Rabbit poo too dark. What should I reduce?

[BinkyLouie]

Hey guys so I’ve noticed for a week or so that louies poops have been darker than usual. They were never like that and I was usually never concerned about his poop but they Linda dark.. I feed him 2 cups of veggies. I think that maybe be it but I just wanted to ask whether I should reduce the amount I give him. I always gave him 2 cups but I’m not sure what’s going on. Could it also be because of the banana I’ve been giving him? I don’t give him a lot just a little everyday. I’ll put what I feed him here: 2 cups veggies, 1/4 Timothy pellets, banana, and unlimited Timothy/orchard hay.

 

[JBun]

Has anything changed in his diet, amounts or types of food? Has his hay changed in type or cut(eg. softer and leafier than usual)? Is his poop any smaller than usual or just darker? How old is he now, and approx. weight? Is he eating a pile of hay at least the size of his body per day?

 

[2Bunns]

It sounds like there may be too much iron in the diet. It can end up causing some issues eventually. I cut spinach out of their diet for this reason.

 

[BinkyLouie]

Has anything changed in his diet, amounts or types of food? Has his hay changed in type or cut(eg. softer and leafier than usual)? Is his poop any smaller than usual or just darker? How old is he now, and approx. weight? Is he eating a pile of hay at least the size of his body per day?

The only thing I’ve given him which I usually only gave him like every once in awhile was banana. That’s the only thing that’s new. I feel like that’s when things started. Idk if I may have increased his veggies on accident more. I try to make sure it’s only a cup and no more. I usually just feed him the spring mix box. Usually has those green veggies and the purple ones.. He’s 4 pounds and almost 7 months. Id have to check again. He eats hay everyday in the morning and then sleeps most of the day and then I put him in the cage so he can eat a lot of hay since he sleeps all day. That’s about 2-3 hrs in the cage. The only thing that’s different is his poop color. He’s always had small poops but it’s just a little batch of small poops.

 

[BinkyLouie]

It sounds like there may be too much iron in the diet. It can end up causing some issues eventually. I cut spinach out of their diet for this reason.

I don’t feed him any spinach or kale or dandelion leaves.

 

[2Bunns]

Would you be able to post a picture of the poops please. They can range from dark chocolate to milk chocolate in colour

 

[BinkyLouie]

Would you be able to post a picture of the poops please. They can range from dark chocolate to milk chocolate in colour

Yes! Let me take a picture of it at his litter box.

 

[JBun]

Is the orchard hay mix new or have you always fed it? If you've always fed it, does it seem leafier than usual?

A little bit of banana isn't usually going to cause poop to be darker, unless too much is fed, then the poop will also usually get smaller.

 

[BinkyLouie]

Here you go! I think the flash makes it look weird but it’s kinda hard when it’s already night here.

 

[BinkyLouie]

Is the orchard hay mix new or have you always fed it? If you've always fed it, does it seem leafier than usual?

A little bit of banana isn't usually going to cause poop to be darker, unless too much is fed, then the poop will also usually get smaller.

It’s new to him but when I fed it to him like for the first time there wasn’t any sign of change in his poop. He just ate it as if nothing changed. I thought he’d hate it but he didn’t care much.

 

[2Bunns]

It all looks quite normal to me, when i get home from work il post pics of their poop unless anyone else here wants to post some for comparison. As long as it isnt dry, wet, linked with hair, sharp, small or too big. Some of them i have seen look like sausages and they are the size of cocktail weiners!!! Only once or twice.

 

[BinkyLouie]

It all looks quite normal to me, when i get home from work il post pics of their poop unless anyone else here wants to post some for comparison. As long as it isnt dry, wet, linked with hair, sharp, small or too big. Some of them i have seen look like sausages and they are the size of cocktail weiners!!! Only once or twice.

Really! Okay! It’s just that sometimes I just check just out of worry and I think it may be not as bad as I think. He seriously eats a great amount of hay that’s why I wonder but.. Yeah. I’d love for you to post some pictures just so I can compare. Thank you.

 

[JBun]

I guess it's possible it could be the banana. You can always stop feeding it for a few days and see if the poop changes. If it doesn't, then it could be he's eating more of the leafy bits of the hay and that's causing the darker color. Usually darker color fecal poop is from more protein and less indigestible fiber in the diet. Leafy hay has more protein, and more protein will usually cause the poop to look darker. Crunchy stems of hay have more indigestible fiber, and indigestible fiber will usually give a lighter color to the poop.

One thing you could reduce a little if you want, is the pellet amount. He's full grown and under 5 lbs, so you could go with 1/8 cup a day and see how he does on that. It should also increase his hay eating. Or just stay at 1/4 cup, up to you. As long as his poop is a decent normal size and he's not having any health concerns, slightly darker poop isn't usually a problem as long as the poop.

 

[BinkyLouie]

I guess it's possible it could be the banana. You can always stop feeding it for a few days and see if the poop changes. If it doesn't, then it could be he's eating more of the leafy bits of the hay and that's causing the darker color. Usually darker color fecal poop is from more protein and less indigestible fiber in the diet. Leafy hay has more protein, and more protein will usually cause the poop to look darker. Crunchy stems of hay have more indigestible fiber, and indigestible fiber will usually give a lighter color to the poop.

One thing you could reduce a little if you want, is the pellet amount. He's full grown and under 5 lbs, so you could go with 1/8 cup a day and see how he does on that. It should also increase his hay eating. Or just stay at 1/4 cup, up to you. As long as his poop is a decent normal size and he's not having any health concerns, slightly darker poop isn't usually a problem as long as the poop is a normal size.

This made me feel better. I’ll see what I can do.. and yes he loves the leafy parts of the hay but he does eat the crunchy strands aswell just that the leafy parts are his favorite. I really wanna go back to feeding him his hay treats but I need to see how I can get them but in the meantime I’ll try and see what I can do! Also yeah his poops are all the same except for those small batch of poops.. I’ve discussed that in different threads and apparently it’s fine so that’s good. Thank you!