Small poops...what could it be?

[Mehidk]

So last night, Trixie didn’t finish her veggies. This morning before I left for work, I noticed Trixie’s poops were fewer and smaller than usual. I gave her gas drops before leaving. This afternoon, her poops looked better, bigger and more normal. Now it’s the evening and her poops are getting small again. I gave her her dinner, and she took awhile to eat her veggies but she didn’t finish the pellets which she normally loves. I gave her gas drops again. She’s hopping fine and she lays down but I noticed that she’s breathing more quicker than usual. Not only that but most of the day, she’s now “hiding”...whether it’s in her tunnel, her little cottage, or under the table. Before she would sprawl out in the middle of the room and just hang out.

I’m trying to retrack what has led up to this and I can only come up with the following possibilities:

1) she’s stressed out. I’m thinking it’s the heat? The last 3 days were 100F+ outside and my room is the hottest. My mom refuses to turn on the AC until it’s 79-82 in the house, to the point where everyone is miserable. If us humans are sweating, I can only imagine what it’s like for a 6.5lb rabbit. I have a fan blowing all day for my room. Eventually my mom will turn on the AC but it’s usually not until after noon. I’ve wet her ears slightly just to give her a cool breeze to help her cool down when I come home from work but is that enough?

2) she’s getting too many pellets or treats. Between me and my (now) ex, I’m not sure how many she’s actually eating. Trixie has meadow loops from Selective and I’ve broken the large pieces into halves and I only give her one a day. Meanwhile I’m not sure how often he gives her one which I now have to talk to him about not giving her them so often. She also gets one pellet from me when she has to go inside her hutch when I leave the room. Not sure how much he gives her. So maybe Trixie’s stomach is going toosy turvy because of how much she’s really recieving? I work all day so he is the one who watches her while I’m gone.

3) Last weekend I picked up Orchard hay for her from HRS. The last 2 months she was on timothy hay but towards the bottom of the bag, she was eating less of it so I thought she was getting tired of it and thought maybe I should switch it up. She’s had Orchard hay before and she was just fine but now I’m thinking, was I supposed to slowly transition her hay even though she’s had it before? She still nibbles on it but I’m wondering if I should return the Orchard and get Timothy again?

4) Which brings me to her veggies. This week she’s on arugula, fennel, and cilantro: all veggies that she has had in the past multiple times. The only one she hasn’t had in about two months is fennel. Could it be that her stomach is not used to the fennel anymore and I should have slowly introduced it even though she’s had it in the past and was fine?

I’m “resetting” her stomach by not giving her pellets and veggies. She will only be having hay for the next few days so I can monitor her litter box. Once I see that her poops are getting back to normal, I’ll slowly bring them back. With my personal stuff going on, this additional stress of Trixie feeling unwell is really giving me anxiety. I’m trying not to freak out, she’s my baby and my emotional support during this difficult time. I don’t want to jump the gun and call the vet just yet if I just need to give it a day or two to see how she does now with only hay. Any advice would be appreciated.

Here’s a picture of her today where she was hiding in the corner under the table.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, we want to see a pic of her poo as well.

All your possibilities are quite possible, less possible I think would be that you switched her hay, I would go first with the heat. She is breathing faster and maybe she is dehydrated as well, in my experience when my rabbits drink less their poos are getting smaller and drier. Also I have Fred who only drinks 70ml per day he's just happy with that he always drinks less than others, Bernie drinks 200-300 ml daily for instance and her berries are much larger.

You know your rabbit best and you will do what you think is best for her, what I would do in your situation, I would remove pellets from her diet for a few days, no treats as well, I would offer her cilantro only as her daily greens, I would soak greens in water for a few minutes so she could get some extra water that way. I would also make sure she eats as much hay as possible. When my rabbits eat less hay I offer it in different forms. I stuff wooden toys with hay, wicker baskets, toilet paper rolls, I just cut some hay into 3-5 inch pieces, I make braids from hay and more toys, you can get some ideas from this short video

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Then I would make a cooler for her, I usually rotate two frozen 2ltr bottles just place them somewhere near her, I also put them into a white styrofoam box and fix above their toilets so cold air goes down on them. I use freezer blocks as well but you need to make sure she won't chew on them, I place them between metal mesh panels from Ikea letter tray

DOKUMENT Letter tray, silver color - IKEA

Also you can add ice cubes to her water bowl or bottle - which one she uses? I am pretty sure you can find more ways to make her drink more and provide some cooler for her, just be creative and use what you have at hand.

