Poop problem... So upset.. please help.

[sparklyyy]

Hi everyone,

Zeke has been having some strange poop problems on and off for the past month. Sometimes his poop would be a bit gloppy. The pellets would sometimes be very tiny or a lot would be clumped together. I was concerned, but didn't worry too much; he seemed to be fine otherwise and I figured he wasn't handling well a couple of new fruits I was trying to introduce.

Last night, I decided to pick him up and hold him. When I did, I noticed a terrible smell that I hadn't noticed when playing with him on the floor. I flipped him on his back and was shocked to see that his underside was encrusted with dried poop and urine! Poor baby. I tried warm compresses and even a scissors (for two seconds before I got too nervous).

The vet isn't in today (Dr. Misetich at the VCA Arden Animal Hospital in Glendale). Should I take him to the Studio City Animal Hospital that they recommended? Better yet, how can I get the poop off myself?

Thanks!!!

Erin

 

[tonyshuman]

You can do a butt bath with baby shampoo. Hold him around the middle with his back toward you and put his back legs and bum in the sink. Wash them with baby soap and warm water. Because it's not a full-body bath, it's ok to do once in a while. He probably still won't like it much. Just make sure to towel him off well and that he can dry off out of drafts. Be very gentle though, because urine can scald the skin and make it very delicate. I would think you could put bag balm or triple antibiotic ointment (w/o painkillers) on the urine-scalded skin if it was there.

It sounds like there's an intestinal parasite or some kind of nutritional problem. Are the tiny ones stuck together cecals? What has he been eating? Is his weight stable? I would still take him to the vet very soon and make sure to bring a feces sample for them to look at.

Good luck.

 

[Becca]

Hey,

First of all get some pet shampoo non medicated then fill a bucket/sink etc about a quarter or half the way with lukewarm water mix in about a tablespoon of the shampoo lower his bottom into the water firmly but gently so you dont hurt him and he doesnt get scared and kick - soak until clean. If its really dirty you might have to do it twice - (with clean water) - rinse of all the shampoo - make sure it is properly dry so he doesnt get cold.

basically everything tonyshuman said!

Becca

 

[sparklyyy]

Thank you so much for the responses.

I don't think that the tiny poops or clumps are cecals, but how would I know for sure?

He has a good diet. He eats Kaytee brand Timothy Complete pellets (about 1/2 a cup a day), and an unlimited supply of Kaytee brand natural timothy hay. Every once in a while I'll give him a tiny slice of banana, parsley, and cilantro. He just saw the vet a month ago. The vet said that he looked perfect and was a good weight (toward the higher end of what's normal, but normal). He's a mini lop and about 7.5 pounds. The encrusted "matter" must be somewhat new. However, the weird poops have been going on a bit longer. Also, there are tons of stains on the bottom of his enclosed area (he doesn't have a cage; he has a large, carpeted run). It's like he was rubbing his bottom on the carpet. However, that has happened a lot in the past. Maybe I should buy baby wipes and clean him every once in a while just to be certain he doesn't get dirty down there. That's besides the point, though, of all of the craziness going on now. I will buy pet shampoo later today and bathe him. I'm so upset because I know he'll hate it and I hate to make him upset. I also don't know if the pet shampoo will even work. It's an absolute mess down there.

Any of you live in the Los Angeles area and want to come console/help me? LOL!

Erin

 

[tonyshuman]

I would personally switch him to a more veggie-based diet if possible. 1/2c of pellets a day isn't very good for a bunny. I feed each of my adult bunnies that weigh about 5 lbs each 1/8c timothy pellets a day plus 2c veggies and unlimited hay. I find if I give them more pellets they have uneaten cecals. Or you could cut back on the pellets, feed other varieties of hay as well, and give veggies as a treat. This kind of hay-based diet works pretty well if you can offer a variety of hays (orchard, oat, timothy, etc) and is cheaper and easier to do than a veggie diet. Bunny veggies take over my shopping cart at the store any my fridge at home!

Kaytee is also not the best brand of pellet. You are feeding the best one they offer, but it still has a lot more protein and less fiber than some other brands. However, these other brands can be hard to find. Some favorites are Oxbow and Zupreem Nature's Choice. The extra fiber will help things move through better and uneaten cecals means too much protein in the diet. Kaytee is notorious for saying that all you need to feed your bunny is 1/2c of their pellets and unlimited hay, but that's not really true. :?

Cecals look like tiny grapes, about the size of bb's, all smushed together. They smell really bad--a lot more "oniony" and "poopy" than normal bunny poop. I'm sure there are some pics in the library.

Hope this helps!

Like Becca said, soaking his bum in a bucket of soapy water like that might help uncrust it some. I also reccomend a dog or cat flea comb to break up mats.

 

[sparklyyy]

Thanks again! I know I am feeding him a few too many pellets. I figured that I could "offset" that with how much exercise he gets. I bunny-proofed the entire living room and he runs around a ton. When I've tried to limit his pellet intake, he keeps running over to his food bowl to check if I've given him more or he'll try to break out of his cage! Sigh. I know I shouldn't give in. I will start to give him more veggies and less pellets. I will do whatever I can that makes him healthier.

