Runny stool and bunny who cant blink.

Question
my rabbit has diarrhea and I took him to a vet and the vet told me to stop
feeding him pellets and only feed him the hay and some greens, but then I
went to a different vet and that vet told me to feed my rabbit hay and pellets
but no greens so which one is it? I saw online that i should feed green and
hay only and that pellets are bad for rabbits. So do i feed him hay and
greens, or hay ajs pellets? Remember my rabbit has diarrhea.
And one more thing, my rabbits left eye doesnt blink at all anymore, and the
vet said my rabbit has a third eye lid on the left eye, but why isnt it blinking?
Whats wrong with it?


Answer
Dear Rosanna,

It is not likely that your rabbit has true diarrhea, since this is rather rare in adult rabbits.  If this is a *baby* rabbit, then diarrhea should be considered an emergency, and you need to find a vet who is very experienced with rabbits to help you:

www.rabbit.org/vets

What you are probably seeing, if this is an adult bunny, is a common condition called cecal dysbiosis.  Please read this for a full explanation:

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

And compare your rabbit's diet with the correct one here:

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

Some rabbits are sensitive to starch, and withdrawing pellets will sometimes help stop runny poop.  But in many cases, the dysbiosis is not related to diet, and may rather be a sign that there is another health problem causing pain/stress.  This, in turn, causes the GI tract to slow down, and runny stool results. One of the most common causes of runny stool is the pain of molar problems:

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

If you find a good rabbit vet, s/he should be able to look deep into the mouth to see if there are spurs that need filing.  This often solves the problem.

The eye not blinking is a much more serious problem, and it makes me wonder if the rabbit has a molar root abscess that's impinging on the nerves and/or muscles of the eye.  This would be consistent with a cause of runny stool, as well.  All rabbits have a nictans, or "third eyelid" on both eyes, and this is normal. You usually can't see it.  But if it's visible, then the eye may be bulging abnormally, and your bunny needs the expertise of a *very* experienced rabbit vet.  Again, you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please get her there ASAP, as corneal damage can happen quickly if she can't blink.  It can be very painful.  Ask the vet about emollient ointment or eye drops until this problem is solved.

I hope this helps.

Dana