Constant diarrhea

Question
I have a 2 1/2 yr. old lionhead bunny who has diarrhea almost all the time. I worm her regularly with the D-worm liquid, and she hasn't switched feeds for at least a year. I have not been giving her veggies/fruit b/c of the diarrhea, and I've been giving her willow branches and leaves, which are supposed to help, but they don't seem to be. Other than the diarrhea she is a very healthy, alert bunny. Do you have any idea of what is causing it and what I could do?

Answer
Dear Ruth,

What you are seeing is not diarrhea, but a common rabbit disorder known as cecal dysbiosis--an imbalance of the flora of the intestinal "fermentation vat" known as the cecum.  For a full description of this problem, please see:

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

The most common triggers are incorrect diet:

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

and pain/stress caused by dental problems:

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

but any cryptic health problem can cause this contant, mushy poop problem.  You will probably need a good, rabbit-savvy vet to check his teeth (not just incisors; molars too!), and you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this will help.

Dana