Strange stool and gurgling

Question
Hi,

I have an 8 year old Mini-Rex who was incredibly active and healthy until he recently started losing weight. We did bloodwork. All came back normal (normal blood cell count, kidney and heart). Then we did X-rays of his head and belly. Nothing abnormal except for what looks like a tiny gap between one of his teeth. Vet looked at his teeth with an otoscope and said they look alright. A few weeks ago, he started getting occasional soft stools. We sent away a sample to the lab. While we were waiting for results, he started having them more regularly together with brown liquid leaking from his bum. There is also frequent, loud tummy gurgles and some sloshing sounds when I pick him up. Results show abnormal blood in his stool. We are treating for an ulcer (sucralfate, Benebac and feeding Critical Care). He showed much improvement over the weekend but is now mostly pooping mush, quite inactive and very gurgly. He's still eating but I've reduced his veggies. He's always been fed a very healthy diet (approx 2 cups veggies, 1 tbsp timothy pellets and unlimited hay). I want my little guy well again. Any advice appreciated.

Answer
Dear Stephanie,

Your bunny appears to be suffering from chronic cecal dysbiosis, a condition not uncommon in rabbits for several reasons.  You can read more about it here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Note that the most common reason for this condition is incorrect diet.  You can check here to compare what your bunny is getting with what is a healthy diet that promotes intestinal health:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

Cryptic health problems also can cause stress, and this can trigger GI slowdown in rabbits, resulting in cecal dysbiosis and messy bottom.  Anything from urinary tract infection, arthritis, or dental problems may be responsible.  Dental problems are especially common triggers of GI slowdown, especially in short-faced rabbits such as lops and dwarfs.  You can read more about this here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

The gurgling makes me suspect he's drooling, and that is a big red flag for dental problems.

You will need the help of a very experienced rabbit vet to figure out the problem and treat it appropriately, in case the vet you are now seeing isn't all that familiar with rabbit dental disease.  Teeth can look normal on otoscope exam, but be a mess radiographically.  This article might help:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbit_dental.pdf

You might try to find another rabbit-savvy vet here for a second opinion.

www.rabbit.org/vets

Intestinal parasites (e.g., coccidia, roundworms, tapeworms) are not a very common cause of this problem in adult rabbits, but the vet may wish to check for them, just to be sure.  

In the meantime, here are some tips for keeping him clean until you can get him to a rabbit-savvy vet:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

I hope this helps.

Dana