Rabbit with diarrhea (it went away)

Question
Hi my rabbit had diarrhea (She seems fine now - is eating, not lethargic, and no more diarrhea as of now)

But I want to know what caused it or if I should still be worried for her even if she seems fine now (I will monitor her eating and check to see if she has any hard poos)

It started yesterday night, I came upstairs late at night to find diarrhea in different little splotches on the carpet of the bunny room. I guess it was watery (It might have not been but been smooshed into the carpet or soaked in or whatnot)because I actually thought it was pee, I just saw dark patches on the carpet and thought it was wet with pee. The 'pee' was brownish yellow, (which is the color of poop if on a paper towel in a thin layer). So I cleaned it up and actaully suspected my boy bunny because he was the hardest to litter train and I thought that maybe something had spooked him causing him to mark his territory?? But I also thought that it might be a UTI so I Picked up Fern, my female, and there was the brown 'pee' I must have been tired because I was still 100% sure it was pee, but thought it might be a UTI - Either way I was going to moniter her to see how she was doing.

The next day I checked on them - fine, no diarrhea. But right before I left for school I went to check on them again and there was diarrhea everywhere again. This time it was thicker and very obvious to be diarrhea (also the diarrhea was everywhere but there was not a vast quantity of it). I cleaned it up and checked on her, she was fine - not lethargic (she objected severely to me flipping her over) and she was eating. Her butt was really dirty but I resolved to clean it after school, because she seemed fine then.

I come home to no more diarrhea and she was fine (until I cleaned her bum - then she was really angry). She was eating fine(I gave her some 'special' hay and a little bit of lettuce), but I didn't know if she had passed any normal poos (I cannot tell my two bunnies poo apart).

SO she is fine now eating and all that, but I just want to know what caused this and if I should still be worried.

I suspect is was the collard greens I fed them for about a week, maybe they disagreed with her - (but why would it take a week to start giving her diarrhea?

The only things that were different that night was I gave them a cardboard box to play in, and I gave them a cardboard egg carton that I cut holes out of so it dispenses food (I put pellets inside it - but it had some pellets already in it from another time because I had to take it away at night so I could sleep in peace and the pellets might have been old). I also gave them a willow ball which they ate in no time.

What do you think? I only want to go to the vet if I really need to, I am willing to pay (I have special savings) but I don't want to go just because the new greens disagreed with her or something minor like that.

Answer
Dear Katherine,

Your bunny appears to be suffering from chronic cecal dysbiosis, a condition not uncommon in rabbits for several reasons.  This will show up as what some might call "intermittent soft stool", though that's really not accurate.  What's happening is that the cecotropes are mushy, but the fecal pellets are normal.   You can a full explanation (important!) 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