Daphne has really hard cecals!

[Runestonez]

We brought Daphne home from the pet store Friday night because by the time I went back in there were even more guinea pigs in the cage than before! There were 15 plus 2 larger rabbits! And Daffi was the smallest bunn.There were so many piggies all in one cage the air was wet! And she was damp to the touch when I picked her up!

Her poops were really small and really hard when we brought her home. She has been eating the same food she has been getting at the store and she has been drinking water too. But tonight I noticed her poops are still really small...smaller than they should be for her...and little clumps of poops (I am assuming they are cecals)are rock hard. She isn't lethargic per say, but not the energy you would expect. She just sits. I don't know if the store was giving her veggies or not one would assume not...we gave her a toonie sized piece this morning when we noticed the small poops,and she ate it like she was starved and kept looking for more. So here I am not wanting to give her pumpkin or anything that might make her ill or give her diarrhea if she isn't used to veggies! HELP!!!! IDEAS???

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Oh no, poor Daphne!! I'm so glad you were able to rescue her, the poor thing. She'll have a wonderful and loving home now, no doubt!

I would say, like you said, hold off on the veggies for now. I would push some timothy hay (or if she's still young, alfalfa hay) and give her lots. Lots and lots. She really needs that fiber right now. I don't think some pumpkin would hurt her, just not too much. Start off with just 1 to 2cc's maybe. We did this when Thumper came home. He came in not too good conditions and was having hard, dry poop. He was 4 years old and had never eaten veggies, and hardly any hay. We started him on the pumpkin, and it really did wonders.


Another thing you can do is mix the pumpkin half and half with water,to help get fluids into her. If she drinking readily? If so, that's good. She may not have been able to get to the water bottle if she was competing with that many guinea pigs and two rabbits that were larger than her.

Give that baby some nose rubs for me!

 

[Runestonez]

myboyharper- Daphne eats hay no problem and has been drinking water(with vanilla to tempt her even more)...what has me worried that poops seem to be getting smaller...so I am trying to head off possible stasis. I think she is a bit dehydrated and since I wrote the post I broke down and got a bit of pumpkin out for her. When she sees something other than pellets she eats like she is starved. It is breaking my heart! So I am giving her a little pumkin at a time. The poops are positively packed solid with hay fiber...but they are so hard you can't squish them without quite a bit of effort!:shock: The cecals are the same...if you try to squish them they cut into your fingers!:shock: (Don't ask me why we were trying to squish them! They just didn't look right!)

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Awww, poor baby! Don't worry, not sure if you know Harper's story or not, but he's being going into stasis every few months his entire life. He has digestive problems (vet and I both assume it's from bad inbreeding, he was a snake food rabbit who came from a bad breeder who has been in trouble more times than anyone can count) and I squeeze his poops and cecals all the time. Tis dirty work,but must be done sometimes!

Anyways, whenever Harper begins going into a blockage, his poops decrease in size, get dry looking (even if he's drinking water) and get very hard. All this sounds like your girl as well. With Harper, thefirst thing I grab is his Laxatone, and canned pumpkin. If you have some Laxatone, I'd try giving her a small amount. If not, the pumpkin works good too. Sometimes canned pumpkin is all I've had in the houseat the time, and I find it still works.

It's good that she's drinking water and eating hay. I'm hoping with the pumpkin added to it, this will loosen up her system. Is there anywhere near you that's open tomorrow where you can get some Laxatone? I know Petsmart and Petco here sell it. I've used mineral oil with Harper, but I'm not sure if that would be okay with your girl or not, given that she is new and we're not entirely sure what the problem is.

Many ray:for her and :hug2:for you!

 

[Runestonez]

The canned pumpkin we have right now...we keep a can on hand for emergencies...the Laxatone I can get tomorrow at PetSmart. Should I give her what ever pumpkin she will eat...but in small does? Or should I limit it. I really want to get as much moisture into her as I can...if her poop sare this soft do I even have to worry about diarrehha?

 

[MyBoyHarper]

To be honest, given that it's just plain pumpkin with no sugar added, ect. I don't see the hurt in giving her as much as she'll take, in small doses. With Harper, to get him pooping, I will sometimes give him 5cc's at a time, 3 and 4 times a day. I've had a vet tell me to give him as much as he'll take too. However, he's older and bigger, so I can't say give her that much. But unlike vegetables which cause gas and diarrhea, I think it would take a heck of a lot of pumpkin to cause anyharm. I would start off with about 2cc'severy 2-3 hours, just for tonight (since it's late). And get some Laxatone first thing in the morning. With the Laxatone, Harper is 5pounds and was getting 5cc's during big blockages. I wouldstart offwith 2cc'stomorrow when you get it.

