Should I be worried?

[scorpian007]

Hi guys,

Recently we got 2 dwarf rabbits about 2 weeks ago (10 weeks old now), both male. Today I noticed something strange in the cage, I'm not sure if I should be worried or not as I've never owned rabbits before so I'm not sure if this is just urine or diarrhoea but I've read that diarrhoea can kill them so I want to find out. All we feed them are pellets, hay, water and they get a tiny amount of carrot a day if they're good (about the side of a thumbnail). They aren't acting strangely from what I can tell, they're usually pretty quiet during the day but at night (after 7pm) they are a lot more active and run around a lot.

Here are the pics, the newspaper discolouration in the 2nd and 3rd pic is what is worrying me, is this diarhoea?

I would really appreciate it if someone could shed some light

Thanks

 

[Azerane]

The colour on the newspaper is just pee

As for the poop, it could just be a slightly mushy one. It doesn't look like a caecotroph, if only because of the shape (which are usually moist, quite dark and look like little clusters like how a blackberry or raspberry looks), I would just keep an eye on them, if you haven't changed anything in their diet, perhaps one of them was just having an off day.

 

[ladysown]

diarrhea in rabbits in generally fairly obvious and is often accompanied by a mucous.

The poops look fine. The mushed poop is just diet change/stress and bun should be just fine.

A better treat than carrot is parsley. Carrot has lots of sugars in it. Parsley, cilantro and dandelion tends to be a better start for giving greens.

 

[scorpian007]

Phew, thanks for the reassurance. I was worried only because of the discolouration so I thought it might have been runny. I'll give them parsley instead of carrots! Thanks for the advice

 

[JBun]

That mushy poop is more the thing to be concerned about. Stopping the carrot and any other treats or veggies for now, would be best, and hopefully clear up the mushy poop. It's better for bunnies to not have veggies til they are at least 12 weeks old, as their digestive systems haven't developed enough until they are older. Because carrots are sugary, they are considered a treat food and should only be given in very small amounts. In a couple weeks you can restart veggies, but start with very small amounts and gradually increase if you don't see any digestive upset. Mushy poop indicates a bacterial inbalance in the rabbits cecum, usually caused by sugars, and isn't a good thing. You only want to be seeing the normal round 'cocoa puff' poop, and maybe an occasional cecotrope, or blackberry type poop, but usually those should be ingested by the rabbit, so you often never see them. If you continue to see mushy poop after a few days of having stopped the carrot, you may need to adjust their diet a little bit more, to get it cleared up.

http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#top
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Our vet says no veggies til 4 months, and then you introduce them slowly. Also, they should be given alfalfa hay til six months and then transition over to another kind--the alfalfa is higher in calcium and protein which is good for growing rabbits but can cause sludge in a grown rabbit that no longer needs the higher levels for growth and development. We give our older buns Orchard Grass because I'm allergic to Timothy. Also, you'll have to house them separately till they've been neutered as they will get hormonal (teenagers) and tend to fight which can be bloody, deadly, and expensive. Good luck, and we'd love to see pics.

 

[scorpian007]

Thanks for the advice. We've laid off the carrots for now, will look at alternative treats. Here are a few pics of them when we first got them, they're beautiful The black and white one (Jack) now has one floppy ear and the other one is straight up. It's so funny, he looks so cute when he runs around.