stringy rabbit poop

Question
Hi Dana

please can you tell me if it is normal for my rabbit to have hair strung rabbit poop. he is eating everything as normal and pooping as normal but a couple of his poops are stringy (he is molting at the moment),some of his poops are tiny but the majority are normal size...is this normal or there something wrong with his tummy?? how do i stop the stringy poops??

i have searched everywhere but normally the stringy poops are with no poops, so your help would be really appreciated.

Many thanks Dana

Vicki

Answer
Dear Vicki,

The poops are probably strung together with fur the bunny has ingested during grooming, or possibly with some other type of stringy material the bunny ate (carpet fibers? other synthetic material?).  The "strings of pearls" are not really normal, per se.  If you groom your bunny well and don't allow him/her to eat carpet or other indigestible fibrous material, you won't see them.

But the good news is that the material is passing through, not staying in the stomach.  Just be sure to give your bunny plenty of grass hay and wet greens to keep things moving well and pushing that stuff through the tubes.  :)  Please see:

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

for information on normal shedding and grooming and:

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

for an overview of healthy diet, which is the first good way to keep the GI tract moving and clear of fur and other potential hazards.

Hope this helps.

Dana