After a few days hopefully her poos gets better you can give her her pellets, but in summer they all eat less pellets I've noticed so if you want to reduce them it would be fine, also I don't know the treats loops you mentioned so can't say anything, but I would use treats like frozen fruit pieces many rabbits like frozen strawberry or blueberry, even if you give a piece of an apple from fridge I am sure she will love it. Pellets are like heavy food, people also eat less heavy foods in summer, right?

Well as I said you know your rabbit better and you will find your ways.

My head she's just suffering from heat I know anything over 85F is too hot for them and they can even get a stroke from heat.

Oh, also if you got some ceramic tiles you can place them on her way they stay colder and rabbits like laying on them. Some people also keep one in the fridge and rotate them but I think if you are away all day it's not an option but maybe your ex can do this instead of treats.

Hopefully she'll be alright, keep us updted

 

[zuppa]

Here are some tricks for DIY coolers check it out. I believe that heat could be most possible possibility, but reducing pellets would be good since it will make her eat more hay and her diet will be lighter.

http://www.therabbithouse.com/blog/2014/07/17/5-ways-keep-rabbit-cool-summer/

 

[Mehidk]

Hi, we want to see a pic of her poo as well.

All your possibilities are quite possible, less possible I think would be that you switched her hay, I would go first with the heat. She is breathing faster and maybe she is dehydrated as well, in my experience when my rabbits drink less their poos are getting smaller and drier. Also I have Fred who only drinks 70ml per day he's just happy with that he always drinks less than others, Bernie drinks 200-300 ml daily for instance and her berries are much larger.

You know your rabbit best and you will do what you think is best for her, what I would do in your situation, I would remove pellets from her diet for a few days, no treats as well, I would offer her cilantro only as her daily greens, I would soak greens in water for a few minutes so she could get some extra water that way. I would also make sure she eats as much hay as possible. When my rabbits eat less hay I offer it in different forms. I stuff wooden toys with hay, wicker baskets, toilet paper rolls, I just cut some hay into 3-5 inch pieces, I make braids from hay and more toys, you can get some ideas from this short video

[

Then I would make a cooler for her, I usually rotate two frozen 2ltr bottles just place them somewhere near her, I also put them into a white styrofoam box and fix above their toilets so cold air goes down on them. I use freezer blocks as well but you need to make sure she won't chew on them, I place them between metal mesh panels from Ikea letter tray

DOKUMENT Letter tray, silver color - IKEA

Also you can add ice cubes to her water bowl or bottle - which one she uses? I am pretty sure you can find more ways to make her drink more and provide some cooler for her, just be creative and use what you have at hand.

After a few days hopefully her poos gets better you can give her her pellets, but in summer they all eat less pellets I've noticed so if you want to reduce them it would be fine, also I don't know the treats loops you mentioned so can't say anything, but I would use treats like frozen fruit pieces many rabbits like frozen strawberry or blueberry, even if you give a piece of an apple from fridge I am sure she will love it. Pellets are like heavy food, people also eat less heavy foods in summer, right?

Well as I said you know your rabbit better and you will find your ways.

My head she's just suffering from heat I know anything over 85F is too hot for them and they can even get a stroke from heat.

Oh, also if you got some ceramic tiles you can place them on her way they stay colder and rabbits like laying on them. Some people also keep one in the fridge and rotate them but I think if you are away all day it's not an option but maybe your ex can do this instead of treats.

Hopefully she'll be alright, keep us updted

Dang it, I didn't think about taking a picture of her poop. Last night I had cleaned up her box before posting here. ☹ Her poops were about the same size as the small ones in the category "Small Round Poops" here in this link: Guide to Bunny Poops

The heat was my first guess as well but I wanted to be mindful that it could have been other issues all combined together. I'm miserable when it's hot, especially in my room so I was thinking she was feeling miserable too. By the time I got home around 4pm, I immediately went to mist her ears to stay cool. My room wasn't crazy hot when I came home, but who knows how long it took for it to cool down. Sometimes I feel like my mom waits until its like a Sahara desert before she turns on the AC.

