Not pooping enough...

[pani]

Hi all,

Clementine has been shedding quite heavily recently. I'm doing my best to get off as much hair as possible, but Felix and her both groom her a lot and are probably eating a lot of her hair.

Today Felix seems a bit off - not running around, sitting still or in a 'loaf' position. I was watching him before and noticed him do a very small poop (probably 1/4 the size of a normal one) with a few pieces of Clementine's hair in it. I'm trying to encourage him to eat hay, which he is doing slowly, but I haven't noticed him pooping while I've been doing that. He also left a couple of cecals around uneaten.

Is there anything I can do for him aside from encouraging him to eat hay? I've got Critical Care on hand if I need it but I'd prefer for him to be able to just eat hay to help his gut. Is there anything in particular that could help? I'm stressed for my poor baby.

 

[JBun]

Hydration is very important too. Extra leafy greens, and don't dry off after rinsing so they get the extra water. If he's not drinking well, you may even need to syringe him some water(slowly to avoid the risk of aspiration). And cut out any sugary starchy treats as these just slow down digestion further. I will usually also either remove pellets for the time being, or reduce them drastically until the digestion is moving well again and poops are normal, then gradually increase pellets back up.

 

[pani]

Thanks Jenny. I've taken out their pellets and given them a water bowl to drink from, along with their bottle. Felix took a few sips of water when I first put it down, but now he's back to sitting on the top floor of his cage and eating some hay. Won't be giving them any treats today.

I've run out of their greens >_< My partner is going to drive me to the shops later today to get some, so I'll give them a lot of leafy greens tonight.

 

[pani]

They're both flopped over on the tiles right now. Not eating or drinking but have been quite a bit. They seem happy, I'll keep pushing hay/water/greens and hopefully they'll leave a big ol' pile of poops to show me they're okay.

 

[pani]

They both sat and ate in their litter box for a while and left a big pile of healthy poops behind.

*relieved mama mode*

 

[ChocoClover]

If it's a hairball, feed him a little bit of oil.

 

[Bville]

If it's a hairball, feed him a little bit of oil.

Are you sure about that? I thought that was okay for cats, but not rabbits.

 

[Amethystkytten]

I've read papaya and/or a bit of pineapple helps the digestive system to pass the hair balls through.Cookie has a lot of fluff and I brush her often but I feed a tiny piece to her once a week to help a rabbit breeder told there are papaya tablets(not sure fully on brand name) and she feeds them to her rabbits to help with hair that is ingested.