9 week old rabbit diarrhoea

[Steffie]

I've had my rabbit floppy for a week now and 2 days ago she had diarrhoea but it stopped and her poos went back to normal shape but they looked moist. Today I gave her 2 small peices of carrot about 3 hours ago and now she's got diarrhoea again.. She has unlimited hay and water and I only give her very few pellets what could be causing this I am very worried about her?

 

[Maureen Las]

Young rabbits have an unstable GI tract and the sugar from carrots is most likely causing an imbalance. Don't give any more veggies right now.
I would get a probiotic like benebac and give a dose and then (although she is very young ) feed ONLY hay for the next 24 hrs or so .
Diarrhea in a young bun can become very serious very fast so hope that she recovers well.

Usually young rabbits can be free fed pellets so I am wondering why you have limited her pellets?
If the diarrhea is causing any behavior changes or continues I would go to a rabbit saavy vet right away


http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

 

[Steffie]

When she had diarrhoea last time she had had no carrot and like I said her poops had gone back to normal shape but looked moister than normal. Tonight she dosent seem to be eating hay. I was told too much food could cause bloat? And when I looked online a lot of people said that only a egg cup is enough for a 9 week old. Where would I get benebac from?

 

[hannaroo]

If its cleared up after you stopped giving them carrots then the carrots are likely to be the problem. Even some adult rabbits can't digest th well as they're full of sugars and starch. At 9 weeks they should be fed unlimited hay and pellets, no veggies until 12 weeks where you should introduce them 1 at a time. (Eg romaine lettuce on Monday then maybe think about trying kale by Thursday) carrots should be treated like fruit and given in moderation

 

[Steffie]

She hadn't eaten any carrot when she had it 2 days ago

 

[JBun]

If this is true watery diarrhea that she had, then you should take your rabbit into the vet, as there is probably a parasite or bacteria problem. True diarrhea in rabbits, is very serious and can be life threatening, because they can dehydrate so quickly.

If she is just having soft poop and not diarrhea, then it's not quite as serious, but is still a problem. Is she having the normal 'cocoa puff' fecal poop, along with soft mushy cecotropes, or are the fecal 'cocoa puff' poops mushy? Here are some pictures of what rabbit poop should and shouldn't look like.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm

 

[Maureen Las]

You can get Benebac from many chain pet stores like Petco. It is sold in small individual tubes for small mammals and/or powder form. If you don't have access to these stores you can also use Probios (for horses) which is available at most farm stores.
You don't want to get benebac for birds as it has different microorganisms.

 

[tonyshuman]

Lots of good advice so far. If it is mushy poop, it is probably from the carrots. They can also cause gas, which is different from bloat in rabbits. Bloat is the stomach filling with gas, and only a vet can treat that. Gas in the intestines is not so terrible, and may resolve if she starts eating normally again. If it is true watery diarrhea, it is an emergency in a bunny of that age. Watery diarrhea can be fatal in less than 24 hrs in a young bunny, and for an adult bunny it's very serious as well.

info on diarrhea
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/Enteritis_en.htm

pics of different poo types to figure out what your bun has going on
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm