Concern For New Baby - Cecal and Crusty Nose

[Happi Bun]

Because nothing in my life seems to go smoothly, I'm now worried Felix is having heath problems.


Location: Auburn, California

Description: Netherland Dwarf, White & Orange VM, 361 grams

Age: 9 weeks (supposedly)

Sex: Male

Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition:

Felix seems to have excess Cecal around his cage, it also gets stuck to his butt. His nose has colored crust on it (see picture below) and a bit of clear crust in the corner of his eye. Last night after I turned on the vacuum he started having what appeared to be hiccups, they subsided when he calmed down. Today he was on the couch and got a bit worked up by the cat's. He started doing the same thing, but when I listened closely it sounds more like congestion. Felix was the runt of a litter of five. The breeder said he was a "fader" but pulled through it.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST:


Fecal and Urinary Output-

Pee is normal. Poop seems a bit soft, excess cecal around cage.
Currently housed on Aspen shavings.

Medical History-

None

Diet-

Purina Rabbit Chow Complete (Alfalfa) is what the breeder was feeding and what I am currently feeding him, unlimited. He also has unlimited access to timothy hay. He has a good appetite and drinking well. Cannot drink from a water bottle and pellets have to be crushed smaller due to tiny mouth.

[line]
My Questions-

1. Does he need to see a vet?
2. Any idea what these issues are caused by?
3. Is it contagious? He is kept in a separate room and I've been washing my hands after handling.
4. If you think it could be contagious would it be appropriate to get a friend to bunny sit him in a different air space during treatment?
5. Should I be supplementing/changing his diet in any way?

anic: :sigh:

 

[jcottonl02]

That nasal discharge does seem to be a rather odd colour!

I am not particularly experienced in common ailments/illnesses of young rabbits, but I think this requires a trip to the vets, to take samples and do cultures of both his nasal discharge, and his caecals.

Excess caecals can obviously be linked to diet, and being overweight, but can often be linked to stress, and parasites. I wouldn't wait around to find out if it was stress, as he is quite a young rabbit, so I think this needs to be sorted as soon as you can.

They are mushy you said? Not really well-formed caecals? Are they quite smelly, and stuck to his bottom in big clumps? Could this be caecal dysbiosis (sp.)? This would definately require a trip to the vets, and a course of antibiotics.

It could be contagious- you cannot be sure. I would definately keep him away from your other buns, just to be on the safe side. After you have handled him, make sure you wash your hands well etc. before you handle the other buns.

Could it be that perhaps, as he was the runt of the litter, his immune system isn't quite strong enough at the moment to fight off some of the infections that his littermates could?


I hope someone with more experience on this can help- this is just speculation on my part, but I hope it has been at least a little helpful. :?


Jen

 

[aurora369]

It is often common for young rabbits to leave excess cecals. I had an entire litter of foster babies do this once, it was quite a chore cleaning up after 8 babies with smushy cecals everywhere. However you can get him check for worms or cocidia (sp?).

It also takes babies a bit of time to adjust, so he might be having a bit of digestive upset due to the stress of the move. You can always supplement with a bit of benebac or another probiotic.

For the nose, I would give it a couple days and see if it clears up once he is more comfortable. But if it doesn't clear up after a few days, I would take him in as he may have an upper respitory infection. If he was the runt, he may have a compromised immune system and the stress of the move could have caused his immune system to drop enough for an infection to move in.

-Dawn

 

[Happi Bun]

I didn't know it's fairly common for babies to have excess cecals. What a relief! I think that is probably it because his fecal looks normal. It's well formed and all. Plus he wasn't offered hay before so that may have thrown him off a bit. It makes sense what you said about the stress and waiting to see about his nasal discharge. I will give it a few days with minimal handling and just letting him adjust to his new home. If there is no improvement or he starts getting worse I will for sure bring him into the vet.

:thanks:

 

[cirrustwi]

Hmmm.... This is a tough one. I don't see anything wrong with a vet trip, even if it is just for them to tell you he is healthy. I always suggest new additions go to the vet, kind of like, a new baby, you take them to the doctor right after they come home. LOL

Tim, my French Lop, was the runt, by a ton. He was born 1/2 the size of the others in his litter (if I remember correctly 9 or 10). When I brought him home, he was 11 weeks and still about 1/2 the size of the others. That's honestly how he stole my heart. I was there to pick up a Flemish, but went home with one of each. I'm still in contact with the breeder and Tim is now larger then his 2 siblings she kept. I think good things come in small packages.

The cecals don't seem like too much to be concerned about. Sometimes young buns don't quite get what to do with them. I've had a couple that just made massive messes with them. But the crusty nose could mean a URI or just some stress...

 

[cirrustwi]

Happi Bun wrote:

I will give it a few days with minimal handling and just letting him adjust to his new home. If there is no improvement or he starts getting worse I will for sure bring him into the vet.

I think this is a great plan!!!! :thumbup

Jen

 

[tonyshuman]

Agreed with the above. I too like a vet visit for all new comers, and it helps the vet get an idea of their baseline health so they can compare if he comes in with illness.

LOL Tony is doing crazy bunny 500s right now, had to share that. Also, you need to get an up-close pic of his nose once the crusty is gone! So precious! And now Tony's giving Muff a good ear licking.

 

[Happi Bun]

Felix's playful side has finally come out now that he is more settled. He loves to toss his toy ball around. I also watched him do bunny 500's around his cage and a few binkies. Boy can he zip around fast!

He's also going in for a Wellness exam tomorrow morning.
Gonna have his heart and lungs checked out along with the nasal discharge.

I need the peace of mind. :nod

 

[Happi Bun]

Felix checked out fine! He is a healthy bunny according to the vet. He doesn't think Felix has a URI but he may need some special drops for his eye crusties if it doesn't clear up on his own. Something surprising happened at the vet though... he said Felix is really a she!:rofl:


Check out the thread Here

 

[jcottonl02]

:shock2:

I am so glad he checked out fine! Well.....she

Jen

 

[tonyshuman]

LOL glad she's ok. Always pays to double check!