 

[Runestonez]

Thanks Danielle! She has eaten anout 1tsp (hubby was in charge while I was typing) and she is practically smiling. She looks better and her tummy is making grummbly sounds whereas it was totally silent before! I hope that is a better sign. I grabbed a different bunny(Peppy and boy is she mad!)and held it to see whather tummysounded like and it is approx. the same!Daphne is starting to move around a bit more too by the looks of it. I'm hoping that the pumpkin is starting to make her feel a bit better! I'm still going to grab a bit of laxatone tomorrow just in case...if we don't need it I 'll put it in the First Aid kit for later! Thanks again Haley!


Edited because only I am allowed to have the name of Danielle! But Harpers mom protests!

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Oops, I'm not Haley.

Do you have any Simethicone on hand? If so, I would try giving her some as well, in case she has any blocked gas. If you don't have any, I'd pick some up in the morning when you're out for the Laxatone. The infants Simethicone liquid is what you want.

Glad to hear she's feeling better!

 

[Runestonez]

I'm sorry Danielle...I've been up since 3am so I'm only operating on half a brain!So again! Thanks!

 

[Runestonez]

I already gave her a shot of Ovol in case of gas. I know what to do for adult rabbits like ours who have a set diet and I can tell in a blink if something is off...but wow! I haven't had to look after a baby in so long it feels all wrong! I can't remember a darned thing!:? Or make a decisive decision!

Tony is mocking me because I called you Haley...(he ghosts around the boards under the same name so apparently HE knows)...Not that he corrected me or anything! What a goon!

 

[MyBoyHarper]

ROFL girl, like I care what you call me! :roflHey Tony, you lurker!)

Glad to hear she's feeling better, hopefully by morning she'll be asgood as new! I'm sure the Ovol will be kicking in soon as well.

BTW, whenever she's been better, I need pictures. Lots and lots of pictures of her! :stikpoke

 

[Runestonez]

We got some pics last night when we brought her home. But she likes to stick her face right in the camera...so we are limited to some farther away pics and big black blurs! Right now she looks crappy cause I had to treat a few nice scratches on her ears and back from the pet store! Poor dear is having a hard weekend! Honestly I have never seen baby like her...her behavior is not like a baby at all. Even our first bunn didn't purr for us for months. She was purring in the car on the way home and giving kisses right away! Like I said before though...I'll take whatever I can get before puberty sets in on us!

Tony says he doesn't lurk it just opened to the page and he was here a couple of times...uh huh hee hee hee That's why he happened to know the difference in screen names between you and Haley! Oh so busted!!!

 

[TinysMom]

Another idea is to get some banana baby food (I really need to get some stock in the baby food company ) and mix it with her pellets and maybe let them sit in it for a few minutes.

Also - try adding some flavored pedialyte to her water...maybe it will tempt her to drink more. I get the store brand of pedialyte for under$3 I think...my rabbits LOVE the grape flavor and the fruit flavor and I use that whenever anyone needs to drink more and they think they're in 7th heaven.

Peg

 

[Runestonez]

I have quite a few things in our first aid kit but it looks like tomorrow might be another shopping day for us! I'm going to have to add a few things! Oh BTW can I freeze left over pumpkin?1 very small bunny +1 very big can of pumpkin =a pie for hubby if I can't!

We have a new little batch of poops...darker, def more moisture to them and a better size! Yay! And once again I think to myself...hmmm...is this weird!? lol To bunny people no...

 

[TinysMom]

I think it was a rescue website where I read this idea...

Take the pumpkin and put it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. (Or you can freeze it on a cookie sheet in 1 tablespoon portions or something like that). Then - take it out of the freezer right after its frozen and bag it up.

Now you have "portion-sized" pumpkin to warm up when needed.

Me? Seems like with 100+ bunnies I ALWAYS need it....

:shock:

 

[TinysMom]

I forgot to add - I am starting to think of pumpkin as a miracle cure for bunnies.

Yeah - I know it isn't really - but it sure feels that way around here lately.

Peg

 

[Runestonez]

We keep it on hand but this is the first time we've needed it. $4.99 for a can of pumpkin...or a midnight run to the vet...yup I like the pumpkin! Fingers crossed that I never need it again!

Amen to normal poops! NOW I feel like I can finally go to bed! zzzzzzzz

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Woohoo, yay for normal poopies!!

Have a good night's sleep, I'm headed to bed myself in a few. :yawn:

 

[Haley]

TinysMom wrote:

I think it was a rescue website where I read this idea...

Take the pumpkin and put it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. (Or you can freeze it on a cookie sheet in 1 tablespoon portions or something like that). Then - take it out of the freezer right after its frozen and bag it up.

I actually just did this before I came and read the thread. It works great for saving the pumpkin for later.

Hurray for normal poops!

Also, its good to keep pedialyte in your bunny emergency kit as well. I found some smaller apple-flavored bottles (4 to a pack) and Theyre great to have in case of emergency.

I hope she has a better day tomorrow. Maybe she was just testing her new mommy to see how she would handle things? Good work!

 

[naturestee]

How's she doing today?