runny stools!!

Question
I have had a otter rex for 6 years and he has never had any problems with the diet that i give him.Last year i rescued a lop from the local kennel,had my rex fixed and now they live happily.
My lop seems to have runny stools and a dirty btm
the minute i give her anything but excel. She can
just about manage an inch of carrot then is in trouble. I am worried that her diet is lacking and
she knows when i feed my rex separately and i feel
very mean! They both live in and eat loads of good
hay. Any ideas please?

Answer
Dear Saffy,

Many people are surprised to learn that runny stool syndrome (cecal dysbiosis) is often not related to diet. In rabbits getting an otherwise healthy diet:

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

the culprit is often undetected dental problems, such as molar spurs.  This is especially common in lops, which have shortened faces that predispose them to mild dental malocclusions.  This is explained more completely here:

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

and the link of dental problems to runny/mushy stool is explained here:

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

I'd get the lop bunny to a good rabbit ASAP for a dental exam (including the molars!) and full wellness check to be sure there's nothing else going on.  If you don't already have a good rabbit vet, you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope that helps!  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana