Small poop advice

[Layla124]

Hi all,

Around 2 and a half weeks ago I noticed a change in my two bunnies poops, they’ve become much smaller, harder and darker. They were otherwise acting normally, eating and drinking as usual, flopping and purring when petted, so I decided to monitor for a while.
Last Friday there was still no change, so I took them to the vet. He did a physical examination and said they appeared healthy, but prescribed antibiotics and worming treatment as a precaution.
I’m still giving them these daily, but have yet to see any difference, and I doubt an infection or parasite is causing the issue.
Does anyone have any ideas of what could be causing the changes in their poops?
The vet said they’re well hydrated but I’ve been leaving extra water on their veggies just in case, though they seem to be drinking normally. They eat plenty of Timothy hay so I don’t think it’s a lack of fibre.
My main worry is that they have some kind of partial blockage, but surely if that were the case they would be showing signs of being in pain (lethargy, decreased appetite etc)?
The vet said to update them in a weeks time so I will phone on Friday, but in the meantime I’m just looking for advice or if anyone has been in a similar situation and can tell me what the issue was? I’m really quite worried despite the vet saying they seem healthy, as they’ve never had any other issues before, and I can’t think of anything else it could be!

 

[JBun]

The vet prescribed antibiotics for small poop, and not a gut stimulant like metoclopramide? Is this a knowledgeable rabbit vet? Did the vet do a dental exam? A rabbit with slow digestive motility will typically get a gut stimulant and meloxicam for possible pain contributing to the issue. And worming treatment could help, but prescribing antibiotics for slow gut motility and no symptoms of infection, is overkill and not called for (yet) in my opinion.

Small poop will usually be because a rabbit has slow gut motility from decreased eating. This can happen when a rabbit is shedding and isn't eating enough coarse hay to help push the excess ingested fur through the digestive tract efficiently. It can happen when a rabbit has a decreased appetite due to dental problems, or other painful health issues that are causing a reduced appetite. Or it can happen with food changes (including a new bag/batch of food) from new foods introduced causing upset, from changes in pellets or new hay, or pellets/hay getting exposed to moisture and going bad. These things can cause a reduction in eating, and so result in smaller poop.

Rabbits digestive system

You want to look for a possible connection to the food. If your rabbits aren't eating as much hay or pellets as usual. If a new food has been introduced soon before this started. If too many high carb foods are being fed and not enough hay is being consumed. If any of the pellets, hay, veg, etc, looks or smells off.

You want to look at other symptoms to help narrow down the possible cause. Is there any sign of digestive discomfort soon after eating a particular food, are your rabbits showing any signs of dental problems (drooling, odd chewing behavior, selective eating, dropping food while eating, excited to come eat but then won't eat well, etc), are your rabbits currently molting, are your rabbits having difficulty hopping, are your rabbits behaving pretty normally or acting unusually lethargic, have there been any extreme temperature changes such as high heat causing increased lethargy? These are just some of the things to watch out for that can help determine the cause.

Because it's happening with both rabbits and there's no other sign of serious illness like lack of appetite, grinding teeth, severe lethargy, hunched posture, other unusual changes of behavior, the most likely causes are
- a change in the diet, which can include opening up and starting a new bag of food/hay
- eating too much grass or very soft hay, and not enough coarser hay
- sudden temperature changes
- both rabbits molting
- changes to their environment causing some stress
- loud sounds or the presence of predators causing stress
- intestinal parasites

If their eating is absolutely unchanged, and you're absolutely certain they're eating the exact same amounts of pellets, veggies, and hay in particular, and they're drinking water well and at their usual amount. And their behavior is perfectly normal and unchanged with no unusual lethargy or signs of stress, I'd suspect a possible change of hay quality from consuming hay that's too soft (the hard stems are the indigestible fiber which drives a rabbits gut motility, very soft hay can cause it to slow down some), or they have intestinal parasites. Those would be my guess when there's no reduction in food and water amounts consumed, and no unusual changes of behavior. Molting as a slight possibility as well, though this will also usually cause a slight reduction in appetite initially. But it can gradually worsen as the gut slows down further, risking GI stasis setting in.

 

[Layla124]

The vet prescribed antibiotics for small poop, and not a gut stimulant like metoclopramide? Is this a knowledgeable rabbit vet? Did the vet do a dental exam? A rabbit with slow digestive motility will typically get a gut stimulant and meloxicam for possible pain contributing to the issue. And worming treatment could help, but prescribing antibiotics for slow gut motility and no symptoms of infection, is overkill and not called for (yet) in my opinion.

Small poop will usually be because a rabbit has slow gut motility from decreased eating. This can happen when a rabbit is shedding and isn't eating enough coarse hay to help push the excess ingested fur through the digestive tract efficiently. It can happen when a rabbit has a decreased appetite due to dental problems, or other painful health issues that are causing a reduced appetite. Or it can happen with food changes (including a new bag/batch of food) from new foods introduced causing upset, from changes in pellets or new hay, or pellets/hay getting exposed to moisture and going bad. These things can cause a reduction in eating, and so result in smaller poop.

Rabbits digestive system

You want to look for a possible connection to the food. If your rabbits aren't eating as much hay or pellets as usual. If a new food has been introduced soon before this started. If too many high carb foods are being fed and not enough hay is being consumed. If any of the pellets, hay, veg, etc, looks or smells off.

You want to look at other symptoms to help narrow down the possible cause. Is there any sign of digestive discomfort soon after eating a particular food, are your rabbits showing any signs of dental problems (drooling, odd chewing behavior, selective eating, dropping food while eating, excited to come eat but then won't eat well, etc), are your rabbits currently molting, are your rabbits having difficulty hopping, are your rabbits behaving pretty normally or acting unusually lethargic, have there been any extreme temperature changes such as high heat causing increased lethargy? These are just some of the things to watch out for that can help determine the cause.

Because it's happening with both rabbits and there's no other sign of serious illness like lack of appetite, grinding teeth, severe lethargy, hunched posture, other unusual changes of behavior, the most likely causes are
- a change in the diet, which can include opening up and starting a new bag of food/hay
- eating too much grass or very soft hay, and not enough coarser hay
- sudden temperature changes
- both rabbits molting
- changes to their environment causing some stress
- loud sounds or the presence of predators causing stress
- intestinal parasites

If their eating is absolutely unchanged, and you're absolutely certain they're eating the exact same amounts of pellets, veggies, and hay in particular, and they're drinking water well and at their usual amount. And their behavior is perfectly normal and unchanged with no unusual lethargy or signs of stress, I'd suspect a possible change of hay quality from consuming hay that's too soft (the hard stems are the indigestible fiber which drives a rabbits gut motility, very soft hay can cause it to slow down some), or they have intestinal parasites. Those would be my guess when there's no reduction in food and water amounts consumed, and no unusual changes of behavior. Molting as a slight possibility as well, though this will also usually cause a slight reduction in appetite initially. But it can gradually worsen as the gut slows down further, risking GI stasis setting in.

Thank you for the response!
I’m quite limited in terms of rabbit vets in my area, but they’ve been registered at this one for almost 5 years now and never had any issues when they were spayed/neutered. He did check their teeth, as well as their eyes and ears, felt their stomach etc. They also had their 6 month check up around a month ago with a different vet at the practice who checked their teeth etc as well.

When I first noticed the change around 3 weeks ago I suspected their hay might be the problem. I’d just received a new box from the usual place but it didn’t seem to be as good quality as it was previously, more of a brown/golden colour and a slight musty smell. The buns also didn’t seem to be eating as much. So I switched to a different supplier (haybox.club), and they’ve been eating the new timothy hay for around 2 weeks now. It’s lovely and green, sweet smelling, fairly coarse, and they’re eating plenty of it.
Because the issue started before I changed the hay I don’t think that’s the cause. There’s been no other changes in their diet, they’re eating the same types of veggies and the same pellets. I have noticed they’re not quite as eager for their salads, they get very excited for their pellets but then it can take them a little while to go over to eat their veggies, but they do still eat them all, so there’s no difference in the quantity they’re eating. They don’t seem to have any issues with eating either (dropping food, drooling etc).
Because there’s no other symptoms or any other changes in their behaviour, I’m finding it really tricky to figure out what it could be. I know something must be causing it, which is why I’m worried despite them seeming fine and the vet saying they look healthy.
I will phone them again tomorrow and see what they advise, but I can’t say I’m 100% trusting of them. They failed to give me instructions regarding how many days I should be administering antibiotics, so I ended up having to call back, they didn’t have any rabbit panacur in stock, so ended up ordering it myself, and the vet nurse who was covering reception was allergic to rabbits!
If anyone can recommend rabbit savvy vets in the North Lincs (UK) area, I’d really appreciate it. I don’t want to register somewhere too far away in case of emergencies, and the buns get quite stressed out being in the car, even on the 20 min drive to the current practice.

 

[JBun]

So this started soon after you got that musty smelling hay? Did your rabbits end up eating very much of it each day, more than just a few strands? A musty smell is an indication of mold growth. Moldy food can cause all sorts of health issues for rabbits, if it isn't outright fatal.

Have you looked at the RWAF site for rabbit vets?

 

[Layla124]

So this started soon after you got that musty smelling hay? Did your rabbits end up eating very much of it each day, more than just a few strands? A musty smell is an indication of mold growth. Moldy food can cause all sorts of health issues for rabbits, if it isn't outright fatal.

Have you looked at the RWAF site for rabbit vets?

I’d say it was a couple of weeks after they started eating that batch of hay. I did check through it and didn’t see any signs of mold, and I’m not entirely sure what moldly hay smells like so it’s hard to compare. The hay was just quite brown and didn’t have a sweet smell, but I figured this was probably just due to the weather conditions etc when this crop was grown and dried.
I feel terrible that I didn’t monitor more closely, because I’m struggling to remember exactly when I noticed that they were maybe eating a little less hay. I think it was around the same time I noticed their poops were smaller, so about two weeks after they started eating it. A lot of their hay tends to get wasted, as they dig in it and then pee on certain bits etc. So it can be hard to tell exactly how much they’re eating.
If they had issues caused by mold would they be showing other symptoms? I know it can cause respiratory issues but surely those would’ve shown up by now? Especially as they were eating it for two weeks, I’d have thought they would be displaying other symptoms by now if there had been any mold? I really don’t know a lot about this though. What kind of treatment would be given if this were the case?
I have looked at RWAF, there seems to only be one recommended vet in my county and they’re an hour away. I might look into them, it’s just a little bit far for my liking, especially if there’s ever an emergency, and as I said before the buns really don’t like being in the car, they start breathing very fast and just seem panicked by it.

 

[JBun]

Moldy hay will have a sour or musty smell. There may also be white or black spots on the hay, or there might be a fine white/gray dust.

https://www.theeducatedrabbit.com/hay-for-rabbits.html

The problem with moldy hay is it has the potential to contain mycotoxins, which, depending on the particular mycotoxin, could cause gastric irritation at a minimum. Worst case is it can cause bloat, damage to kidneys or the liver, organ failure, and death. But it all depends on if there are mycotoxins in the mold, and which particular mycotoxins are in there, as to what type of damage could occur and the severity.

The damage it has the potential to cause, won't necessarily be respiratory. And the severity of symptoms will all depend on the particular mycotoxin, the amount present in the hay, how much of the hay is consumed, and over what length of time. So there could be no symptoms with moldy hay ingestion, acute minor or severe symptoms, gradually developing minor or severe symptoms, or death. It all depends on the factors listed above.

https://crossriggsvets.co.uk/pet-factsheets/?Rabbits&factsheets-types=bGFwaXM=&nodeguid=117267

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/mycotoxicoses/overview-of-mycotoxicoses-in-animals

www.morfz.com/myco.html

I would say that since you particularly noticed that musty smell, then the hay was very likely moldy. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's the cause of the current poop issues, just that it's a possible cause based on the potential for mycotoxins in moldy hay. And it's still possible that the cause of the smaller fecal poop is intestinal parasites, or something else that hasn't been thought of or discovered.

www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Parasitic_diseases/Pass/Pass_en.htm

Usually for my rabbits with small poop issues, I remove sugary/high carb foods (eg carrots, fruit, grains) and possibly reduce pellets some, so they start consuming more hay (provided the hay is good quality and not spoiled). Then I monitor the poop for improvement, as well as monitor the rabbits weight to make sure no unhealthy weight loss occurs.

If moldy hay is the cause, hopefully it's just caused some minor gastric irritation that will eventually return to normal now that your rabbits are on good hay again. Worst case is it may have affected their livers and this is causing the poop abnormality.

Because they're still behaving normally, eating well, and if they continue to eat hay really well and maintain a healthy weight with no other signs of health issues, you could wait and see if things gradually improve. Maybe see if the dewormer has any positive effect.

I would feel more urgency if there were signs like reduced appetite, lack of sufficient hay consumption, lethargy, weight loss, poor condition, etc. And if it is due to moldy hay, stopping feeding the bad food (which you've already done) is the primary treatment, and supportive care if needed. I don't know if there's any medication or medical treatment, except maybe liver support when it's needed.

If you're still concerned it's more of a serious problem, or you aren't sure, you could ask for a blood test to check if liver and kidney values are normal. You can also ask for a referral to a more knowledgeable rabbit vet or rabbit specialist if you feel you need a more expert evaluation.

Aidan Raftery in Manchester, seems to be a well recommended rabbit vet in the UK. He may be a specialist (?). It is a ways from you though, but maybe your vet could do a phone consult if you do end up needing a specialist.

https://www.ashleigh-veterinary-centre.com