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Forum DIET & CARE Smallish poos and general inappetance

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    • MimzMum
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        I’ve had to put carefresh bedding in Mimzy’s cage for the last two weeks or so (have stopped now for the last few days) while he was having trouble urinating on the floor instead of in the litter box. I had been concerned about a week ago that he might have ingested some, as he was spending his days kind of hunched from time to time. Mornings and evenings would be the most likely time to see him in this position, but a little simethicone and some metacam usually put him right enough to be lounging during the day.

        I’ve been trying to bond him with PIp the last two days and today he seems particularly uncomfortable. Hasn’t eaten a great deal of hay lately and his fresh forage is getting somewhat degraded as our sunlight wanes, so he hasn’t been eating that every day. Will drink on his own, but not much missing from his bottle from last night. He ate a bunch of willow leaves this morning and had his meds (dilute simethicone from the last of my old bottle and metacam for his arthritis and any tummy pain he may be feeling) plus I’m about to try to syringe some Tummy Tea. I think he’s had some loud tummy gurgles this morning also, but that could be one of the other buns as well. (My hearing is going.)

        His poos are smaller than normal, although he has had a few today. When I try to crush them they are a bit hard, pull them apart and they have either fiber or hair in them. I’m thinking he’s groomed Pip quite a bit in the last few days too and that’s added to whatever might already be troubling him.

        Tummy doesn’t feel tight…although it did a bit yesterday…today it almost feels empty.

        Advice? Opinions? Thanks!


      • MimzMum
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          Oh, and he’s turning down his favorite Timothy treats. Normally he loves those. So that’s distressing.


        • Sarita
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            When did he last have his teeth done?


          • jerseygirl
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              What about offering him a bowl of water to see if that will get him drinking? I think you’ve said he did take to it in the past didn’t you?


            • RabbitPam
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                He’s under the vet’s care, so if you’re worried you could just call and check in to make sure he’s coming along as planned. Meds can have side effects.

                As for the ingested grooming, I would try grooming Pip yourself with the hairbuster earlier in the day so her excess fur is off before you have them together. That way he can groom her, but not get any excess shedding from her.


              • MimzMum
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                  Sarita, he just came off a dental the middle of last month. This renewed lack of interest in hard foods and hay just began a few days ago after a bit of a dandelion binge. They had been in my fridge a few days, so maybe I shouldn’t have fed them, but they appeared fine to me and the other two ate them as well and had no troubles.
                  I wonder if it’s just his gut still readjusting to the lack of antibiotics? He really eats/pees/poos better on them than off.
                  I’ll try to get some benebac into him this afternoon.
                  I’ve also thought that if his hind end weakness is progressing, he may just not be able to move things through his lower gut as well. But he’s been moving around quite a bit in the last few days, so I would think the insides would be moving too…unless he’s too stressed.
                  I just keep coming back to the Carefresh. He does like to nibble on it when he thinks I’m not looking. >.< Which I'm not when I'm asleep.

                  Pam, he is no longer taking baytril, but has only his metacam for his continued hip pain due to arthritis and I’ve been giving liquid simethicone in case he has gas. I do suppose the metacam could be causing this, but normally as long as he has his veggies with it, he does okay. It’s been cooling here quickly so I don’t want him suffering from the aches and pains that come with the fouling weather. I notice he seems happier with it than without.

                  He took the tummy tea well (I made a post asking about the proper use of it) and seems comfortable. We’re taking a break from bonding today, not just for him and Pip, but for me too as I’m getting overstressed myself.

                  One other thing, he has been enjoying a few of the early season blueberries and occasional dried ones too. Perhaps he just prefers them to the hard crunchies right now. I think blueberries can bind the gut in humans.

                  Thanks Jerz. He also has a water bowl, but I can’t really tell how much is being ingested and how much is getting soaked up by the hay he keeps dropping in it as he shuffles around the pen.

                  I will do a grooming of Pip before our next bond session, and he could probably use one too…but I think I’ll take the rubber thingie off the hairbuster. Using that pulls her fur and may be why she is not so happy with me lately. It definitely almost makes Mimzy bald! Probably means I’m not doing it right yet.
                  Ugh…with the weather turning pukey, that means another large coat blow is on the way….aaarrrrggghhh! 0_o;


                • KatnipCrzy
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                    Hvae you ever tried him on the Cosequin (or Cosamin DS) in case he ever needs to be taken off the prescription NSAIDS due to tummy issues?


                  • MimzMum
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                      We’ve tried both that and myristol pellets to help with his hips. He wouldn’t take the cosequin, I expect due to the taste. As far as the myristol he would eat them but them have tummy trouble. So we didn’t even get him on them long enough to make a difference.
                      It’s my understanding that even the cosequin will stop working at some point and no, I don’t want him on metacam all the rest of his life. This is why I’d tried bonding him and Pip again, hoping to get him moving and keep him moving to help work his muscles back up before they waste away.

                      He got some time out by himself today and there are larger poos again now. They still have some kind of hair or fiber in them, but he’s definitely doing better. I got him some nicer long grass and fresh dandelion today too out of my yard. If I can keep him eating those we’ll work out whatever is slowing him down.
                      It’s so fun to watch him eat this stuff. Our hayseed is almost as tall as I am, dandelion leaves are the length of my forearm to the elbow and to watch all that slowly disappear into his little mouth…it’s like watching someone eat spaghetti. Honestly…WHERE do they put all that? It seems like they only chew and don’t swallow!


