Luna.. Sick? Or just needs a diet change?

[ariusshadow]

Luna is my 4 year old Polish female. She's not really a big eater. You can't overfeed her- she'll save it if she's not hungry. It may take her 2 or 3 days to finish a bowl. She's hard to get a hold of, so it's difficult to examine her properly. I hesitate to say she's almost feral, as I've seen buns much worse than her, but she certainly has an attitude problem. We're working on it, but it makes for finding symptoms even harder than usual...
She seems to have recently developed super-soft (but not really *runny* per say) poop. But her diet hasn't changed. She's eating Purina Rabbit Chow pellets, just like the rest of my buns. She's drinking the same amount of water, and seems to be peeing fine. But I noticed just the other day that she is missing an odd patch of fur on her back. I understand buns are *somewhat* like cats, in that they can reach (at least) most parts of their bodies.. But because she's a rather disproportionate mix (Polish head and ears with the body the same size as my Flemish mix bunny!), I'd be totally shocked if she could have groomed the fur off. She seems... a bit too round to reach that part of her. Where the fur's missing, she's not tender, but has quite a lot of dandruff. I'm not sure if the symptoms are linked or two different problems. Or something normal. I'm still in my first year of owning buns. I catch on awfully fast as to what's normal, but I'm still learning. Any thoughts?

 

[ariusshadow]

Forgot to mention in the original post: (Doh!)
She also has 1 handful of hay every 2 or 3 days. She's a slow eater, so it's whenever it's needed, and fresh greens once a day of some kind, usually a romaine leaf or two.

 

[aurora369]

I would restrict her diet to hay and water only to start with. Also some extra fluids like pedialyte in an extra dish.

Some probiotics will also be a big help. Either Bene-bac from a petstore/feedstore or some human acidophilus.

Is sh having some normal poops along with the soft ones? Are the soft ones cecals or fecals?

-Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

With the missing fur, I wonder if intestinal parasites are the issue. I agree with Dawn's recommendations, especially the probiotic. And how soft are we talking? Can you pick them up or do they have to be wiped up?

 

[ariusshadow]

I can pick them up but barely. I think their cecals. But, of course, Luna makes matters difficult. She's stepped in every one of them that's not in the bottom tray, so determining whether or not their cecals is difficult. She does have normal poops in the litterbox, but they may be old. I'll have to pull out the tray and check when our company leaves. (Bunny room is a guest room and they're asleep at the moment. x.x)She's on and off with her litter training. Lil bugger.
Acidophilus in what form? I've only ever seen it in a chewable form... Is that safe? And I'll look into pedialyte when we next go shopping (no car, I'm afraid. None of us drive. x.x; >

 

[ariusshadow]

She seems to be having some _somewhat soft_ poops and some normal poops and quite a bit of very soft cecals. The cecals are almost impossible to pick up.

 

[ariusshadow]

Is there a certain kind of pedialyte to give her?

 

[tonyshuman]

If you can get it, get the unflavored kind. If not, they like pretty much all of the flavors, fruit preferred. I like to give the unflavored with a few drops of grenadine in it--they drink it up really fast!

As for the acidophilus, capsules would be the best, because you could cut them open and sprinkle it on the food or suspend it in the water and give via mouth syringe. If you can get her to eat a tablet, about a gram's worth, maybe by hiding it in some treat she likes, like a raisin, that would be fine. Otherwise you'd have to crush the tablet and sprinkle it on veggies or give again via oral syringe in water. You do want to limit the sugary treats in her diet, so if it takes a huge apple slice or something, that may not be worth it.

If you can get to a PetSmart or PetCo, or some smaller mom and pop pet stores, they sell a really good probiotic called Bene-Bac. It can be found as a powder in the small animal section (rarer, harder to find), or as a gel in the dog/cat section. If farm stores are nearby, they also sell a similar product called ProBios. It's found as a gel for horses, goats, sheep, etc, or as a powder for pets (or in other forms for cows, etc).

 

[tamsin]

Is she eating the same as normal? No reduction in poop/amount eaten?

If so then I definitely think looking at her diet will help her overall health. You really want to restrict the pellets to encourage hay eating - that's the part that's most high fibre so will help form the correct poop.

You description of her shape does sound like she may be a little over weight - it can be easy to do especially if it's difficult to get your hands on to feel under the fur.

Although you say she doesn't over eat, that will be about volume not calories. One stomach full of pellets contains an awful lot more calories than one stomach full of hay. So not eating all the pellets doesn't necessarily mean she's not getting too much

I would gradually cut back the pellets beginning by reducing the amount so there is only 1 days supply at a time with an hour or two a day without pellets - you can split it into two feeds if you like. Keep reducing the amount until most of the day she only has hay to feed on. Roughly an egg cup per 1kg of rabbit is about right but it varies a bit depending on various things like amount of exercise.

She should have hay available 24/7 through out the process. Her hay intake should go up as the pellets go down so factor that in when your adding fresh hay. I would add fresh hay daily as bunnies always seem to have a good munch of the fresh stuff you put in.

You can also use this as an opportunity to make friends. With her pellets restricted, if you offer pellets by hand (save part of her daily ration for this not extra) that's a good way to make friends and encourage her to look forward to your approach.

Tamsin

 

[ariusshadow]

Oh, I've been hand-feeding her. She's just.. a very naturally grumpy bun. She likes to box you even if you have food or grunt and push you if she's just in that mood. She can be the nicest thing.. occasionally. I will take you up on the hand-feeding idea, though. And I'll certainly look for acidophilus and pedialyte for her the next time I go out. I'll also start calling stores about Bene-Bac to see who carries it near us. Thanks so much for the information, guys. ^_^ Luna will hopefully be a much happier bun once she's feeling better.
Now to upload the pics of her... Finally found my card reader for my camera. ^_^ Yay~

 

[tamsin]

Is she neutered? Being territorial over the cage and grunting/lunging can be a hormonal thing - often it gets much better after spaying.

 

[ariusshadow]

I've been told she's spayed. But lately, I've been thinking the woman lied to us. Especially when I saw her reaction to Jasper...
When Jasper's in her cage, and Luna's free-ranging, they're nice. Luna might rub on Jasper's cage, but Jasper just sits there and watches her without much of a care. She'll sniff her, but that's about it. But when Jasper's out and Luna's in her cage, Luna gets vicious towards her. I was shocked! I'd never seen her so T'd-off. It was meant to be a test specifically for that reason, though. So it was good I tested it. Luna's now on a shelf and the cage is taken down for free-ranging until my bf gets his room fixed up enough for her cage to go in there. He's trying to get his bed fixed, and his room's a sty in the meantime.
But she's his bun, technically. So she'll just be kept separated from now on. And we'll just have to work with her attitude until then...
Is there anyway to tell if someone's fixed her without having to take her to a vet? Like a tell-tale sign?

 

[tamsin]

About the only way is finding the scar from the op but it can be difficult hidden under the fur and often they are not very big and may have healed up completely.

 

[ariusshadow]

I was afraid of that... I don't think there's anyway to tell. Her fur's too thick and she'd never let me find it. x.x;
I'll have to assume she's not fixed, I suppose. Since she seems to be acting like it. =\
When I'm able to work again, all buns are getting fixed... Nymh, and Jasper, at least, since I know they're not... And I'll have to ask a vet about Luna, I guess. That's what I get for using Craig's List.

 

[tonyshuman]

The vet can sometimes feel the uterus in the abdomen, and if that isn't clear, can shave and look for a scar.

 

[ariusshadow]

How long should I give her the pedialyte and acidophilus? Should she be getting it just until the poop is more solid? Getting some today.

 

[tonyshuman]

Yep, that would be good. You can probably give the acidophilus longer if you want, but if you give too much pedialyte she might get spoiled and only want sweet water!

 

[ariusshadow]

xD We've had a friend's cat only want Evian water before. ._.; That was nuts. Wouldn't even touch it if it was mixed with tap water. x.x; Took forever for him to get weaned off it.

I'll keep it mind. Thanks.