Last night she was still laying around and she even managed to flop over once in her corner so I felt a little relieved. This morning, her poops are bigger again. I took a picture of the poop from this morning which seems like she's feeling better. I'm asking my ex to keep an eye on her while I'm at work. Before I left for work this morning, I doubled her hay, and refilled her water bowl and gave her a digestive pill and a bit of gas drops for extra precaution. I will give her just a little bit of cilantro to see how her stomach does with it when I get home. This morning she's only having hay. I'm weary on treats right now until I know for her that her stomach is back to normal again.

I love the extra ideas for the hay! I normally give her a toilet paper roll and shove the hay in there and she goes wild for it but I'll try the braid idea. I also put a water bottle in the freezer last night (I don't have any of the 2L kind unfortunately, just the 16 OZ one). I don't have ceramic tiles, but I do have hardwood floors. She jumps between the carpet and the hardwood, depending on her mood.

Thank you for your suggestions @zuppa!! I was literally stressing myself out by researching ways to keep her cool and what could possibly be wrong. One of the things I read was bloat and I started freaking myself out. I'm just a worry wart with her.

 

[zuppa]

That's lovely poos! Glad she's feeling better. I would say if you manage to make her some cooler places and give some frozen treats and iced water she will feel better. That's why she prefers wooden floor now and hiding maybe trying to find some shelter, maybe while you are at work there's sun everywhere n your room, I also keep roller blinds down when sun comes to my side, and keep my window closed during the day since heat is coming from the outside.

 

[Mehidk]

That's lovely poos! Glad she's feeling better. I would say if you manage to make her some cooler places and give some frozen treats and iced water she will feel better. That's why she prefers wooden floor now and hiding maybe trying to find some shelter, maybe while you are at work there's sun everywhere n your room, I also keep roller blinds down when sun comes to my side, and keep my window closed during the day since heat is coming from the outside.

Ah, you may be right! I do leave my blinds open enough to keep light in there and it might actually be causing more harm than anything. I'll close up the blinds while I'm gone.

 

[Mehidk]

Update today: her poops are still a little smaller than norm but nothing like the first day. There’s a few here and there that are more oval not circle, some double poops and ones connected with hair. I gave her gas drops this morning and it helped her poop. She’s been shedding a lot more than usual and I’ve been trying to brush her to keep up with the shedding and I’m wondering if she’s ingesting too much fur and causing her to have smaller poops? Is giving her a dose of the gas drops daily (once a day so far) bad?

She still hops around, still eats her hay and I’ve been giving her cilantro slowly. She still is able to lay down and relax and flop. Am I just overreacting and being an overly cautious bunny Mom?

 

[Diane R]

Update today: her poops are still a little smaller than norm but nothing like the first day. There’s a few here and there that are more oval not circle, some double poops and ones connected with hair. I gave her gas drops this morning and it helped her poop. She’s been shedding a lot more than usual and I’ve been trying to brush her to keep up with the shedding and I’m wondering if she’s ingesting too much fur and causing her to have smaller poops? Is giving her a dose of the gas drops daily (once a day so far) bad?

She still hops around, still eats her hay and I’ve been giving her cilantro slowly. She still is able to lay down and relax and flop. Am I just overreacting and being an overly cautious bunny Mom?

She definitely needs daily brushing. Don't give the gas drops, they won't help with this. Just tons of hay (reduce pellets so she eats more hay) , some wet herbs and brushing. Poop doesn't look bad really, don't worry.

 

[Mehidk]

She definitely needs daily brushing. Don't give the gas drops, they won't help with this. Just tons of hay (reduce pellets so she eats more hay) , some wet herbs and brushing. Poop doesn't look bad really, don't worry.

I've been brushing her every 2-3 days but I will brush her every day. As of right now, she's been off of pellets for 3 days (4 if you count this morning too). I've been working on increasing her cilantro intake slowly to make sure her stomach can handle it. Thank you for the reassurance on her poop. I literally check them every day right now and question myself each time.

 

[Diane R]

I've been brushing her every 2-3 days but I will brush her every day. As of right now, she's been off of pellets for 3 days (4 if you count this morning too). I've been working on increasing her cilantro intake slowly to make sure her stomach can handle it. Thank you for the reassurance on her poop. I literally check them every day right now and question myself each time.

Being off pellets may also be caused by gut slowing down due to shedding. Don't worry about that for now but make sure she eats a LOT of hay, that is the best thing to push that fur out. If she is used to fresh grass that is also good, if she's not used to it, like with all fresh food, introduce gradually.

 

[Black Otter's Mom]

The poops look fine. The poops of concerned are when they are tiny and dry as it can be an indication bunny is dehydrated.