Follow-up--Poop clumping on/off

Question
Hi Dana,

Thanks for all of your answers and dedication to buns!

I wrote to you re: my bunny having cecal dysbiosis and I took him to a vet that was recommended from the vet list you linked me to. The vet checked for molar spurs and did not see any but thought the back molars did look a bit long so he filed them down. The vet did not seem to think it was correlated with the cecal dysbiosis and ordered a 7 day treatment of Tribessen (1 mL twice daily) and Oxbow Critical Care (also twice daily). The vet stated that the Critical Care would help firm up the poops and the antibiotic would help with any bacteria in his system. Does this sound right to you?  

Answer
Dear Kristina,

Well, since you asked the question, "Does this sound right to you?" I'll have to answer honestly.  No.  

Cecal dysbiosis is *often* caused by pain, and if this vet claims to be experienced with rabbit medicine (the vets on our lists have varying degrees of experience, and you're lucky to find a *really* good one...), then s/he should be aware of this.

Tribrissen won't hurt.  But in the absence of any evidence of infection, I really don't like to use antibiotics.  The most common cause of cecal dysbiosis is *yeast*, not bacteria, so tribrissen will have absolutlely no effect (or worse) if your bunny's mushy poop problem is caused (as is often the case) by a yeast overgrowth due to GI tract/peristaltic slowdown.

Ah, well.  I'm glad the molars got filed down.  I'm betting it will make a difference, as long as the diet is also a healthy, balanced rabbit diet:

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

Good luck!

Dana