Upset stomach before molting?

[Pernille Skov]

Hello,

This is my first post, so please tell me if I should correct something

So it is common for my rabbit Buster to have an upset stomach before molting, it happens every time he molts, and it last for approx. a week and as he starts losing his hair, it slowly goes back to normal. His little hard poops are still the same, but the night poops are gooey and incredibly stinky. It's kind of like the thin membrane thing, that's around them normally, is gone. He is still active and eats and pees as usual, it really doesn't seem to bother him but as mentioned, it stinks plus he manages to get it everywhere. I've tried feeding him a little less veggies, you know, forcing him to eat more hay and I don't feed him any treats during this, which seems to help a little.

Has anyone experienced something like this, if yes what did you do? Any advice in general?

(I'm from Denmark and English is my second language, so I hope you guys understand ^^)

 

[squidpop]

I'm not sure why this is happening when your bunny is molting.
But usually, they say if a rabbit has excess night poops (cecotropes) that it means they have too rich of a diet and to try cutting back on pellets (because pellets are rich) and then feed more hay. I know you said you cut back on veggies but could he maybe be eating too many pellets?

 

[Sue]

Here in the USA rabbit vets say not to feed our buns pellets after they are adults. Fresh greens and timothy hay are the best diet for our fury friends. Consult the House Rabbit Society for more information.
If anything seems abnormal with your rabbit take him/her to the vet immediately. Their digestive system is super sensitive and time is not on your side!

 

[Pernille Skov]

The rabbit savvy vets in DK say to feed 15 - 20 grams of pellets per kilo bodyweight, and that rabbits should be fed with either burgess excel or supreme selective. My rabbit is 2.5 kg, and I feed him 15 grams. I decided to feed him less as we were having problems with cecotropes when I was feeding him the recommended amount. So I don't think the problem is that he is getting too rich a diet, but I'll try cutting a bit back on the pellets.

I want to stress that he is acting normal, he still has the same amount of energy, he eats and pees as per usual, he really doesn't seem to be bothered by it. I would have taken him to the vet in a heartbeat if anything seemed off.

I've had him for five years and it has always been like this, so i never thought its was a problem until i reached out to the Danish bunny community and no one had experienced the same. Was hoping someone in a bigger community would have tried something like this. I'll call the vet tomorrow