Small poops

[theevenstarlight]

Hello, I went on vacation for a week and left my 4 bunnies with my mom, she had specific instructions but did not read the emergencies section I gave her (grrrr) which listed small poops as a sign of GI Stasis.

When I got home I noticed that Fluffy had really small poops. My mom said he didn't eat all of his pellets but she didn't tell me because I was "coming home soon to take care of him."

I was so mad at my mom that she started crying. I called the vet and they gave me some Critical Care for Fluffy. He's been eating that for a week and a half now.

His poops have gotten bigger. Sometimes they are normal sized, but then sometimes they are less than normal.

His appetite is great and he gets lots of exercise. He eats lots of hay and greens.

How long does it take for poops to be completely normal sized?

 

[Pipp]

The question may be why were his poops small to begin with?

Is he molting?Stressed? Could he have a tooth issue? What breed and age is he?

If he's eating on his own, not sure why you need the Critical Care. If you discontinue it and his poops get small, then he may have an issue. Sometimes when the have molar spurs or something else dental, they don't chew their food all that well and dont' get the nutrition and it's not as digestable.

He sounds pretty healthy, though. Pipp's poops are up and down all the time. When she's molting or needs molar spurs done andthey're small, she gets diluted juice and pumpkin, and they puff right up.



sas

 

[theevenstarlight]

He's not molting, and he shouldn't be stressed. He could have a teeth issue, I mean his front teeth look fine, but as you know, I can't really see his other teeth.

Should I give him pumpkin, and how much, and how often?

He is a dwarf hotot/lionhead mix. He weighs three pounds, and he is about 10 months old. His poops have never been as big as my 4 lb Dwarf Hotot or my 2 lb Netherland Dwarf.

He eats a ton, and some of his poops are normal-sized, but some are smaller, so I'm not sure what that means.

When I shake the Pineapple/Papaya tablet jar, he comes running from the other room because he wants his treat so much! I only give him one a day.

I have caught him pulling at some carpet, so I am wondering if that could be causing problems.

I give him a little bit of Petromalt, but now I don't know if it's good or bad bcause there are differing opinions.

 

[BlueGiants]

Is it possible that he missed you and went light on his food while you were gone? Now you're back and he's eating again. It could take a few days for him to get back up to speed. I'd wean him off the Critical Care and stop the PetroMalt and see how he does... pumpkin can't hurt him and he might think it's a treat.

And give him a day or two... as long as he is pooping, you know the gut is moving.

 

[theevenstarlight]

I guess it is possible that he missed me, but I didn't really think he was close to me...he doesn't lick me or anything.

I'll let you guys know how he does!

 

[BlueGiants]

Even if he doesn't lick you or acknowledge you, you are part of his routine. He knows you, the sound of your voice, the way you do things.... and YOU went away (how dare you!). LOL! I'm sure now that you're back, he'll settle down.

And you really shouldn't be too hard on your Mom. You are very lucky that she was there to take care of them while you were gone. I'm sure she did the best she could. (You have NO idea what I have to go through to find someone to care for my rabbits if I need to go away, even overnight!)

 

[theevenstarlight]

That is true about me being around him a lot because I spend a ton of time with my bunnies.

As for the Mom thing, I'm being nicer to her now. I know she was really helping me out, but she promised twice to read the emergency directions, and she later confessed she didn't feel it was necessary because she thought she "knew everything about rabbits."

I don't feel comfortable going on vacation now.

 

[theevenstarlight]

Fluffy has been doing better. My vet gave me cisapride to keep his GI tract moving. He has a great appetite for greens and hay, and he has been running around a lot. His stomach feels soft and squishy (no obstruction).

However, he rarely eats his pellets anymore. Is this normal? My other rabbits RUN to eat their pellets, and they gobble them up right away.

 

[theevenstarlight]

This is Fluffy - he weighs about 3 pounds!

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/327/pic149cz9.jpg

 

[Thumpers_Mom]

Sorry, don't have much in terms of advice, but just needed to say:

:shock:WHAT A CUTIE!!!

Ok, I got that out. Glad he is doing better! :biggrin2:

 

[BlueGiants]

How old are the pellets? Could they be a touch stale? Is the same kind you usually get?

