Mucous in Stool

[SOOOSKA]

Hi what does it mean when their is Mucous in the stool. Buttercup has had mucous in his tool for the last couple of days. He has had normal stool too but not at the same time.

Thanks

Susan:apollo:

Sorry if this topic has come up before but when I did a search nothing came up.

 

[naturestee]

It means there's something bothering his intestines. Possibly an infection or parasite. Or have you fed anything different lately?

Push the hay and fluids, and take a poop/mucous sample or just the whole bunny in to the vet tomorrow.

 

[maherwoman]

Yeah, agreed.

I did find this article, and under Mucoid enteropathy, it mentions mucuousy poops.

I'm going to do a bit more research under that particular illness and let you know what I can find.

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

I would definitely take him to the vet and bring a sample of the poop with mucous and his normal looking poop.

Sharon

 

[happy_hoppers]

Mucus in the stools is indicative of a GI upset or infection, when the GI tract is inflammed the rabbit will often pass a clear 'jelly like' substance which will either cover the stools or if the stomach is near empty be excreted alone.

Enteritis is a likely candidate but this is usually secondary to another condition, has your rabbit been off his food or lethargic lately?

Has he ever had dental problems and when were his teeth last checked by a vet (incisors and molars)? Rabbit with dental issues often go off their food when they need burring and this can lead to GI upsets.

The first thing I would recommend after taking a stool sample to the vets to test for unwanted bacteria and having his teeth checked,is to get the rabbit onto probiotics and a high fiber diet....Protexin Fiberplex provides both and comes in an easy to administer syringe.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Well Buttercup is still having alot of mucous in his stools. Actually he's passing just mucous at times mixed with a little bit of black flecks.

We called the Vet who didn't seem too concerned. He had pin worms long time ago so the vet said it was probably caused by them. He told us to give him the Ivermectin every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. We started him on that last week, weal the mucous was not improving so Chris brought a sample to the vets but he wasn't to concerned. He said it was from the Pinworms and just to keep him on the medication.

Well this past weekend it seemed that he was passing more mucous so Chris brought him to an Emergency Vet (why when you call them do they say the are knowledgeable with rabbits, but when you get there they know nothing). However saying this she at least checked the sample he brought for parasites which when she phoned back she said their were none in the sample. She did however say Buttercup may need antibiotics.

Chris phoned our Vet this morning and he still didn't seem too concerned with the mucous. He told him to stop his veggies for 2 days, give him Critical Care, pellets and hay for 2 days.

Chris sent a question to Ask The Expert this weekend this was his reply:

Hi Chris,

well I have to say you are on top of your rabbit's health issues, I am glad you are diligent and observant. No doubt why your guy is enjoying such a good long life.

Part of his weight loss, I am sure, is due to his pinworm infestation. It is probably sapping his strength reserves a bit, and taxing his immune system as well. It's taking more body energy to fight them off, so that may be it. Second if the vet thinks he's at a good weight, he probably is, he may have just gotten a little leaner, especially if he has been more active and playful.

I would definitely give him treatment for the pinworms, you don't want that to continue. I would consider supplementing him with vitamins (there are some liquid vitamin drops for rabbits) during the treatment, and also (if the treatment is an antibiotic that may kill off gut bacteria) some probiotics such as acidophilus, or if you can get some Bene-bac from your pet store that would be better. Bene-bac is short for 'beneficial bacteria'.

As he is older, the sooner he is on treatment and supplements, the better. Given his age, I would consider keeping him on vitamins, regularly adding a couple drops to his water every day (whatever they recommend on the product) or putting a couple drops on his food pellets. I would also give him the probiotics every month or so to make sure his gut is working optimally.

Buttercup has lost a little weight since his last Vet visit, he now weighs 1570grams he's lost about 1/4 of a pound.

Chris & I are really worried about him, it's really frustrating when the vets keep saying theirs nothing to worry about.

Any advice will be greatly appreciate.

Susan, Chris & Buttercup

 

[naturestee]

Is there a different rabbit vet you could try? This much mucous is certainly not normal, and I don't like that he assumed it was pinworms without even seeing him. From what I understand, pinworms don't usually cause significant problems with rabbits. Bring a sample of mucous and poops into your vet or a different one and insist they test for bacteria issues and coccidia.

 

[Haley]

Oh poor Buttercup!

Usually whenever I see mucous its because someone is going into or coming out of stasis. As others have said its usually related to some sort of GI issues. Its definitely not normal for it to continue for this long though.

What about possibly visiting the vet Nadia uses? It might be good to get a second opinion. Especially bc of his age I think it would be good to really exhaust every option.

Give my little man lots of kisses. I'll be praying for him!

