Substance at bottom of litter box

[Flakes]

I clean Dortmund's litter box every three days. This morning when I emptied it out the entire bottom of Dortmund's pan was covered in a clear jelly like substance. It was extremely wet and smelled horrible. The only difference in his diet that I can think of is that he started turning up his nose at his pellets last week, and I ran out of lettuce and cabbage two days ago and so Dortmund had one meal of celery and carrots. He still gets plenty of Timothy and Orchard Grass though I'm not sure if he eats it. The every meal he normally gets romaine, butter lettuce, and shredded cabbage. I also gave him a couple of fresh strawberries two days ago.

Was this just a fluke or should I take him to the vet. Dortmund is still actively scampering about and eating like normal.

 

[nicolekline97]

I clean Dortmund's litter box every three days. This morning when I emptied it out the entire bottom of Dortmund's pan was covered in a clear jelly like substance. It was extremely wet and smelled horrible. The only difference in his diet that I can think of is that he started turning up his nose at his pellets last week, and I ran out of lettuce and cabbage two days ago and so Dortmund had one meal of celery and carrots. He still gets plenty of Timothy and Orchard Grass though I'm not sure if he eats it. The every meal he normally gets romaine, butter lettuce, and shredded cabbage. I also gave him a couple of fresh strawberries two days ago.

Was this just a fluke or should I take him to the vet. Dortmund is still actively scampering about and eating like normal.

I am new to being a rabbit mom. My thoughts are that it is great that your rabbit is acting normal. If you have that happen again I would take him in. It would not hurt to call and ask the vet.

 

[helena]

As long as he is acting normal and eating/drinking normally, don't worry too much. If it happens again though, maybe just maybe sure you aren't changing his diet much and you could give your vet a call.

 

[Blue eyes]

A few things to consider here. Do you know if there is a reason he suddenly doesn't like his pellets? Switched brand, old or new bag? Is he not eating any pellets at all? Was this sudden or gradual? Whenever a rabbit stops eating something that he used to eat, it could be an issue with his teeth. A rabbit eats pellets differently than he eats grass/hay or greens. So it could indicate something amiss with certain teeth (the ones used to chew pellets).

Second, is that the switch to celery and carrots could cause a change in output. Carrots, especially, are sugary and should be treated more like treats. Celery should be cut in 1" slices to prevent the 'strings' from getting tangled in the gut.

Third, how do you not know if he eats his hay? Do you see him eating it? How often do you refresh the hay? Rabbits tend to be choosey with what individual strands they want. If the same hay sits in there for more than a day, they may lose interest. Adding fresh hay a couple times per day (whether the supply in the cage is gone or not) will encourage more hay eating. It is really important for a rabbit to eat plenty of hay. You want to see him eating about his body size in hay every day!

 

[Flakes]

Thanks, I only give him a handful of hay twice a day. But I keep his litter box inside an enclosed area so he is hidden while he eats. All I know is that I put the hay in front of the litter box, and when I add more, he has shuffled it to the back. He's also found a 25 pound box of Orchard Grass I keep under a desk, and dug a hole in the cardboard. I hear him shuffling around there all the time, but I haven't had the courage to look to see what he's done.

As for the Pellets, I am using the same pellets I've alway used. I mix a 25 pound bag of small pet select with three bags of Sun Seed Salad treat for rabbits, and then give him a quarter cup twice per day.

He gets leafy greens, hay and pellets at 7:00 am in the morning and 7:00 pm at night.

 

[JBun]

You need to try and differenciate if the jelly substance is urine or feces. If it's completely spread out then it's probably urine, if it's in isolated clumps then it's likely to be from the digestive tract. Both are going to be a dietary issue and possible bacterial issue. Thick urine may have to do with crystals in the urine, digestive gel like subsance would be from an irritated digestive tract usually from a bacterial imbalance.

Any other new foods or changes in diet recently? Any high calcium foods/greens? Also what is in this sun seed salad treat? Does he seem to be drinking and urinating more than usual? Any dribbling of urine, straining to urinate, sitting hunched up for long periods and seeming uncomfortable?

If possible, I would suggest putting some newspaper or white paper at the bottom of the litter box and no litter in it temporarily. You can put a little hay over the paper. Then you'll want to check it after he's gone to the bathroom. You are checking what the urine looks like on the paper. If it's thick and gel like or creamy, if it's brownish in color, and if you see any spots of red in the urine stain.

 

[zuppa]

Thanks, I only give him a handful of hay twice a day. But I keep his litter box inside an enclosed area so he is hidden while he eats. All I know is that I put the hay in front of the litter box, and when I add more, he has shuffled it to the back. He's also found a 25 pound box of Orchard Grass I keep under a desk, and dug a hole in the cardboard. I hear him shuffling around there all the time, but I haven't had the courage to look to see what he's done.

As for the Pellets, I am using the same pellets I've alway used. I mix a 25 pound bag of small pet select with three bags of Sun Seed Salad treat for rabbits, and then give him a quarter cup twice per day.

He gets leafy greens, hay and pellets at 7:00 am in the morning and 7:00 pm at night.

25 pound bag is a plenty for one little rabbit where do you store it do you keep it open and at what temperature?

 

[Flakes]

This is the sum seed stuff. I’ve given it to Dortmund for as long as I’ve had him

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Seed-Vit...1590093467&sprefix=Sun+seed+su,aps,177&sr=8-2
I can put paper on the bottom of his litter bowl.

as for the pellets I keep them sealed in a plastic tub with a screw on lid.

 

[Flakes]

As for not eating the pellets, I just assumed he stopped liking the flavor. He’s done it before. Green peppers used to be his favorite but then he stopped eating them. Same with freeze dried strawberries.

 

[Flakes]

I am pretty sure the clear slime was urine. It was all over the bottom of his litter box and he’s got a pretty big litter box. Plus his poops seemed normal.

 

[zuppa]

I am pretty sure the clear slime was urine. It was all over the bottom of his litter box and he’s got a pretty big litter box. Plus his poops seemed normal.

So maybe it's just unexplainable then, try this trick with plain paper in his litter box and post some pics of it here we'll analyze that.

 

[Jasminebunny]

I am pretty sure the clear slime was urine. It was all over the bottom of his litter box and he’s got a pretty big litter box. Plus his poops seemed normal.

I hope he's okay.

 

[Diane R]

Could be dysbiosis. Keep diet very simple - lots and lots of hay, small amount of pellets, a few sprigs of fresh herbs, no fruit, no treats.

 

[Jasminebunny]

Could be dysbiosis. Keep diet very simple - lots and lots of hay, small amount of pellets, a few sprigs of fresh herbs, no fruit, no treats.

My bun had a weird jelly substance on her blanket , which was similar to this bunny .
She still gets it sometimes but is recovering .

I hope this bunnies is okay

 

[Jasminebunny]

This is the sum seed stuff. I’ve given it to Dortmund for as long as I’ve had him

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Seed-Vit...1590093467&sprefix=Sun+seed+su,aps,177&sr=8-2
I can put paper on the bottom of his litter bowl.

as for the pellets I keep them sealed in a plastic tub with a screw on lid.

It seems nice, that herb mix stuff.
I have to buy some, maybe mine will like it!

 

[Flakes]

He seems fine today. Checked his litter box this morning and everything was back to normal

 

[Jasminebunny]

He seems fine today. Checked his litter box this morning and everything was back to normal

Yay!