Rabbit producing too many cecotropes, should I be worried?

[lynne2809]

Hi everyone, I have a 2 year old neutered male lionhead bunny named Mickey. He went into stasis in August shortly after we moved back to college and he ended up being hospitalized for 3 days and he has been fine since then. I noticed that for the past few days, he is producing a ton of cecotropes that he is not eating. He will eat his hay and pellets normally and act normal throughout the day, but he won’t poop for 8-10 hours. When he does poop, there is a huge ball of large cecotropes with a few small normal fecal pellets attached. Once he passes the “cecotrope block” he is totally fine and poops normally after that. He gets unlimited Timothy hay, unlimited fresh water in a bottle and a bowl, 1/4 cup of Oxbow Timothy pellets and 3-4 treats every day. Is this something that I should be concerned about, or is it something dietary (maybe cutting down on pellets or treats will resolve it?). They did X-rays at the veterinary teaching hospital when he had stasis in August and everything looked fine, so I’m not sure if this is something that will be a simple fix or if I should worry. I’m also supposed to be having him vaccinated with the Medgene RHDV vaccine soon, but I’m worried that it will cause him to go into stasis, but I’m really worried about RHDV. Should I still have him vaccinated? I’m so worried!! I attached an image of the cecotrope “ball” that he has been passing 5-6 times per day for the past few days.

 

[BunsFurever]

If he seems constipated, I would take him to the vet. Is he still eating okay? What kind of treats do you give him (as some treats like yogurt drops can be more high in sugar than, say, a little bit of cilantro..)?

 

[Catlyn]

What sort of treats are they and how much? Is the total amount less than a tablespoon per day?
You can just phone your vet for advice on the matter. I also believe that it's better to get the vaccine for him rather than risking him catching the rhvd.

 

[Diane R]

I would try reducing pellets and treats. Definitely get him vaccinated, the chance of side effects or stasis is minimal.

 

[Niomi]

I would try reducing pellets and treats. Definitely get him vaccinated, the chance of side effects or stasis is minimal.

I took my 8 year old netherland dwarf in on Oct. 31 for a vaccine. On Nov. 10 he stopped eating greens. On the Thursday 11th I made an appointment to have his teeth checked, but couldn't get him an appointment until Tuesday the 16th. On Friday, his BM's turned to mush and stayed that way. I gave him simethicone and he seemed to improve. Herbie passed away Monday morning 11/15. I donated his body, and I am waiting for a necropsy report. Herbie was healthy when he had his shot. He was a sick rabbit with digestive problems when I got him 4 years ago, so I suspect that he had an underlying digestive problem that I was not aware of. The vet thinks that it is possible that the vaccine contributed to his death.

 

[Diane R]

I took my 8 year old netherland dwarf in on Oct. 31 for a vaccine. On Nov. 10 he stopped eating greens. On the Thursday 11th I made an appointment to have his teeth checked, but couldn't get him an appointment until Tuesday the 16th. On Friday, his BM's turned to mush and stayed that way. I gave him simethicone and he seemed to improve. Herbie passed away Monday morning 11/15. I donated his body, and I am waiting for a necropsy report. Herbie was healthy when he had his shot. He was a sick rabbit with digestive problems when I got him 4 years ago, so I suspect that he had an underlying digestive problem that I was not aware of. The vet thinks that it is possible that the vaccine contributed to his death.

I am very sorry for your loss. Extremely unlikely to get side effects 10 days after vaccination. What might have contributed to his death is a vet not realising that this was an emergency and making you wait nearly a week for an appointment. Terrible. It is true that vaccinations tax the immune system for a short period (so that if an infection is brewing it can manifest at that time) but that is why bunnies should always have a check-up before they are vaccinated. A rabbit vet will not vaccinate a sick bunny.

 

[Niomi]

I am very sorry for your loss. Extremely unlikely to get side effects 10 days after vaccination. What might have contributed to his death is a vet not realising that this was an emergency and making you wait nearly a week for an appointment. Terrible. It is true that vaccinations tax the immune system for a short period (so that if an infection is brewing it can manifest at that time) but that is why bunnies should always have a check-up before they are vaccinated. A rabbit vet will not vaccinate a sick bunny.