Haley

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh Susan and Chris, I'm sorry you're having a hard time finding a good rabbit vet. I second what Haley suggested, about Nadia's vet, who is awesome with buns. Hopefully it's not too far for you guys. Keep us posted and Good Luck.

 

[Flashy]

naturestee wrote:

Is there a different rabbit vet you could try? This much mucous is certainly not normal, and I don't like that he assumed it was pinworms without even seeing him. From what I understand, pinworms don't usually cause significant problems with rabbits. Bring a sample of mucous and poops into your vet or a different one and insist they test for bacteria issues and coccidia.

^I know this is off topic, but I did just want to say that sometimes the rabbit can't pass the pinworms and they will hatch and stay and grow in his cecum, and a rabbit with that will pass mucus. It can also kill the rabbit.

I hope you find a decent vet who can help you.

Come on Buttercup!

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi everyone, actually we go to the same clinic that Nadia goes to. We really are feeling they are giving us the run around.

Right now we have stopped Buttercups greens as per the vets order for 2 days. The poor guy is sitting in front of his tray waiting for his food, it's heart breaking watching him.

Susan

 

[Flashy]

Bless him. Could you maybe try giving him something like hay cubes (if you have them) because they are still hay, but they might be more of a treat and make you feel less sorry for him.

 

[NZminilops]

Hey Susan, how is he doing today?

When I first got Bailey, he had the same issues. My vet was really useless, he didn't have much knowledge and wasn't really willing to listen to any information I took to him from RO.

What worked for me, was just making his diet as simple as possible. I found that if he got anything different from pellets and hay, the mucous would just keep coming.

I fed him mostly hay, not too many pellets, and it just went on like this for ages until it finally cleared up. He was always happy, never got depressed, lethargic, or anything like that.

His poops were a bit soft and misshapen for a while, but now they are good firm large round ones.

He did lose weight, but he's gained it all back now and he feels and looks really good.

I really hope you have better luck with your vet.

Michelle

 

[HoneyPot]

Hey Susan... geez, I can't believe that they are just telling you it's the pinworms.. how long ago did he have the pinworms??

Which vet do you see? Rick? Is it possible to see Dr. Nur - she is GREAT with my guys, and really thorough. I know that might be wierd to get a second opinion from a vet at the same office....

Maybe call and find out when your regular vet is on... and then call and say you need to make an appt when he is not there and go see one of the other vets???

I don't even really know which other vets in the city is good or not since I always go to Links.

 

[HoneyPot]

To me, unless he had the pinworms until recently, they should be doing some other kind of tests on the poop - even if it is to recheck if he has the pinworms again?

Charlie had mucous in his poo, but it was right after he actually did have some intestinal upset and then it only lasted a very short time, it was not ongoing, and didn't just start out of the blue.

I really hope you can get in to see another vet...

 

[SOOOSKA]

Here's what's been happening this week. I copied and pasted this fron an emailI sent to Nadia sorry but it's alot to rewrite

My poor baby is still having the mucous in his stools, actually at times that’s all that’s coming out of him. He hasn’t had the pinworms in a long time. He’s back on the medication for them. He’s only had one dose so far, his next is on Xmas Day. Actually he’s never had his poo tested, one time when we were at the Links he poo’d on the table and Dr Rick saw them and prescribed the medicine for him..



We usually see Dr Rick, who was usually really good with him. But this time to me they all are “something to be desired” none of them seemed too worried about Buttercup. We brought him to an Emergency clinic on the weekend (honestly we knew more about rabbits then they did), but at least they did test for parasites. When she called back to talk with Chris she had looked up different things and thought he should be on some type of antibiotic. Chris then spoke again to the Links (honestly those girls that answer the phones should not be giving out advice. They kept saying it was nothing to worry about.

We were suppose to bring him in on Wednesday but he seemed a bit better in the am so Chris again spoke with someone at the clinic and they said not to bring him in, but to stop his greens. My poor baby is losing weight too. And he would go sit at his dinner tray waiting for his food. Chris called again on Thursday and can you believe they wanted to charge us an Emergency fee (which we were willing to pay, but come on this wasn’t a new problem). The only time they could see him was at 4:00 pm and unfortunately Chris couldn’t take him, and I’m still not real comfortable driving during rush hour since the accidents. So he ended up calling a Vet here in Ajax. He brought him in for 11:00; she spent way over an hour with Buttercup. She did some swabs (results Monday) told us to give him Yogurt for 2 days and if he still has the problem then to give him 2 medications that she prescribed. One is Flagal (sp?) and I forget the other at the moment.



What I’m really concerned with to is he seems to be leaking clear fluid from the rectum. She did check him out down their and said there is no infection.

He’s back on his greens now.

__________________________________________________

As of Saturday he's still having mucous and he seems to be still leaking fluid, to be honest I'm not sure if it's Pee Pee.