                    • BinkyBunny
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                        That is interesting you mentioned blueberries. Bailey, who had a very sensitive tummy, could not tolerate blueberries at all. I found out very quickly it caused big problems for her.

                        Also did you notice this worsening with bonding? Maybe he just gets too stressed?


                      • MimzMum
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                          Mimzy’s always loved blueberries dried or fresh. He especially likes them frozen as a treat on hot days. They’ve never bothered him.
                          The smallish poos started a few days ago before the bonding. I feared he was eating some of the Carefresh I had been putting on his night habitat floor, so I stopped using it even though I was afraid he would still pee on it overnight, which he’s only done twice since. Looks like that might be cleared up.

                          I definitely see something fibrous or fur-like in his poos. They are getting larger while he’s been in the xpen by himself today and they’re more moist. I think that tummy tea really helped! ^_^ Too bad you can’t keep or use what you’ve brewed after 12 hours. (Maybe I’ll drink the rest myself!)

                          Of course, he’s a lump in the xpen, so hasn’t eaten or pottied much. I found a few scattered rabbit raisins on the flooring, but he won’t come out from under the tent to use his box. I even made a curtain to hide him from prying eyes!
                          Time for bed. It’s been a relaxing day, we’ll be primed to start bonding again tomorrow if he’s up to it. The few times I upturned the tent he definitely tottered around a bit, so he’s moving well. Darn drama king…he just likes to worry me!


                        • LittlePuffyTail
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                            Poor Mimzy. Stormy is the same as Bailey. He can’t tolerate any berries or watermelon or gets gassy and uncomfotorable.

                            Maybe he is a bit stressed or overwhelmed by the bonding. I would try taking a day off and see how he does.


                          • MimzMum
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                              Well his fresh forage was helping him do better, poos are almost normal size and less full of hair/fibers…but last night he didn’t eat his dry hay. (Can’t blame him it is really nasty stuff…this is what happens when you don’t buy from our site store…BEWARE! lolz…) When I brought his fresh food this morning he tore into it but seemed to be chewing strangely. I watched him carefully…he is trying to move his food around his mouth as he chews, so I have a concern that perhaps that cut in his mouth didn’t heal all the way, or the area or a tooth may have become infected somehow. When he tooth purrs, he suddenly stops and shakes his head like he’s in pain. When he chews hard foods like his timmy treats, same thing. Most times he takes a piece of hay in his mouth, gives it a few chews, then stops and won’t finish it. He doesn’t drop it, he just lets it sit there. I’ve tried a few different hays, but he’s not really interested in them.

                              There’s also a bit of scratching and head shaking going on with anything that causes his teeth to come in contact with one another.

                              Something relatively new…while he is grooming or stretching…or even if while he is falling asleep sitting up… he suddenly (I think) falls over. (He’s also still doing that strange ‘chin up on the litter pan’ type of sleeping.) This isn’t a startle or a roll, it’s a full tip and a scramble to get up. It’s been off an on for about a week or so. Not sure if he’s unsteady due to the hips and arthritis or if it’s something else more sinister. This particular symptom doesn’t happen if he is laying down that I have noticed. But once in awhile in the middle of the night I’ll hear this struggling that he is doing and it gets me up in a fright because it reminds me of the sound he made when his shelf and ramp were still in there and he would come crashing down it and into the litter pan. By the time I have the light on he is sitting up looking a bit dazed and then angry at me for blinding him. >.< Then he hops, or rather…SLUNKS, off.

                              Not really knowing what is wrong I decided to make an appointment for him to see his beloved Dr. H. (Thursday, surprisingly!) About time he had another follow-up as he needs more metacam anyway. I’ll take Pip too so she (and he) can have a nail trim (I CAN NOT do it anymore, between my crummy eyesight and the vertigo, it’s quite impossible!) and maybe we can finally take a look at her bum properly and see if there’s something going on in the urinary department. Each are still peeing incorrectly (i.e. outside the box) and I want a clear diagnosis.

                              Of course I realize these other problems he’s exhibiting could mean nothing…or that he has something like EC and it is progressing. I really hope not and am trying my best not to think about it. Also, the way he sits up (which he does most of the day instead of reclining like he used to) makes it look like he has a hump on his back like Quasimodo… not sure how to interpret that…all this time I’ve been thinking it was his stomach making him hunch up…but that’s better now so…?

                              Since I am eager to continue the bonding attempts, I do want to be sure that the stress from that is not contributing to his problems as well. They did have a LONG first day (from about noon to 10 or 11 that night) and the second they’d been in for about 4 hours before the fur pulling started. I took the day off yesterday (Mimz was out in the xpen by himself the day before) and may try to bring them together for a few hours this evening again. I do think they miss one another and it’s unlikely that Pip doesn’t have whatever Mimzy has anyway, barring the arthritis. Although I have considered this a possibility for her too, but she moves much better than he, so I doubt it.

                              Anyway…to sum up…he is having more like normal poos. Now if we can just get him to eat decently again.


                            • LittlePuffyTail
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                                Good luck with your vet appointment.

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                            Forum DIET & CARE Smallish poos and general inappetance