I would have taken Herbie to the emergency vet, but by the time I realized this was an emergency, it was too late. He ate his pellets up until he died. He just stopped eating greens and hay. When I got Herbie 4 years ago, mushy poop was his normal. I changed his diet when I got him, but it took over a month for his poop to improve. That is why I did not realize he was in crisis until Monday morning. I called the vet on Monday, and they could not see him. The next step was the emergency vet, but it was too late. Herbie looked fine Sunday evening, except that his poop was mushy. If I didn't see this as an emergency, I can't blame the vet.

 

[lynne2809]

I took my 8 year old netherland dwarf in on Oct. 31 for a vaccine. On Nov. 10 he stopped eating greens. On the Thursday 11th I made an appointment to have his teeth checked, but couldn't get him an appointment until Tuesday the 16th. On Friday, his BM's turned to mush and stayed that way. I gave him simethicone and he seemed to improve. Herbie passed away Monday morning 11/15. I donated his body, and I am waiting for a necropsy report. Herbie was healthy when he had his shot. He was a sick rabbit with digestive problems when I got him 4 years ago, so I suspect that he had an underlying digestive problem that I was not aware of. The vet thinks that it is possible that the vaccine contributed to his death.

I’m so sorry for your loss. Was this the RHDV vaccine? I agree that having these GI issues a week and a half after the vaccine is likely not due to the vaccine. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.

 

[FoggyForest]

I would have taken Herbie to the emergency vet, but by the time I realized this was an emergency, it was too late. He ate his pellets up until he died. He just stopped eating greens and hay. When I got Herbie 4 years ago, mushy poop was his normal. I changed his diet when I got him, but it took over a month for his poop to improve. That is why I did not realize he was in crisis until Monday morning. I called the vet on Monday, and they could not see him. The next step was the emergency vet, but it was too late. Herbie looked fine Sunday evening, except that his poop was mushy. If I didn't see this as an emergency, I can't blame the vet.

I'm so sorry about your bun.
We took our boy to the emergency vet when he stopped eating. They gave him treatments there and told us he was starting stasis, so we gave him critical care. The emergency vet forgot to give us the pain medicine though. Bandit passed away on our trip back to get the medicine.
Is it dumb of me to be angry at the vet for that? After all, it is pain medicine.
(He died four days ago- how do I cope? I'm behind on pretty much everything, need advice )

 

[lynne2809]

I'm so sorry about your bun.
We took our boy to the emergency vet when he stopped eating. They gave him treatments there and told us he was starting stasis, so we gave him critical care. The emergency vet forgot to give us the pain medicine though. Bandit passed away on our trip back to get the medicine.
Is it dumb of me to be angry at the vet for that? After all, it is pain medicine.
(He died four days ago- how do I cope? I'm behind on pretty much everything, need advice )

Was this after the RHDV vaccine? I’m so sorry for your loss.

 

[FoggyForest]

Was this after the RHDV vaccine? I’m so sorry for your loss.

No it wasn't after the vaccine, had nothing to do with it. Just stasis. I miss him but he's a little angel now and I'll join him someday

 

[Niomi]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Was this the RHDV vaccine? I agree that having these GI issues a week and a half after the vaccine is likely not due to the vaccine. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.

It was the RHDV2 vaccine. I also feel that a reaction to the vaccine is unlikely, but it needs to be checked out according to the vet at the clinic where he was given the vaccine, because the death was so sudden. One of the side effects of the vaccine is digestive upset.

 

[Niomi]

I'm so sorry about your bun.
We took our boy to the emergency vet when he stopped eating. They gave him treatments there and told us he was starting stasis, so we gave him critical care. The emergency vet forgot to give us the pain medicine though. Bandit passed away on our trip back to get the medicine.
Is it dumb of me to be angry at the vet for that? After all, it is pain medicine.
(He died four days ago- how do I cope? I'm behind on pretty much everything, need advice )

I am so sorry about your Bandit. I think it is normal to be angry at the vet for forgetting the pain medicine. I also used to work in health care, and so I believe that your vet probably felt bad when he found out about his mistake. Emergency health care work is very stressful, even for vets. In time, I am sure you will come to a point where you can forgive. With the rabbits I have had, when they stop eating it is usually a problem that will occur again. My Herbie had dental problems. I wanted him to get the vaccine before his teeth problems showed up again. The first time he had teeth problems, I had a hard time finding a vet to take care of his teeth. It took 2 months for his teeth to be trimmed after he was diagnosed. He had no pain medication, and the vet that diagnosed him said he must be in pain. She wanted me to take him to another vet. I have had other rabbit with teeth problems and I think of all the pain they went through. It helps me to know that Herbie won't have to go through that anymore. He did not have a bright future, but I sure do miss him. I hope you find peace with your situation. It is difficult to lose a pet we love.

