Rabbits Stools

Question
QUESTION: Hi there
I have a 4 year old male Dutch rabbit, sterilized.

His daily diet are pellets, 3-4 types of vegetables (those recommended by HRSS) lots of timothy hay, oat hay, orchard grass.  Sometimes he also eat organic carrot (an inch daily), organic celery (an incg daily).  Treats will be organic dried cranberries and fruits will be strips of green apple (without the skin and seeds) and half a cherry (remove seed.) It has been this way for a long while.

About a week ago, I noticed the following changes in his habits :

1)  His round stools are lesser, smaller, drier and harder.
2)  Round stools sizes sometimes normal but sometimes as describe in (1)
3)  Does colour matter?  The round stools sometimes are black and sometimes are grey and I see little grey particles in the stools. When I break open the stools, it is hay that he consumed.
4)  He has been drinking water dilgently so I don't think it is a dehyrate issue?
5)  Activity wise the same. He is active at dawn and lethagic during the day and evening. From time to time he still do the "rabbit binky" and beg for treats.
6)  Does have sore hocks problem for about a year but that has been taken care of by medicating regularly and during that time his stools are not affected.
7)  He used to dash to his food bowl for pellets but now he will roam about first, and take his own sweet time before dashing to the food bowl.
8)  Vegetables he use to can eat a heap of it at one go, but now he seem to take a few quick bite and then choose to laze around. He will still eat all the veg but I would say the speed has slow down.
9)  I have people telling me maybe is the hot weather (I am from Singapore) and other stuff but the small stools worries me.
10)  He doesn't drool so don't think is a teeth problem.

Sound like a stasis issue is it?  Can Stasis happen to a rabbit who eats lots of vegetables, fruits and hay?  He also drinks water dilgently.

Couple of days ago my neighbour has been doing some renovation work and the hammering and other sounds during the day affect my dog who lives in the kitchen. My dog seem lethagic and inactive when we return home in the evening after work probably cos he is scare of the renovation noises.

Can this cause my rabbit to be stress and produce smaller stools?  Usually small, less and harder stools means there is a GI stasis problem right?  Does the diet sounds ok to you? If is not the diet, could it be stress or other illnesses?  

Knowing the vets here in Singapore, they will advise giving hairball gel or those "healthy bacteria" to help but my rabbit hates it and feeding that is very difficult. Morever, that might not be the main issue as the diet, to me, seems ok. So I don't want to introduce any healthy bacteria unnecessary.

Pls advise. Thks



ANSWER: Hi Angela

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your rabbits diet.  In fact I think it is probably one of the most responsible rabbit diets I have seen, other than celery can sometimes be too stringy you might want to skip the celery.  I think I would tend to agree that it does sound like a stasis issue.  The problem is what is the underlying cause?

Has he recently gone through a molt?  Stasis can be caused by just about anything and the stress from the unusual noises certainly have not helped.  He also could have pain from another illness.  Is he drinking more than usual?  Does he seem to hunch when he pee's?  

I personally would ask the vets to check him.  They really need to make sure that his kidney's are ok and that he doesn't have an underlying illness that is causing him stress.  His diet is absolutely not causing this problem from what I can see.  You might want to invest in a stethoscope and listen to his stomach.  If it is gurgling loudly you can give some simethicone (pediatric suspension 20mg/ml) give 1 - 2 ml.  This will break the bubbles down into smaller bubbles and help some of the gas pain go away but then your vet will need to instruct you on how to do abdominal massage so you can get the gas out (if that is what it is).

If your bunny does have gas or bloat you might also suggest to the vet that he/she give you some propulsid.  Don't be afraid to suggest things to them if they aren't well versed in rabbit care.  I have to tell you honestly that my vet who I both work with and who treats all of my rabbits has a little different opinion than most.  I completely trust him though and would never see anyone else.  I recently told him I was giving my weanlings pro-biotics (healthy bacteria) and he had a fit.  He said that although they aren't going to hurt them they really are over-rated.  He said it is far better to find a healthy rabbit and collect the cecotropes from that rabbit and feed it to the young rabbits or sick rabbits.  I imagine that would be easier for me since I have many more than just one.  They do make pro-biotics that taste good.  My rabbits love them and I order them from a place that I know has a site on-line.  I don't know how much shipping to singapore would be but I order them at a place called jeffers.  I don't know the web-site because I use an old fashioned catalog.

The petromalt when mixed with old fashioned rolled oats usually tastes pretty good also.  However when you have a rabbit that doesn't want to eat to begin with it is going to be tough.

If I were you I would cut back the sugary snacks for now.  Stick with the rich leafy greens, the fresh hay.  Throw in some of the old fashioned rolled oats with some of the petromalt and see if he will eat it.  If his droppings don't improve or you see them start to clump together or at any point they stop completely or he stops eating then you rush him to the vet and you demand that they give him IV or Sub Q fluid therapy and medication for stasis immediately.  