I'm going to go to Petco a bit later and pick up some pet shampoo. He was so good last night about letting me flip him on his back and check to see the "damage." I know he'll be good again today, but I hate making him uncomfortable. He's my baby and I love him. I know that you all can relate to that... ha ha! When he got shots at the vet I almost cried!

Erin

 

[naturestee]

Actually, before you try shampoo try doing a dry butt bath with cornstarch or baby powder. It actually works really well and is less stressful.

Take a sample of poop to a vet and have them test for problems, especially coccidea. Ask about treating him for that whether it shows up or not as it tends to have a lot of false negative reports.

I'd start with just decreasing the pellets, and give him different types of hay for interest. See if that does anything first before increasing veggies. They really don't need much pellets at all if they're getting lots of good hay.

You could also try giving him a probiotic called Bene-bac, about 1 gram per day. That would help if it's a bacterial imbalance problem.

 

[sparklyyy]

Thanks again. I knew I could count on all of you. There's an Oxbow retailer just a few miles away. I'm going to pick up a lot of items there today. I'm going to do a butt bath now and see what happens. When his vet is in next week, I will call.

Thanks again.

erin

 

[sparklyyy]

I just wanted to say that Zeke had a bath earlier! I cleaned his litter box and then used it as a tub. I filled it with warm water and some of the pet shampoo. I lowered him in so I would just get his bottom half wet. I let him soak a bit and then gently washed his underside and bottom and used a brush to loosen up the yucky stuff. He's all clean! His poops are still looking funky, though. I switched his food over to Oxbox so I'm going to see if that makes a difference. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again so much. So happy my boy is clean now! He was very well-behaved throughout the ordeal. He was a bit unhappy afterwards, but he just gave me a kiss on the cheek so I know he still loves me.

Erin

 

[mouse_chalk]

Hey!

You've gotten great advice already here, but just wanted to add, that if you're changing his food over to a different pellet, remember to make sure you do it gradually- the recommended way (and the way that I used with my buns) is to replace 1/4 of the old food with new for the first week, then the next week, 1/2 new food and 1/2 old food, the third week 3/4 new food and 1/4 old food, and by the 4th week, you'll be all switched over! If you do it any faster then there's a risk you could upset their stomach...

I seem to remember that on my first bag of Oxbow BBT it had those same instructions, that you can refer to

Obxow Bunny Basics T is a great pellet- I feed all 4 of my buns with it and they LOVE it! It's given them so much healthier poos and a much shinier coat HOORAY for Oxbow! :biggrin2:

Edit: And bless him for kissing you- I can imagine being outright killed if I tried to give any of my buns a bath lol!

 

[gentle giants]

You have gotten good advice, but of course I am going to add to it too, LOL. Like everyone else has said, his diet has to change. Cleaning his bottom does of course need to be done, but that is only treating the symptom, not the problem. He would not be getting poop stuck to himif his GI tractwasn't somehow off balance.

Pellets needto be only a small part of a rabbit's diet, they should get mainly hay, greens, etc. I believe the accepted amount of pellets is 1/4 cup per five pounds of the rabbit's body weight, but don't quote me on it.

 

[sparklyyy]

So maybe it's too soon to claim that Oxbow is miraculous, but since I started to feed it to him, his poops returned to normal. I'm serious!!! He's no longer leaving gloppy poops around his litter box; he's actually going inside his litter box and it looks normal! He's getting mainly hay, and 1/3 cup of the pellets (recommended about on the back of the Oxbow bag since he's nearly eight pounds). I'm going to get him veggies in the next few days.

I know I was supposed to wean him off of his old food slowly, but I didn't have the heart to feed it to him if it was making him sick. His old food was timothy-based so I figured the change wouldn't upset him too much. If it did (or does) I'll certainly deal with it, but he seems to love the new stuff, and the new stuff loves him.

I wonder what must have happened all of a sudden. It was only about a month ago that his digestive system went out of whack. At my parents' house, they have a rabbit that's about nine and a half years old, in perfect health, and she's always had Kaytee brand pellets and hay. Huh. Who knows.

Well, I'm very happy already, and I think he's happy, too. He's back to loving me, thankfully. He's enjoying being pet and giving kisses and grinding his teeth liberally (not that he ever stopped doing that even with all of the yuckiness). Poor guy must have been so uncomfortable. I'll keep checking his bottom to make sure that he's clean.

Ahhh... I'm just so happy that he's doing well. It's my birthday tomorrow, and I was so worried I'd spend my birthday being miserable and worrying about him.

Thanks again, all!

Erin

 

[tonyshuman]

Glad to hear that he's better! Some bunnies are more sensitive to different types of food than others. Wishing him continued better health, and wishing you a happy birthday!

 

[Maureen Las]

Well I just read this and am glad that it's resolved and he's better.
I did want to add that if his weight is at the high end of normal that he could be having some trouble reaching around and eating his cecals and also cleaning himself,.

Try to work his pellets down to a small amount as much as 1/8 cup per day which is not much, add a lot of hay and some veggies and let him get as much exercise out of cage to get his weight down.
I Just reread the thread and realize i am repeating what's already been advised
anyway i'm glad that he's better.

 

[Dublinperky]

I am also glad it cleared up!

Aly!:tongue

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Happy Birthday! Hope it was a good day.