Sick Bun and the vet is stumped! Please help!

[GiantPeanut]

Hello everyone, so I adopted my rabbit in February of 2019, and a few months later we started having a few issues with diarrhea. He is fully litter box trained and the only time he goes outside his litter box is when he has diarrhea, which leads me to believe that it is uncontrollable The diarrhea itself is sporadic (from a few days apart to a few weeks apart and at no certain time of the day and has no relation to what time I feed him) and completely random. I brought him to the vet and we have tried everything including x-rays and culture of the diarrhea (which was very hard to collect). The only thing that came back was the culture results which grew two different abnormal bacteria: Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter app. We put him on two rounds of Baytril and then Chloramphenicol, none of which made a difference. The vet was stumped and says he's reached out to other professionals that also led to no answer.
The past few months I have been out of the country and had a friend watching Bun and they cut out greens from his diet (an option suggested by the vet) and said the diarrhea was still appearing regardless, just less frequently. Since I've gotten him back, I've been attempting to slowly introduce greens back into his diet but have seen small amounts of diarrhea on some puppy pads I've laid out in caution. I'm desperate to find a solution, so I was hoping that someone on Reddit has seen something similar or knows a vet that would be knowledgeable that I could reach out to. I'm willing to try anything, he's genuinely a great rabbit but I not able to allow him to 100% free roam due to his issues. I've attached photos of some of his previous accidents.
His diet now is unlimited Timothy hay, oxbow pellets (half a cup a day since he's 9 pounds), and a handful of spring mix because I'm slowly trying to introduce the greens back in! When he has his diarrhea its literally over the course of a few minutes, like less than 10 and then it's over.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I would remove him from pellets, veggies, and fruits completely. Keep him on a hay and water only diet for about a week, and see if he improves. If he doesn't improve let us know and we can figure something else out. Has your vet x-rayed him?

 

[chrisrider1]

Do you have Critical Care? Keep it on hand uncase the bun goes into stasis

 

[JBun]

It looks to me more like your rabbit is experiencing cecal dysbiosis and not true diarrhea. Diarrhea is when the fecal poop(the round balls) is watery or pudding like. True diarrhea won't be an occasional thing, it will be ongoing through the day. It will be consistent and is usually immediately life threatening.

Cecal dysbiosis is where the cecotropes don't form properly and come out semiformed(may be a little watery) or unformed and pasty, and this isnt usually life threatening short term, though if it continues long term it can lead to serious issues.

Cecals are only expelled intermittently at certain times of the day, so that would explain why you are only seeing the messes at certain times . There are a variety of causes for cecal dysbiosis , the most common being dietary. Has your vet mentioned it at all? Have you tried the usual recommendation of a free fed grass hay only diet to see if that clears it up?

Less commonly liver issues can be a cause. Did your vet do a blood test to check liver and kidney function?
Intermittent Soft Cecotropes in Rabbits | House Rabbit Society (cecal dysbiosis in rabbits )

 

[zuppa]

Hello everyone, so I adopted my rabbit in February of 2019, and a few months later we started having a few issues with diarrhea. He is fully litter box trained and the only time he goes outside his litter box is when he has diarrhea, which leads me to believe that it is uncontrollable The diarrhea itself is sporadic (from a few days apart to a few weeks apart and at no certain time of the day and has no relation to what time I feed him) and completely random. I brought him to the vet and we have tried everything including x-rays and culture of the diarrhea (which was very hard to collect). The only thing that came back was the culture results which grew two different abnormal bacteria: Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter app. We put him on two rounds of Baytril and then Chloramphenicol, none of which made a difference. The vet was stumped and says he's reached out to other professionals that also led to no answer.
The past few months I have been out of the country and had a friend watching Bun and they cut out greens from his diet (an option suggested by the vet) and said the diarrhea was still appearing regardless, just less frequently. Since I've gotten him back, I've been attempting to slowly introduce greens back into his diet but have seen small amounts of diarrhea on some puppy pads I've laid out in caution. I'm desperate to find a solution, so I was hoping that someone on Reddit has seen something similar or knows a vet that would be knowledgeable that I could reach out to. I'm willing to try anything, he's genuinely a great rabbit but I not able to allow him to 100% free roam due to his issues. I've attached photos of some of his previous accidents.
His diet now is unlimited Timothy hay, oxbow pellets (half a cup a day since he's 9 pounds), and a handful of spring mix because I'm slowly trying to introduce the greens back in! When he has his diarrhea its literally over the course of a few minutes, like less than 10 and then it's over.

