Hi Sarita and Tate-
Thanks for your replies . I went to the vet today and they tested Bun’s poop- it came back fine, nothing there that shouldn’t be.
Sarita, I think the decreased pellets will help the bladder sludge, because since I have been giving him more pellets lately, he has produced a lot more sludge than he had in a while. After his bout with the UTI, I stopped his pellets for a while, then restarted them. I can’t remember exactly when his poopy issue became worse in relation to when I restarted the pellets, but it obviously added to the problem. Today was definite proof that pellets do give bun PB. I do worry about nutrition though- he used to get so many different greens, I figured he was fine, but now I wonder if his diet is varied enough to provide all he needs. Today I made some Critical Care cookies (my daughter has been asking for banana bread for a month now and I haven’t had time but I can make bunny cookies, no problem- lol). I mashed up a tiny bit of banana, a couple little bits of apple, a little granola, some oats and Critical Care with water and made the “dough” into flat patties, then baked @ 400 for about 8 minutes. BunBun was rather snotty about them- nibbled cautiously, then turned away. Nelli, of course, wolfed them down with great enthusiasm. Poor Nell, she can eat anything, but she has to starve right along with delicate little hubby .I can’t even sneak her a treat- BunBun’s ears are only 2″ long, but he sure can hear well! Any rustling of a bag or chopping of fruit and he comes running.
Tate, thanks for the info on the ZuPreem pellets! I never knew that about the soy and wheat and corn- I always figured all timothy based pellets had pretty much the same stuff in them. I’m gonna try the ZuPreem, since I would like Bun to be able to have a small amount of pellets- they seem to have so many vitamins/minerals in them. I can’t imagine him geting all that from just hay and water! I think that’s a great idea to let Bun’s belly settle for a few days, then try a tiny bit of greens. That’s interesting that your bunny has been able to resume eating pellets- apparently taking a little break and letting their systems get back in balance helps. I like using Bene-Bac too! I started giving it to BunBun when he was on antibiotics, and he loves it- actually licks it off a spoon. That’s amazing for Bun, who hates all medicine and seems to know when something is good for him and refuses to eat it. I wonder if it’s OK to give it longterm- I would think it would be fine, since it’s more of a nutritional supplement than a medication. But I’m not entirely sure- hopefully we’ll find the answer here .
Basically I just feel like the meanest bunny mom ever right now. BunBun is seriously depressed- he was sitting on his “sick chair” for a while today (that’s the chair he goes to when he’s ill or upset). He’s also been hiding in his box a lot. This morning him and Nell seemed to be staging a rebellion- they were each in a separate box, tearing the cardboard apart viciously. That was kinda cute, but the sad/pitiful behavior makes me feel so guillty. I just keep reminding myself that it must have been awful for him to have poop all over his butt every day, and his belly probably didn’t feel too great either. He must think I’m starving him though- he looks so hurt. I get a little parinoid that he will end up in GI stasis again from not getting ebough to eat, but that is probably unlikely. He has plenty of hay, which he eats, and I’m getting more hay at the farm tomorrow- some 1st cut timothy, timothy and herbs and some meadow grass. I know I’m doing the right thing for him- it’s just hard not to give in and feed him what he likes.