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my moms rabbit

22 10:33:41

Question
My moms rabbit has had bad diahreah. The vet ruled out cocliosis. The vet has not had much experience in rabbit care and is stumped on what it could be. It is brownis green with a foul odor and a bit mucus is included. He also has a droopie eye that is constantly draining a clear substance. He has been on an eye drop with no success. He has had the eye problem for 6 months, and the poops for 3 months. The vet put him on a brown liquid medication to help with the poops and while on the meds he is regular but if missed it goes right back to the runs. Please help!

Thanks,
Mandi

Answer
Dear Mandi,

Believe it or not, the runny eye and the runny poop may be related.  Runny eyes can be caused by a blocked tear duct, and this, in turn, can be caused by dental problems.  Please read these two articles for complete information:

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

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

The connection with the mushy poop is that when a rabbit is in pain or ill, a very common physiological response is for the GI tract motion to slow down.  It may sound counterintuitive, but this usually results in mushy poops (actually unformed cecotropes) that are not true diarrhea, but a sign that the intestinal flora is out of balance.  You can read complete information about this here:

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

If the ultimate cause for the GI tract slowdown isn't determined and treated, your bunny could develop ileus, which can be life-threatening:

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

You can share this one with your vet:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.pdf

You might be able to find a more experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

But if not, I hope your present vet will be amenable to getting information (the articles above) from a stranger on the internet.  They really could help.  If your vet would like to consult with an experienced rabbit vet, I also can give some referrals.  You just need to ask.

Hope this helps get your bunny on the road to recovery!

Dana