need help.

[jfryckman84]

So I adopted Achilles about a week ago. 2 days ago he had a major case of poopy butt. Today I noticed some redish color on his rear and tonight found a diahrea substance in his litter box. He is 2 years old, and he came with the pellets he was being fed. He was getting no hay as far as I understood so I bought some timothy hay from petsmart and he has been loving it. So I have no clue what direction to take since the factor change is the addition of hay. Maybe the hay from petsmart is bad? Please help, I really can't afford a vet this week but if I must for him I will. He was seriously neglected as he was a 4H project and then another animal in a cage... thanks all in advance

 

[kirbyultra]

Hi there. I'm going to move this thread to the Infirmary so it gets some knowledgeable folks to look at it.
Edit: Also if you could give us this info, as much as you know, it would be helpful for the infirmary mods to give you a better opinion of what might be happening...

IMMEDIATE INFORMATION:


Location

Description (Breed, color, weight)

Age

Sex

Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition:



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST: (Please fill in relevant info).

Fecal and Urinary Output

- are the bunny's poops and pees normal?
- when did they last use their litterbox?
- any unusual behavior? straining to pee? unusual litter habits?
- what litter and/or bedding do you use?

Medical History

- spayed/neutered?
- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before?
- is s/he on any medications?

Diet

- what specifically does your bunny eat?
- when and what did s/he eat last?
- any changes in the way s/he eats? (ie: not eating a particular food, odd chewing motions, etc)


Other

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally?
- is the rabbit molting?
- any weight loss?
- any sign of drooling? wet face?
- runny eyes?
- wet nose? coughing? sneezing?
- is s/he breathing normally

Additional

- any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach?
- has the rabbit been outdoors?
- any other pets? if so, have they been ill?

 

[jfryckman84]

Oh thanks, I am on my cell phone and thought I did post in the infirmary. Lol. Also I forgot to mention he is a pedigree male dwarf hotot

 

[aurora369]

Beat you to it! I just moved your thread over for you.

If he is having diarrhea, then it is an emergency and he will need to see a vet asap. If he is still have normal solid poops, and runny cecal pellets, then it is still a big problem but not as urgent.

First things I would do would be to supplement his hydration with some Pedialyte (rehydration drink for children). Put some in a bowl and see if he'll drink it willingly. If not, you will need to syringe him some. Having runny poops is very dehydrating.

I would also start giving a probiotic like Benebac or even human acidophilus. Either sprinkle on pellets or mix with a tiny bit of juice and syringe for the powdered acidophilus.

I would also restrict his diet to hay only. No veggies or pellets, just hay and lots of fluids.

He could have intestinal worms or coccidia (sp?) or just a bad mis-balance of the GI bacteria causing this.

Is he having any normal poop at the same time as mushy poops or is it all just watery poop?

-Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

Dawn covered it all. Keep him warm and give him as much water (or preferably pedialyte) as he will take. My guys will slurp up the unflavored pedialyte with a drop of grenadine in it. If he starts to get cold or lethargic, you need to take him to the vet ASAP. Don't force him to sit somewhere warm, but at least have the option of warm stuff to sit on--like a heating pad, rice sock, and/or towels warmed in the dryer.

You may feel like tempting him to eat with his favorites, but he really should only be eating hay now. It's rare for hay to cause a diarrhea episode, unless it has some fungal toxins on it or something. If you do suspect the hay, you'll need to get some of a brand you trust more.

If he does ok through the night, definitely get him to a vet in the morning and get some probiotic. If you already have some, even human acidophilus capsules (cut them open and take the powder out to give to him), give it to him for sure.

 

[jfryckman84]

it seems they were runny cecals. This morning he seemed balanced again with small but nice cecals. He went potty twice last night and there werea few scattered poops in his cage. The weird thing is I introduced the hay into his diet so I find it strange that the best thing to do would to keep the hay and ditch the pellets. Can I get a reason for that? Sorry if I sound dumb, just paranoid of making mistakes

 

[tonyshuman]

When a bunny is producing diarrhea, the solution is to add lots of fiber and no carbohydrates or protein. Diarrhea is caused by an overgrowth of bad bacteria, which thrive on carbohydrates and protein. The good bacteria in a rabbit's GI tract live off cellulose (fiber), which is pretty much all that's in hay. Pellets have protein and some carbs in them, that's why a bunny with diarrhea should only have hay.

It's possible that the diarrhea came from his GI system switching over from a mostly pellet diet to a hay diet. It may have been a traumatic switch (causing the diarrhea), but it was a good switch to make. Usually we do recommend making any diet change slowly, even adding hay, so that the change is more gradual. The cecum is where most of the celluose-digesting bacteria are found, and maybe the runny cecals were from his body expelling any bacteria that were in there before, now replaced with the correct kind.

He should be eating his cecals, though, if they're normal-shaped.

 

[jfryckman84]

So should I back off his hay quantity when he evens out his bowels? Or should I push forward and hope for the best? I didn't realize adding hay was so drastic a change. I always used to give my rabbits hay and read to give them all they wanted so I didn't give a second thought.
Thank you all for your help, I am feeling better that I havn't done something detremental or he isn't super sick.

 

[tonyshuman]

Hay is very good for most rabbits, but any change has to be slow. For instance, if you come across a rabbit that's literally been starved, you don't want to put a huge bowl of food in front of it--their system can't handle it--no matter how much they need the nutrition. The same goes for adding most things to their diet. It takes a few days for the gut flora to readjust.

I would limit the hay to a few handfuls a day until the diarrhea is gone. After that, you can increase it to as much as he'll eat.

 

[jfryckman84]

Well currently he isn't eating more than 1/4 cup of pellets and a small amount of hay. He doesn't like any of the veggies I have given him. But I will back off his hay and start over. His feces seem to be getting much better. Only time will tell