Soft Stool

Question
I'm trying to find some information about my rabbit's condition. Rowan is a 4-yr-old male, neutered, mini lop (or possibly holland lop) who, for the past year or so, has had problems with his bowels. He tends to have soft stool that sticks to his bum. He has been to the vet and last summer was diagnosed with early arthritis in his lower back. He was started on Metacam and glucosamine/condroitin which seemed to help for awhile. Then the symptoms came back. I took him to another vet who didn't seem to think it was the arthritis acting up as Rowan is young and has no problems getting around. He suggested I try deworming which I have been doing for the past 2 weeks. Again, at first it seemed to work but now his soft stools are back. When the vet examined Rowan he said that everything seemed normal with his teeth and digestion and suggested it could be allergies. He eats Martin timothy based food and timothy hay (doesn't tolerate veggies well). I started increasing his Metacam yesterday from every second day to everyday. I am at the end of my rope. I don't know what else to do with Rowan. Interestingly enough, I've been tracking Rowan's stool patterns for the past 2 weeks as I thought I was noticing a trend. Sure enough one week he's fine then the next week he isn't. I don't know if this has any significance.

Please help if you think you might have anything to offer. I'm really concerned about my little fella.

Thanks

Answer
Dear Robyn,

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

You will need the help of a good rabbit vet to figure out the problem and treat it appropriately, and you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

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