lilly07
New Member
How much yogurt should i feed my tort dutch if she's pregnaunt and has the runs?
Plz help!!!!!
07LILLY
Plz help!!!!!
07LILLY
My Rabbit (has the runs & is pregnant)
- Thread starter lilly07
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TinysMom
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't give her any yogurt. Why did you think of giving her that?
I would be pushing hay and possibly some canned pumpkin. I would think that yogurt would be too rich though.
I am going to move this to the infirmary.
Peg
I would be pushing hay and possibly some canned pumpkin. I would think that yogurt would be too rich though.
I am going to move this to the infirmary.
Peg
naturestee
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't give yogurt either. Rabbits are usually lactose intolerant and can get upset stomachs from yogurt.
What you need to do is find out why she has diarrhea so you can fix the problem. New veggies? New pellets? Treats? Has she been off her food, or being given more than normal? Is it fecals or cecals? If it's cecals (night poops) then she'll have normal hard round poops along with runny/mushy diarrhea. If her fecals are runny, like liquid runny, she needs a vet ASAP.
Fecal diarrhea could also be from parasites or an intestinal infection, these can be very dangerous for her.
I would feed her lots of grass hay, not alfalfa if you can help it. Make sure she's drinking lots and some feed canned pumpkin for more fiber and fluids. A small amount of rolled oats can also help.
What you need to do is find out why she has diarrhea so you can fix the problem. New veggies? New pellets? Treats? Has she been off her food, or being given more than normal? Is it fecals or cecals? If it's cecals (night poops) then she'll have normal hard round poops along with runny/mushy diarrhea. If her fecals are runny, like liquid runny, she needs a vet ASAP.
Fecal diarrhea could also be from parasites or an intestinal infection, these can be very dangerous for her.
I would feed her lots of grass hay, not alfalfa if you can help it. Make sure she's drinking lots and some feed canned pumpkin for more fiber and fluids. A small amount of rolled oats can also help.
~BunBuns~
Well-Known Member
why would you give yogurt? I've never heard of rabbits who eat yogurt. i agree with what Tinysmom says.
~Tracey~
Well-Known Member
I've never heard of the yoghurt thing either,
Pipp
Well-Known Member
Yogurt is an old school cure for a bacterial imbalance in the gut, a common rabbit problem. Pipp just went through a bad bout of Cecal Dysbiosis, which is caused byt hat. (She's had it twice, once from an overdose of oats,once from too many pellets and not enough fiber -- she won't eat hay,which makes her more susceptible to this condition). It was also prescribed for bunnies on antibiotics, again to help maintain the balance. One of my two vets (in the same office!) continues to recommend yogurt, the other one recommends against it. As per info from Pam Nock, bunnies can be (or become) lactose intolerant,sothe trend these days is to prescribe probiotics like acidophilus. (And for the record, they didn't seem to help Pipp, but many vets/peopleswear by them).
Here's the intro blurbs from the library:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11935&forum_id=10
Unformed Cecotropes: Mushy or Runny Stool:The cecum is a delicately balanced ecosystem. If the intestine is moving too slowly, or if the rabbit is getting a diet too rich in digestible carbohydrates and too low in crude fiber, the complex population of bacteria in the cecum can become"unbalanced." This condition, known as CECAL DYSBIOSIS. Simply put,cecal dysbiosis means that the beneficial bacteria (e.g., Bacteroidesspp. and a variety of others) are out competed and outnumbered by less desirable inhabitants such as yeast (a fungus, usually Saccharomycopsissp.) or even very harmful bacteria such as Clostridium spp., related to the ones that cause tetanus and botulism.
A rabbit suffering from cecal dysbiosis will produce cecotropes that are mushy, pasty or even liquid. They are usually quite foul-smelling, and often stick to the bunny's back end in great, nasty clumps. These unformed cecotropes are not a primary disease, however. They are a symptom of a disorder somewhere in thebunny's system. In order to cure the runny stool problem, the underlying cause must be addressed.
Diarrhea: Truediarrhea (unformed, watery feces) is relatively rare in adult rabbits.It can be caused by intestinal parasites, such as coccidia (Eimeriaspp.), roundworms, tapeworms, or anything that inflames the intestinal lining. Your rabbit-experienced veterinarian will be able to examine a fecal sample (you should probably provide the vet with a bit both fecal and cecal pellets) to examine them for signs of parasitic infection.
True diarrhea is more common in baby rabbits. One of the most common causes is coccidia, and if you see runny stool in your baby rabbit, you must get him to the vet as soon as possible for treatment. In a baby rabbit, dehydration caused by diarrhea can rapidly result in death. It is wise to consider runny stool in a baby rabbit a true emergency.
