Do you notice that his head pops or the possible hiccups correspond with — “Occasionally he will have unformed cecals or will have smaller mis-shapen poops.”?
It doesn’t seem to be hurting him or causing distress, so that’s a good thing while this remains a mystery. Maybe it is just hiccups as he may have a sensitive stomach and that link does seem to mention a correlation with that. On the the other hand, I understand that when you touch him, it stops so it seems voluntary, but maybe it somehow calms them right away. Something to keep checking out for sure — interesting!
You mentioned that Oliver also cleans himself with one paw at a time — that’s exactly what both of my senior bunnies did as they aged and their arthritis worsened. It did help to up the dose a bit of the metacam (with the vets instruction!). But upping the dose can also cause some liver damage over long-term use, so trying to find the right balance or switching to another med may be an option to discuss with your vet. I did try another med (tramadol), but it just made her balance worse, so I chose to up the dose to make her more comfortable during her senior years, even though it could cause issues to the liver. I chose comfort over longevity. When she did pass though — her liver was fine, so upping the dose in our case did not cause problems for her (it had been over a year).
Vivian also had to sort of jump start her back legs, due to arthritis, but one leg in particular was having a rougher time, so I took her to the vet and they found she had a torn tendon. At her age, there was not much we could do about it, but I did get a herbal med (can’t remember the name now) from the vet. It was meant to help with tendon issues — I am sometimes skeptical of this kind of thing, but it actually worked! I was happy.
At then end of her life, she developed Floppy Bunny Syndrome that can cause severe weakness and then paralysis. (and there is treatment for it), but due to her already hind end leg weakness, I didn’t notice it until she became paralyzed, and due to her age and possible other health issues, the meds did not work. This isn’t something that I think your bunny has though as Floppy Bunny Syndrome is very fast acting. (within 24 -48 hours). You mentioned that this has been like this for months, so I think you only have to worry about that if he declines further very quickly. Just wanted to mention it because it can be one illness that can go undetected right away if you have a bunny who is already having some movement difficulty.
IF your bunny comes back as e.cuniculi positive – it doesn’t mean that your bunny is being actively attacked by e.cuniculi, just means your bunny has been exposed. I have had a bunny that never showed symptoms, even though she was positive. I had another bunny who only showed symptoms later in life when the immune system was weakened. It is estimated that 1 in 4 bunnies will show positive – doesn’t mean they will become symptomatic. If the test does come back positive, most vets will treat for it just in case, especially if there are symptoms like hind leg weakness etc as it is smart to try and tackle an active case of e.cuniculi before it does further damage. But IF your bunny does show up positive, it would be a good idea to have another blood test later to compare the titer levels (if the levels raise, that is more of indicator that the disease is active as well – or if lowered, that the meds are helping). Anyway, just something else to discuss with your vet if the tests come back positive.
I forgot to mention, the snoring/squeak during sleep. This was not uncommon to hear when I volunteered at a rabbit rescue. A few bunnies (seem like dwarfs or lops) could be big snoring/squeakers. Not sure if that is because their face is a bit more compacted and so it’s sort of like how some pugs can have some breathing issues. The fact your bunny needs to get his spurs trimmed may also indicate some jaw/face misalignment or malocclusion. Just throwing a guess out there, but I wonder if that could contribute to hiccups – (his breath intake at times)
Sorry for any typos etc. It’s late, and I’m sleepy.