Mushy Poo

[ams1786]

Bunny has true mushy poo, which she's never had before. It's not a cecal - it's like a long log like what a dog would produce. And it's mushy and she's messy. I've never dealt with this before so I wanted some feedback. She hasn't had any new foods in the past week but she did recently munch a charger and a sponge (several days ago - vet said to just watch out for blockage signs) and probably other things I didn't notice. However, we also ran out of hay this weekend - is it possible that two + days without hay could do that? That there's not actually a problem there's just nothing to hold it together?

I was just hoping about feedback about what could cause this/what should I do. Just wait for it to get better? We're getting new hay tonight. She's not super messy so I don't know if she qualifies for a butt bath, but we tried that once before and she ended up wet and rolling around in mud and I ended up bleeding so I'd like to avoid that if possible (she's an indoor, if that helps).

Rex, 6+ lbs, 11 mos, spayed.

 

[JBun]

It very well could be the lack of hay, as that is a major change to diet. You didn't mention if you limit pellets, but if you free feed pellets or fed more because of lack of hay, that would also be a cause for the poopy bum. Hopefully after she is eating hay again, her poop will go back to normal. If it doesn't, you may have to give her probiotics to get her gut flora back in balance. After a few days, if there isn't improvement, or it worsens, you may need to take her into the vet. Soft poops related to diet changes, are common with rabbits, and can usually be fixed with correcting the diet problem, but in some cases an infectious bacteria or parasite, can be the culprit, and some can cause a sudden decline in your rabbits health. If your rabbit's behavior changes, if there is diarrhea or mucous in the poop, or if there is a decline in health, you should get her into the vet immediately.

 

[LakeCondo]

Not having hay for several days is a big dietary change. I'd be surprised if there weren't soft poops as a result.

 

[tonyshuman]

Adult bunnies with that kind of diarrhea should get just hay and water until their poop returns to normal. You can wash with baby wipes that are unscented instead of doing a full-on butt bath.