Here's the intro blurbs from the library:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11935&forum_id=10
Unformed Cecotropes: Mushy or Runny Stool:The cecum is a delicately balanced ecosystem. If the intestine is moving too slowly, or if the rabbit is getting a diet too rich in digestible carbohydrates and too low in crude fiber, the complex population of bacteria in the cecum can become"unbalanced." This condition, known as CECAL DYSBIOSIS. Simply put,cecal dysbiosis means that the beneficial bacteria (e.g., Bacteroidesspp. and a variety of others) are out competed and outnumbered by less desirable inhabitants such as yeast (a fungus, usually Saccharomycopsissp.) or even very harmful bacteria such as Clostridium spp., related to the ones that cause tetanus and botulism.
A rabbit suffering from cecal dysbiosis will produce cecotropes that are mushy, pasty or even liquid. They are usually quite foul-smelling, and often stick to the bunny's back end in great, nasty clumps. These unformed cecotropes are not a primary disease, however. They are a symptom of a disorder somewhere in thebunny's system. In order to cure the runny stool problem, the underlying cause must be addressed.
Diarrhea: Truediarrhea (unformed, watery feces) is relatively rare in adult rabbits.It can be caused by intestinal parasites, such as coccidia (Eimeriaspp.), roundworms, tapeworms, or anything that inflames the intestinal lining. Your rabbit-experienced veterinarian will be able to examine a fecal sample (you should probably provide the vet with a bit both fecal and cecal pellets) to examine them for signs of parasitic infection.
True diarrhea is more common in baby rabbits. One of the most common causes is coccidia, and if you see runny stool in your baby rabbit, you must get him to the vet as soon as possible for treatment. In a baby rabbit, dehydration caused by diarrhea can rapidly result in death. It is wise to consider runny stool in a baby rabbit a true emergency.
candy07
Well-Known Member
I've read in a book that you can feed a rabbit yougurt, but it has to be plain yougurt. I wouldnt reccomend trying it because it could get her sick. Try giving her hay and move her food up1 or 2 percent! That should help!
Aliena
Well-Known Member
Cecal Dysbiosis - I think that's what one of my rabbits has! I've been to the vet about it but he didn't ever mention that, he didn't really know what was wrong. How do you fix it? I've tried changing him to a lower protein pellet(from 20% to 10%) but that meant the fibre in the pellets went down too(from 17% - 9%) so I made sure I was giving him fresh hay every day but he doesn't seem to eat it. I also bought some cube treats from the pet shop that said they had 45% fibre but he won't eat thoseeither. When I first changed the pellets it seemed to help and the mushy poo's/cecals stopped but now they're back again. And just now I cleaned out his hutch and you know howthey often drop a few poo's around the place tomark territory? Well he was just doing little soft cecal poo's. I really want to fix it but I don't know how.
Aliena
Well-Known Member
Like I said - he gets a ton of hay! He just doesn't eat much of it. Do you mean I should give him a higher protein pellet? Wouldn't that just make it worse?
candy07
Well-Known Member
u lowered it too much in protiene, so it doesnt have much fibur.How long ago did u switch?dont raise in protiene, i think u lowered it too much, next time if u lower it lower it only by 1 or 2 percent, you have to do it gradually otherwise your rabbit could get worse.
Pipp
Well-Known Member
Aliena wrote:
Ideally, you have to get him eating a LOT of hay. Will he eat it if you just give him hay and water for a few days? Can you try mixing it with other kinds of grass hays?
Your pellets have to have high fiber, for sure over 18%, best over 20% or more.
Does he get veggies? My 'hay-challenged' bunny is now on a diet of mostly veggies to keep her fibre content up, she just gets a few very high fiber timothy pellets. She's constantly fighting all sorts of intestinal and dental problems because she flat out refuses to eat hay.
Was he slow to eat the new pellets? Maybe that's why they helped at first -- he wasn't eating much of them.
If you get him used to it slowly and he doesn't have a reaction to it, fresh grass is recomended for non-hay eaters.
Excess cecals are usually the result of too much protein and/or carbs and not enough fiber. Some bunnies will get it because they're sensitive to certain veggies or all veggies, though.It just takes a lot of experimenting.The accepted cure for Cecal Dysbiosis, though, is restricting thediet to hay and water until it goes away.
Oh yeah, how old is the bunny? Did you mention that?
sas
Maybe our Mod Mini Lops will chime in here, she's in New Zealand and should know what foods are available.
Ideally, you have to get him eating a LOT of hay. Will he eat it if you just give him hay and water for a few days? Can you try mixing it with other kinds of grass hays?