 

[lynne2809]

It was the RHDV2 vaccine. I also feel that a reaction to the vaccine is unlikely, but it needs to be checked out according to the vet at the clinic where he was given the vaccine, because the death was so sudden. One of the side effects of the vaccine is digestive upset.

I’m so sorry to hear that, how heartbreaking. It sound like Herbie was very well loved and very lucky to have you, I hope my bunnies live to be 8 years old. Do you mind if I ask if this was the new Medgene vaccine? And was Herbie prone to GI issues?

 

[lynne2809]

No it wasn't after the vaccine, had nothing to do with it. Just stasis. I miss him but he's a little angel now and I'll join him someday

I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how heartbreaking that must be. I’ve had my lionhead for 2 years now (I adopted him as a baby and he is my first rabbit) and he went into stasis in August due to the stress of moving to my new college apartment with me. He spent 3 nights at UGA’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital where they did sedated X-rays, bloodwork, fluids, critical care, pain meds, etc. Everything looked normal, so they think that it was just a random and unpredictable case of stasis. I ended up bringing him back home while I finished school this semester (my parents have another bunny at home and they adore my bunny and take amazing care of him). I missed having him at school with me, but I knew that I was doing the right thing for him. I was such a mess while he was hospitalized and I only got one brief update in the morning and maybe one in the evening. Stasis is so scary. I’m so sorry about you sweet bunny- I know it probably still hurts so much right now, but try to remember the fabulous life that you gave him and the amazing memories that you have together, you will absolutely see him again one day

 

[Niomi]

I’m so sorry to hear that, how heartbreaking. It sound like Herbie was very well loved and very lucky to have you, I hope my bunnies live to be 8 years old. Do you mind if I ask if this was the new Medgene vaccine? And was Herbie prone to GI issues?

I know it was a new vaccine, so it probably was the new Medgene. Herbie never had GI issues. Even when his teeth were bad, he would continue to eat. His teeth would get bad on only one side of his mouth. When he got mushy poop, I gave him Critical Care. I would mix it so that it was thick enough to roll into small balls. He would eat the balls and no syringe feeding was necessary.

I have two other rabbits that had the same vaccine and they did not react to it. They just had their booster and they are fine.

 

[lynne2809]

I know it was a new vaccine, so it probably was the new Medgene. Herbie never had GI issues. Even when his teeth were bad, he would continue to eat. His teeth would get bad on only one side of his mouth. When he got mushy poop, I gave him Critical Care. I would mix it so that it was thick enough to roll into small balls. He would eat the balls and no syringe feeding was necessary.

Hm, I wonder what happened then. I know a few people who’s bunnies have had some GI upset after the vaccine, but it’s usually within a day or either and resolved quickly, so I am wondering if this is unrelated to the vaccine. The mushy poop started 10 days after the vaccine?

 

[Niomi]

Hm, I wonder what happened then. I know a few people who’s bunnies have had some GI upset after the vaccine, but it’s usually within a day or either and resolved quickly, so I am wondering if this is unrelated to the vaccine. The mushy poop started 10 days after the vaccine?

I don't understand it either. I also have my doubts that it is related to the vaccine since it was 10 days. The vet promised to call me with the results of the necropsy, so I guess I will have to just wait and see.

 

[lynne2809]

I don't understand it either. I also have my doubts that it is related to the vaccine since it was 10 days. The vet promised to call me with the results of the necropsy, so I guess I will have to just wait and see.

Did your vet ever get back to you?

 

[Niomi]

Did your vet ever get back to you?

No. I sent an email but it went unanswered. I probably sent it to the wrong vet. All I know so far is that the necropsy is being done at the University of Minnesota. The results are being shared with my vet, so maybe I should call him instead of the vet from the clinic where he got the shot.