lord H's GI tract 'Megacolon like' symptoms kicked off he was never ill within himself. He never had any periods of anorexia or abdominal pain. Despite his guts working like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdAjaB0_xuo

and sometimes passing no formed cecals at all, just horrible splats and fluid. Copious amounts of it, he even ended up getting :censored: in his ears..........



I am currently trying to do a bit of research about it all as, without wanting to tempt fate, for the last 7-8 months Lord H's GI tract symptoms have completely resolved :shock: :? As to why, I have no idea. He has remained on the same pellet free diet, absolutely NOTHING has changed. I will keep in touch and let you know if I find out anything that might be helpful for Atticus. It's good that he is fine within himself, but I know how difficult it is to care for a Bunny with his type of GI tract problems.

You know, I've wondered this.. When he is outside sometimes he gets a bit spooked Idk why it seems random, and he produces loads and loads of the splats and liquid and it's a disaster. I won't let him out without f10 sprayed on his bum now, it's too risky. I don't think he could ever live outside.

If you do find anything out however small or unproven I'd really appreciate that, anything to explore/look into that could help is worth it imo.

With him I feel like getting him neutered was a real mistake tbh, I know you are meant to etc and he'd have probably been a nightmare to live with for a spayed female.. But he never got that hormonal from what I can remember, he was always sweet and laid back tbh.. Feel like I've given him more problems by getting him done :(

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He stopped eating earlier and has just delivered the most colossal poop I have ever seen in my life. I haven't taken a picture (yet... oh dear) but it is 4.5cm long!! :shock:
 
He stopped eating earlier and has just delivered the most colossal poop I have ever seen in my life. I haven't taken a picture (yet... oh dear) but it is 4.5cm long!! :shock:

It is good he was able to pass such a long poo. I suspect it was also wide. He must be exhausted.
Did he pass much more material? Is he passing mucus?
 
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