Rabbits: mushy poop part two

Question
hi there,

You probably remember my situation with the doe who produced mushy poo
at night but otherwise fecal pellets look fine. You reccommended I look at
your website, which was very detailed, thanks, and i took my rabbit to the vet.

The first time the Vet says "its because shes eating too many pellets" -and
true, she was on unlimited alfalfa pelets, so i reduced the pellet intake to 3/4
cup and upped the veggies. One month later its still happening.. Actually
worsening, back to the vet.

Second time vet says, its because shes obese.. (shes not that big and she
just had babies!!) tells me to reduce pellets to 1/2 cup now and 1/4 cup when   
she stops lactating. I should note her weight is just under 5 pounds, shes an
english spot dwarf, 3 years old.

Its still happening and the vet i went to is the best (and i hear only)
specialists for rabbits in toronto. I recently demanded she test the fecal
matter for parasites but other than that i'm disapointed that she didnt have
something more substancial to say about the matter. What are your thoughts
on the matter? Any advice would be super! Thanks!


Answer
Dear Lauren,

If you send me a picture of your bunny to dana@miami.edu
I can give you an idea of whether your bunny's weight is contributing to her mushing her cecotropes onto her bum.  If she's a true dwarf and weighs five pounds, that's a LOT, and she does need to reduce.

But also consider that dwarf rabbits often have dental problems (e.g., molar spurs) that cause enough pain/stress to elicit GI tract slowdown, and hence, cecal dysbiosis. This is explained in the poop.html article, but please also read:

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

Hope this helps.

Dana