Another option is you've been feeding him SO many delicious treats (or what he thinks are treats) that now he expects them. Maybe cut back a touch on the greens and see if he'll eat a few pellets. He looks OK in your photo. You can also cut up his greens and mix in a few pellets.

The important thing is everything is "moving right along" the way it should be. So glad to hear he's doing well!

 

[theevenstarlight]

Okay, here is a quick update on Fluffy....

His poops got bigger for a while but are now getting smaller again. I've taken him to two vets who won't look at him with a scope for molar spurs because he hasn't been acting like he has them (drooling, dropping food, loss of appetite - he is eating all of his pellets now). One vet stuck a tongue depressor in his mouth because he said he could feel molar spurs that way if rabbits had them.

I'm worried that Fluffy is in GI Stasis b/c websites say that small poop is a sign of that illness. How small is "small?" He acts fine otherwise - eating, drinking, and binkying, but I just don't know what to do. Nothing will make his poops stay big!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

water, water water!

 

[theevenstarlight]

One of the vets said to offer more him fruits - b/c I don't give him any - so I gave him a little apple, and his poops didn't seem to be so dry.

Should I syringe feed him with water so he gets more?

 

[theevenstarlight]

Can you ever feed a rabbit too many greens?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Well, easy on the fruit because it's not good for them (sugar) but greens..... as long as his tummy tolerates them - they are fine. Don't like go from 1 cup to 5 cups in one day but you can increase them. Mine get soft poos with certain greens (romaine lettuce especially and they love it!)

Easy on the parsley and kale cause they can have problems from heavy amounts of it but cilantro, carrot tops (carrots are too sugary), leafy green lettuce, red leaf lettuce, dandilion, collards, mustard greens are great.

You can flavor his water (have two water sources so that he will drink the one without flavoring if he's not happy with the flavored).... use apple juice, or cranberry juice or pedialite (I hear bubblegum flavor is popular with rabbits!)

Just add like 1 tsp to a cup of water.... sometimes that will help.

Also, really get the greens wet! put them on a plate dripping almost and that might help as well.

Getting fluids is huge for rabbits. Some more than others need help with that. Also, do you have a water bottle? try a bowl - I have bowls that attach to the cage. Clover and Tony have bottles but Bo loves his crock.



PS - Fluffy is now my desktop image! LOL! I switch to someone's bunny every few days.... He's cute!!

 

[theevenstarlight]

Thanks for all of the advice! I am glad you like Fluffy enough to put him as your desktop image!

I've never fed Fluffy kale, parsley, or spinach, b/c I have heard that it can cause problems in large amounts, so I stay away from those. He loves dandelion greens and bok choy, especially the baby bok choy!

I use a water bottle for my rabbits because they always get crocks horribly dirty - how often do you change your crock?

 

[theevenstarlight]

Does Benebac help with small poops?

 

[Pipp]

So sorry no one replied to this.

Bene-bac is more for mushy poops or tummy upsets caused by an imbalance, and for bunnies taking antibiotics. (It's a pro-biotic).

An imbalance is oftencaused byantibiotics or diet (especially too many carbs).



sas :bunnydance:

 

[lalena2148]

My bunny just got over small poops. But, his was caused by stress and molting (and overall not feeling well).

Thanks to all the wonderful people on the forum (that have been giving you advice) his poops are now normal! Yay!

There were several things that seemed to help: Hay (lots of it), less pellets than usual so he'd be more interested in the hay, really wet greens,PUMPKIN, and papaya baby food. The papaya seemd to make him want to eat more hay. You also want to make sure that he's not dehydrated. If he stops drinking water willingly, you can put some juice in the water or go get some pedialyte. Also, I think my bunny had gas, so I went and got, per suggestion, some infant gas drops. The link below was sent to me by a member and the home remedies REALLY helped!
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28622&forum_id=10
My bunny also enjoyed the tummy massages and heating pad on his tummy before bedtime.

Hope that helps. I like that I can now pass on knowledge thanks to people like sas, Bo B Bunny, angieluv, Haley, Blue Giants, and naturestree (and all the others who are so helpful...I don't want to leave anyone out!) :inlove: