Megacolon? Inflamed digestive tract? Other? Help!

[DennisGracie]

Hello!

I have posted one other time with the same issue my rabbit has been going through.

I have not had much luck at my usual vets (who are rabbit savvy, but were stumped with Dennis) so they referred us to a special exotic vet and today we saw the head exotic vet who was very good & knowledgeable.

She was to be fair, still unsure what is wrong with Dennis as he doesn’t have any symptoms consistent with a particular illness.

We’ve had urine tests & cecal tests and are now on gut stimulating medicine for 10 days.

My worry is that the vet mentioned potentially early onset megacolon but wasn’t 100% as he only has cecal stains but no jelly/ mucous. I think his poo is a normal size but I have it beside my dwarf rabbits poo to show colour difference and uniformity, hers are dry inside and Dennis has wetter poo.

Does this seem consistent with megacolon? I’m very upset and have been crying since we came home as I am so worried.

His diet is hay only atm as per vet guidance- they get Timothy and rye hay and plenty of water in bowls.

Next stage after meditation is if no improvement then it’s blood and X-rays which I’m very anxious about as I know rabbit sometimes don’t wake up after being put under anaesthetic.

Just looking to see if anyone else has come across this issue or those with rabbits with MC does this seem likely to be the case for Dennis?

His weight is fairly stable as he hovers between 2.66kg & 2.54kg. We are keeping an eye on this as he did seem to lose a little since last week but unsure if this was just due to scale calibration.

 

[John Wick]

While the large, dry, golden poos are the standard every rabbit owner hopes for, my experience is that actually achieving it can just appear impossible for some rabbits for -insert mysterious rabbit reasons-. Coincidentally, the first picture in your post looks essentially identical to (left poos) my American Sable's poos and (right poos) my Netherland Dwarf's poos. Both are on identical diets, and my American Sable is literally the biggest hay eater I have ever seen, yet all her poops are consistently dark but will still break apart with decent crumble if you smash it, just as you have pictured. My Netherland dwarf is a very picky hay eater and does not eat very much, yet his poos are always much more "golden".

If her poos are very consistently that shape, size, and texture, I wouldn't be too concerned about megacolon and perhaps just consider that her colon's norm. Megacolon often displays as irregular poo across the board, as opposed to consistent poos as you have pictured: Megacolon

 

[DennisGracie]

While the large, dry, golden poos are the standard every rabbit owner hopes for, my experience is that actually achieving it can just appear impossible for some rabbits for -insert mysterious rabbit reasons-. Coincidentally, the first picture in your post looks essentially identical to (left poos) my American Sable's poos and (right poos) my Netherland Dwarf's poos. Both are on identical diets, and my American Sable is literally the biggest hay eater I have ever seen, yet all her poops are consistently dark but will still break apart with decent crumble if you smash it, just as you have pictured. My Netherland dwarf is a very picky hay eater and does not eat very much, yet his poos are always much more "golden".

If her poos are very consistently that shape, size, and texture, I wouldn't be too concerned about megacolon and perhaps just consider that her colon's norm. Megacolon often displays as irregular poo across the board, as opposed to consistent poos as you have pictured: Megacolon

That’s very comforting to know your rabbits also have similar poo - and yes they all tend to be that size & colour, I can’t say I’ve noticed any irregularity in size or shape other than the odd few that have hair in them (as he’s shedding atm)

Thank you for calming my nerves a bit - have been in pieces all night