The vet said to start him on Acute Care Oral Paste 1-3 ml 3 times a day and Metronidazole liguid 0.4 ml twice a day (I think this is Flagal {sp})

Anyone have any ideas about these meds.

Thanks

Susan & Buttercup

 

[~BunBuns~]

This mucous in the stool happened to me before because of something in Bunbuns' diet (in my case) he had a carrot and it upset his tummy, we went to the vets and stuff they didnt really say anything but it cleared up within the next couple of hours.

You can try this vet

links road animal clinic.
http://www.thelinksroadanimalclinic.com/
They were good with Bunbuns

 

[ra7751]

Hi All,

Just wanted to make a comment here...about yogurt. That is still in many of the vet books but it is an old school idea that is one of those that just doesn't work with rabbits. Most yogurts have some ingredients that don't jive with a rabbit's GI. The idea in the past years was to use yogurt to "replenish" the bacteria in the gut. While yogurt does contain bacteria....it's not the type that grows naturally in the gut. The desired result here is not to put bacteria into the gut since you can't buy that bacteria from anywhere....you have to grow it in there. So you want to make the GI climate as favorable as possible to growing the good bacteria. That is where the bacteria comes in....and most suggest using lactobacillis acidophilus. But that doesn't grow naturally either...but it helps. It does this by stabilizing the pH in the GI tract (look at the first four letters). The real beneficial bacteria is called lactobacillis casei...and that is found in things such as Bene-Bac or other small mammal probiotics. It is also possible to manipulate the pH in the gut byusing abscorbic acid but that is an inexact science if you have never done it. My point....while the idea of using yogurt looks good on paper, it's not so good in the field. There are much safer and effective ways of stabilizing the pH rather than also introducing the sugars and dairy products contained in most yogurts into an already compromised GI tract.

In my non-professional opinion, I would drop the yogurt and start on the metronidazole (flagyl) immediately. That is a somewhat controversial treatment but we use it here often. In a GI event, the mucus is a result of the GI tract trying to protect itself. It coats the lining with this mucus. This is usually the result of toxins released by a form of bacteria known as clostridium. Certain strains of this cause food poisoning in humans. The culture taken will most likely grow a nice dish full of this bacteria. Metronidazole isvery effective at bringing down that bacteria. Sub-q fluids would also be in order. Greens should be offered....kale and dandelion greens are particularly good for this (but in moderation of course). Many think the runny stool is because of over hydration...actually, the rabbit will become very dehydrated during the events and fluids are important in overcoming this issue. Greens, oral hydration by Pedialyte or SQ fluids should be offered to keep that gut moving to help flush those toxins (but remember that there can always be too much of a good thing and that can wind up as bad or worse than the original issue). It can take quite some time before the gut returns to normal. A very bland and basic bunny diet of high fiber and low proteins would be the order of the day. One word of caution...gastric ulcers are a huge concern during extended events like this. Those things can lead to some undesirable results. Watch very carefull for any signs of something like bloat. One additional word about metronidazole...it is probably the only thing that tastes as bad, or worse, than Baytril. A nice flavoring will take some of the edge off the very nasty taste.

Randy

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi Randy, thanks for the info. One quick question will he loose his appetite with the falgyl? And what actually is Mannanoligosaccharides (pro-biotic) and what does it do? We're suppose to give him both of these, is this too much medication for him?

Susan

 

[ra7751]

Hi Susan,

The probiotic just helps to stabilize the pH in the gut. That will allow for the beneficial bacteria to start growing again. With most rabbits, about a gram or so a day usually does the trick. The idea is the same as using yogurt....just safer and more effective since the probiotic does not contain any dairy products. It will alter the pH in the digestive system to a more favorable climate for good bacteria to establish. The Flagyl may cause some appetite suppression just as most other antibiotics...but the benefits outweigh the risks in this case since it is vitally important to eradicate the clostridium...which is toxic and why your bun has mucus in it's stool. We usually give the probiotic once a day and the flagyl twice. If that is the way the doctor prescribed it....try to do it as close to 12 hours apart as possible to maintain a constant working level. This drug should be dosed for at least 7 days.

If his appetite doesn't pick up...or he appears to be somewhat lethargic....ask your vet about a B Comp injection. We call that a "push up". It's basically a vitamin stimulant. We use it in most incoming wildlife and lots of domestics (and I have used it too....really gives a "kick in the seat of the pants"). This drug can be purchased over the counter (in the US anyway) but don't use it except under the care of a doctor. There are many different concentrations of this drug....and while it is an excellent drug under the correct conditions....like all other medical therapies, does carry some risk if not used properly. It does have to be injected IM and does sting quite a bit. But we use it with huge success.

Keep up the antibiotics and probiotics....and try to get Buttercup to eat and drink as much on his own as possible. Pay careful attention to his hydration and watch for bloat.

Randy