Hi, can you describe his diet in details, what kind of hay and how much per day, what brand of pellets with ingredients and percentage for fiber, protein, calcium, phosphorus, what kind of treats he gets and how often, what vegetables/greens and how much/often

 

[Belles7738]

Hello everyone, so I adopted my rabbit in February of 2019, and a few months later we started having a few issues with diarrhea. He is fully litter box trained and the only time he goes outside his litter box is when he has diarrhea, which leads me to believe that it is uncontrollable The diarrhea itself is sporadic (from a few days apart to a few weeks apart and at no certain time of the day and has no relation to what time I feed him) and completely random. I brought him to the vet and we have tried everything including x-rays and culture of the diarrhea (which was very hard to collect). The only thing that came back was the culture results which grew two different abnormal bacteria: Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter app. We put him on two rounds of Baytril and then Chloramphenicol, none of which made a difference. The vet was stumped and says he's reached out to other professionals that also led to no answer.
The past few months I have been out of the country and had a friend watching Bun and they cut out greens from his diet (an option suggested by the vet) and said the diarrhea was still appearing regardless, just less frequently. Since I've gotten him back, I've been attempting to slowly introduce greens back into his diet but have seen small amounts of diarrhea on some puppy pads I've laid out in caution. I'm desperate to find a solution, so I was hoping that someone on Reddit has seen something similar or knows a vet that would be knowledgeable that I could reach out to. I'm willing to try anything, he's genuinely a great rabbit but I not able to allow him to 100% free roam due to his issues. I've attached photos of some of his previous accidents.
His diet now is unlimited Timothy hay, oxbow pellets (half a cup a day since he's 9 pounds), and a handful of spring mix because I'm slowly trying to introduce the greens back in! When he has his diarrhea its literally over the course of a few minutes, like less than 10 and then it's over.

 

[Belles7738]

I would definatly remove all greens fruit pellets and like previously said fresh hay and water daily for a week. Once poor Zuppas tummy firms up, then I would chart and slowly introduce fresh greens and small portions of fruit. Test out and log for several days to see how the diff kinds affects his bowel. Once you know what does and doesnt sit well. What type if greens and fruit are you feeding him now? And treats etc? I only pry BC I have 2 and depending on brand, type of green, fruit, or treat will affect my Buns. They are just like us. Something's just don't sit well. Also I use bottle spring water not tap. Good luck hope Zuppa gets to feeling better. Logging the food you give and try is full proof and make sure you know what they can and can't have. Esp if u take him out.

 

[zuppa]

I would definatly remove all greens fruit pellets and like previously said fresh hay and water daily for a week. Once poor Zuppas tummy firms up, then I would chart and slowly introduce fresh greens and small portions of fruit. Test out and log for several days to see how the diff kinds affects his bowel. Once you know what does and doesnt sit well. What type if greens and fruit are you feeding him now? And treats etc? I only pry BC I have 2 and depending on brand, type of green, fruit, or treat will affect my Buns. They are just like us. Something's just don't sit well. Also I use bottle spring water not tap. Good luck hope Zuppa gets to feeling better. Logging the food you give and try is full proof and make sure you know what they can and can't have. Esp if u take him out.

Erm.. Thank you, zuppa had her weekly food shopping yesterday and first it was all sunny and all but suddenly began to rain and it was very cold and wet and there was very stormy as well so she's got all soaked and since it was really hard to keep balance on a bicycle in the storm she had to walk all way home with her shoppings in this horrible rain and wind; when she's got home she was all shaken and so cold!
Today poor zuppa has this horrible pain in her right ear and it is highly doubtful that she could find any vet to get help so thank you very much for your wishes thank you

 

[Belles7738]

Lops are prone to ear infections. Do you have the pet swabs? Like cotton swabs for kittens? Make sure you get her real dry and keep her warm, the swab will help drain the water out. But you may need to use a hair dryer on low warm and blow by her ear but not in it! Just close enough to warm and dry it out. Do you check her ears regularly? As in when its spa day: nail clip, brush and extra groom depending on breed. I brush everyday but Thumper is daily and then I use my soft mitten to help with his molting. If you have any questions I'm here. I'm going to check and see what Vet instructed me to do if needed.

 

[zuppa]

Lops are prone to ear infections. Do you have the pet swabs? Like cotton swabs for kittens? Make sure you get her real dry and keep her warm, the swab will help drain the water out. But you may need to use a hair dryer on low warm and blow by her ear but not in it! Just close enough to warm and dry it out. Do you check her ears regularly? As in when its spa day: nail clip, brush and extra groom depending on breed. I brush everyday but Thumper is daily and then I use my soft mitten to help with his molting. If you have any questions I'm here. I'm going to check and see what Vet instructed me to do if needed.

She has straight ears, I ve put some eucalyptus rub into her ear and it feels very nice and warming, I also put on a knitted hat so her head could stay warm. Going to make some nice herbal tea now, think chamomile with honey would be good. Hair dryer was good idea too, there's no water inside at the moment

 

[zuppa]

Lops are prone to ear infections. Do you have the pet swabs? Like cotton swabs for kittens? Make sure you get her real dry and keep her warm, the swab will help drain the water out. But you may need to use a hair dryer on low warm and blow by her ear but not in it! Just close enough to warm and dry it out. Do you check her ears regularly? As in when its spa day: nail clip, brush and extra groom depending on breed. I brush everyday but Thumper is daily and then I use my soft mitten to help with his molting. If you have any questions I'm here. I'm going to check and see what Vet instructed me to do if needed.

P.S. Sorry Belles, I thought you were just joking but in case you're not zuppa is not a rabbit at all you might just misread my comment earlier

 

[Belles7738]

Oh wow, guess I did. I get on a helping rant from time to time. Hope I didnt ruffle any feathers or fuzzy Bums!