I hope that your bunny gets better soon.  I hope you can get to the bottom of this and I really hope that you can find a bunny savvy vet in your region.  It is obvious that you know what you are talking about.  Maybe you should return to college and start a new career.  It would be nice if there were bunny vets every where in the world.  I have a rabbit that I saved and he needs to be neutered before I can find him a new home.  I called all the animal shelter neuter clinics and none of them do rabbits.  I can't wait to see the day when rabbits rank right up there with cats and dogs as companion pets.  I guess the rest of the world just doesn't know what they are missing.

Good luck and please let me know how your little friend is doing.  I am terribly worried.

Sincerely,

Pam

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thks for your prompt reply.

Here are some other details I like to add in order for you to further help me.

1)  His drinking is more in the morning and less in the night. I think that is bcos morning time he eats lots of hay and that makes him thirsty. In the evening he had his vegetables meal so that will had enough water so he doesn't drink that much.  What do u suspect if he starts to drink excessively?  At times he does appear that he is drinking more than normal...and I wonder is it diabetics but then it doesn't happen all the time. Only sometimes so I don't really find it pecurliar.  Morever the weather in Singapore is rather hot and humid. Although he is an in door rabbit.

2)  How do u know if he has gas?  He is always sitting with his legs stretch out and lying on his tummy. With that position, it is not likely to have gas as it might be uncomfortable rite?  Does lying on the tummy with legs stretch sound like a relaxing position?

3)  He is not molting at the moment, but then as usual he likes to groom himself very much so probably would have infest a little fur here and there but that shouldn't be causing a stasis issue since there are enough fibre and roughage, am I right? Morever whether molting or not, he always get 2 papaya tablets, one in the morning and one in the evening...although I have pple telling me papaya doesn't really help but it is still good to give and since he likes it.

3)  If my rabbit has underlying illnesses, will he still be doing the binky dance?  Especially during dinner time, when I serve, he will do a happy high hopping to show his pleasure. He still love his pellets only that he doesn't seem too excited like before...(that worries me). Btw, is a 4 year old rabbit consider senior?

4)  I used to give baby roll oats but was told that it is very high in carbohydrates and was told to stop giving it. So what is true actually?  My rabbit is a little to the chubby side and with sore hocks so the vet say cut the roll oats..Is it good to give actually?

5)  When u say the stools "clump together" do u mean the sticky stools like diahrrea or that the stools are hold by fur?  

Answer
Hi Angela

1.  I was more worried about kidney sludge or kidney stones when I asked if he was drinking more.  If he is peeing normally and not hunching over when peeing then his kidney's are probably ok.  He sounds like he is drinking normally and the leafy vegetables will make him drink less.  If he were diabetic you would know it because he would he would be sick.  He would be lethargic and very sick.

2.  Rabbits normally have a small gurgling sound in their stomach.  When they have gas they will have a very loud gurgling sound.  It is sometimes loud enough to hear it without a stethoscope but usually you have to listen with a stethoscope.  You should buy a cheap stethoscope and get used to what his normal stomach sounds like and then if it is louder than normal you will be able to tell.  They will often get a bloated or a hard belly when they get gas.  Sometimes you will be able to feel a mass in their stomach that is movable and not hard.  If you can gently push on it and it moves around it is usually gas.  If he is laying stretched out he is probably quite comfortable.  Sometimes they will lay stretched out when they have gas as it does help the gas to pass through.  Most of the time if the gas is severe they will sit in a hunched position because it is very painful.  They will also lay stretched out if they are hot.  They will try to find a cool spot on the floor and distribute their body over that spot to cool their body down.

3.  Rabbits will hide their illnesses even from you.  Unless the underlying illness is severe you may never know it.  He may act completely normal until he becomes very ill.  This is their way of avoiding predators and is just a natural instinct.  This is why it is really important to notice the small clues like the change in poo.  4 years old is certainly not senior as a house rabbit with proper care can live to be well over 10 years old.  However rabbits can start to develop health problems at around this age.  It is not uncommon to see the beginning stages of arthritis or kidney problems at around 5 years old.  This is why we recommend that all bunnies 5 years and older see a vet twice a year for a check-up rather than once a year.  However I do understand that you don't have access to good medical care.

4.  I only use the rolled oats when I am giving petromalt or medication.  When I mix them with the medicine the rabbits will eat them.  I also use oats in the winter time to put a bit of extra flesh on my barn dwelling rabbits.  They are very fattening and if your bunny is already overweight then I guess I wouldn't give them either.  If you do need to give him medicine a little bit isn't going to hurt him.

5.  I was referring to the stools that have fur holding them together.  I am pretty sure that your rabbit doesn't have a fur ball issue considering that he has a diet very high in fiber.  It just can't be ruled out without an examination.  He sounds like he is doing quite well other than the change in stool size.  Whenever a rabbit has a change it stool size it makes me very nervous.  Just keep an eye on him and like I said before if you notice a complete lack of droppings please rush him to the vet immediately.

I really hope that he is ok.

Good luck

Pam