Your pellets have to have high fiber, for sure over 18%, best over 20% or more.
Does he get veggies? My 'hay-challenged' bunny is now on a diet of mostly veggies to keep her fibre content up, she just gets a few very high fiber timothy pellets. She's constantly fighting all sorts of intestinal and dental problems because she flat out refuses to eat hay.
Was he slow to eat the new pellets? Maybe that's why they helped at first -- he wasn't eating much of them.
If you get him used to it slowly and he doesn't have a reaction to it, fresh grass is recomended for non-hay eaters.
Excess cecals are usually the result of too much protein and/or carbs and not enough fiber. Some bunnies will get it because they're sensitive to certain veggies or all veggies, though.It just takes a lot of experimenting.The accepted cure for Cecal Dysbiosis, though, is restricting thediet to hay and water until it goes away.
Oh yeah, how old is the bunny? Did you mention that?
sas
NZminilops
Well-Known Member
Aliena and I have chatted about the problem previously on a New Zealand forum, and a couple of things did help fora bit but the pellets in New Zealand totally suck.
Basically, you've got three main choices with feed stores (3 brands),and a fourth option of stuff from the pet shop. With the feed store food,it's either:
a. High in protein, low in fibre
b. Low in protein AND low in fibre
And pet store stuff is often bagged by the workers and they have no idea what's in it, apart from pellets and the bits of corn and peanuts and stuff and it's normally refered to as muesli.
Pretty much all our food is designed for meat rabbits, and it's very annoying and hard to get a balanced diet. I have cecal problems with my lot as well and have managed to keep it somewhat under control with feeling more natural foods to the rabbits. They eat a lot of grass,apple tree twigs and leave etc, things I expect they would eat in nature.
I can't be of much help because I'm in the same pickle myself, and I get my food from where Aliena does too.
Basically, you've got three main choices with feed stores (3 brands),and a fourth option of stuff from the pet shop. With the feed store food,it's either:
a. High in protein, low in fibre
b. Low in protein AND low in fibre
And pet store stuff is often bagged by the workers and they have no idea what's in it, apart from pellets and the bits of corn and peanuts and stuff and it's normally refered to as muesli.
Pretty much all our food is designed for meat rabbits, and it's very annoying and hard to get a balanced diet. I have cecal problems with my lot as well and have managed to keep it somewhat under control with feeling more natural foods to the rabbits. They eat a lot of grass,apple tree twigs and leave etc, things I expect they would eat in nature.
I can't be of much help because I'm in the same pickle myself, and I get my food from where Aliena does too.
naturestee
Well-Known Member
That's some rotten food choices. I also have problems with a cecal dysbiosis-like problem in my two dwarf hotot girls. It's more likely megacolon, a genetic problem common in hotots. What works for my girls is a small amount of low protein, high fiber pellets, tons of grass hay (any amount of alfalfa sets them off), and lots of veggies. They have no problems from veggies at all, thankfully, so they are a huge part of their diet.
If your rabbit tolerates veggies well, I recommend a similar diet. You'll need to be a little informed about different types of veggies and their nutrition, as you'll need to feed an almost pellet-free diet. Since the available pellets are lower in fiber, feed only a really small amount like a few tablespoons a day for their vitamin content. And stick with the lower protein ones. And really push the grass hay, no alfalfa at all.
That's rotten that even your meat rabbits get crud food. Our meat rabbits here usually get basic alfalfa pellets with better protein and fiber numbers than yours.
If your rabbit tolerates veggies well, I recommend a similar diet. You'll need to be a little informed about different types of veggies and their nutrition, as you'll need to feed an almost pellet-free diet. Since the available pellets are lower in fiber, feed only a really small amount like a few tablespoons a day for their vitamin content. And stick with the lower protein ones. And really push the grass hay, no alfalfa at all.
That's rotten that even your meat rabbits get crud food. Our meat rabbits here usually get basic alfalfa pellets with better protein and fiber numbers than yours.
Aliena
Well-Known Member
Thanks. He is just over a year old and has had this problem for a long time. I have no idea what the hay is that he gets, not sure if we even have options over here. He did seem to get better for awhile when I changed pellets and I think it was because first I lowered the amount of pellets he was getting and added more veggies and then I started adding the new pellets and he has been getting a little less veggies. I think I might have to feed him a diet of mostly grass and veggies, etc but will look into it properly first.The last couple of days he has started doing very small normal poo's and still is doing excess cecals and I've noticed that he has this weird smell about him. I think I'm going to take him to the vet for a check up (I'm going to try a new vet this time).
