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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Help my bunny has diarrhea

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    • Bebi The Bunny
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        Hello everyone, my neighbours got a bunny about a month ago and they realized their kid was allergic to it so they were only keeping it in his cage in a empty room. When i heard about it i immediatly stepped up and got the bunny. I used to have outdoor bunnies when i was little but other than that i have no experience with bunnies. 

        My bunny is very small i have no idea how old she is maybe a couple months old? I’ve been taking care for it for about two weeks now and my mom gave him some carrot a last tuesday (not a whole carrot it was a small one and it only ate 1/4 of it) . I was really worried something would happen and i observed him very closely for the next 2 days and it was fine. It has been about a week after that but today it pooped on the carpet the first one wasnt as runny but still different from its regular poop and the second one was very runny. It seems like it drinks water as usual but just to be safe i gave him an extra bowl and it drinks from there too. He still eats like regular. 

        I dont think its because of the carrot because 1 week passed after that we never gave it any fresh vegetables. The only 2 changes were, we change its cages place. Its closer to the door so maybe he got a cold? I’m also sick to day and i put a electric heater in my room and my bunny slept and rested really close to it. I was worried he would be too hot but he got up drank water and went back to chilling in front of the heater a couple of times. 

        The other change is that the old owners gave me the food they were giving him and it was almost finished and i bought i new one. The one that they gave me had only the bottom of it left if you understand what i mean. It was like powdery and the small pieces. I put both of them in the bowl mixed in so he would get used to it. I notice he searches for spesific things in his bowl i dont know if that means he doesnt like the new food i bought for him or maybe he just likes to eat it that way. Also the people who worked there told me to buy orchards hay. I put just a really small amount just to see if he would eat it and i dont think he did but i’m not sure so i thought i should mention that as well.

        These are all the things i can think of. Please give me advice on what to do. It’s very late here so i cant take him to the vet right now and i dont even know if every vet knows about bunnies. I’ll definitely call a vet close to me and bring it there but i’m scared something would happen tonight before i can even take him to vet. If you know anything please let me know but be aware that this is a small bunny and don’t advice anything if you are not sure about it or dont have experience. I dont want to hurt him in any way i am so so worried. Like i said he only poops different eating, drinking seems normal as much as i can see. 

        My main language is not english so this is the best i can describe everything. I read a lot of forums but i dont know if they are safe for small bunnies. Most of them were for big rabbits. Thank you so much if you’ve read it so far.


      • Bam
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        16838 posts Send Private Message

          Are there any poops that look “normal” or “normal-ish” as well as the runny poop?

          If there is formed poop as well as runny poop it’s not true diarrhea. True diarrhea is when the bunny only has runny poop, often watery and/or mucos-y. That’s a veterinary emergency and the bun must see a vet asap. The bun most often doesn’t want to eat or drink and becomes very weak and “slow” (lethargic).

          If, on the other hand, the bun still produces some normal poop, this is more likely a change in the bacterial balance in the gut. It can happen when you switch to a new type of food. t’s very common and not an emergency. You try to make the bunny eat more hay, and you don’t give any sweet treats like carrot or fruit until the poop is looking better again.

          Orchard hay is very good. Don’t feed rabbit food that has seeds and bits of dried fruit in it -choose plain pellets if possible. Otherwise the bun will pick out the yummy pieces like a child who only wants to eat candy.

          If your bun is reasonably alert and free to move away from the heat-source he will do so if he feels too warm. My bunny Bam sometimes go lie next to the radiator.

          Please keep us posted.


        • Mikey
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          3186 posts Send Private Message

            Rabbits diets need to consist of 80% hay, so keep putting his orchard grass in his cage and trying to get him to eat it. As Bam said, make sure the pellets are plain timothy pellets. How many pellets they get should depend on their weight (1/4th cup of pellets for every 6 pounds of rabbit)


          • LBJ10
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            16870 posts Send Private Message

              I agree. If it is true diarrhea, then a vet is needed. It could be coccidia and bunnies can die from that. But if it’s mushy poop mixed with regular poop, then it’s likely due to the diet change. The carrot probably didn’t have anything to do with it.


            • Bebi The Bunny
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                Thank you so much for all the replies! I cleaned the whole cage last night too monitor his poop, there’s no runny poop like last night but his poop looks still softer than normal. I looked up to see what pellets are what i give him is different. It is like a mix of everything. It has seeds, corn pieces and dried carrots etc. and it also has pellets inside as well. Is it supposed to be pellets only? I’ll add more orchards hay to his food bowl, i was worried if it was good for him because he is so little.


              • Bam
                Moderator
                16838 posts Send Private Message

                  It sounds to me like this is about a disturbance of the gastro intestinal micro-organisms. That’s great compared to diarrhea, because it can be cured with the right food. Hay and water is the most important food when a bunny tummy isn’t working right.

                  As for the other food, it’s supposed to be only pellets. If that’s hard to get where you live, you could sort out the pellets from the food you have and only feed the pellets. The rest you could use as treats, but only very little at a time, because it is bunny candy.

                  Hay is good for all rabbits. Orchard is one of the best kinds. They should eat a lot of hay. It helps their tummies. It’s also very good for their teeth. At least 80% of a bunny’s diet should be grass hay. Since your bunny is very young, he could also eat alfalfa (legume) hay: It has a lot of protein and calcium and that’s good for growth.

                  When his tummy is back to normal, you can start re-intoducing vegetables. Here is a list of safe vegetables for rabbits, all might not be available where you live. You start with only very little.

                  http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/


                • Bebi The Bunny
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                    Thank you so much for being so helpful. I didnt know about bunny diet this much. I added lots of hay to his food bowl today but i’ve never seen him eat any at all. Like i said picks from his food so much and does not want to eat hay. I’ll go to a pet store tomorrow to buy pellets but i’ve been trying to give them to him to eat but he doesnt want to eat the pellets. Is it bad for him to eat this mixed food with dried fruits and seeds because i dont know how well he’s going to react to only pellet and hay diet.


                  • Bebi The Bunny
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                    6 posts Send Private Message

                      Thank you so much for being so helpful. I didnt know about bunny diet this much. I added lots of hay to his food bowl today but i’ve never seen him eat any at all. Like i said picks from his food so much and does not want to eat hay. I’ll go to a pet store tomorrow to buy pellets. Is it bad for him to eat this mixed food with dried fruits and seeds?


                    • LittlePuffyTail
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                      18092 posts Send Private Message

                        Dried fruit should be only given in a tiny amount as a treat and bunnies should never have seeds. Get a plain pellet. He may not like the new pellets at first if they don’t have that stuff in them but he will most likely eventually start eating them.

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                    Forum DIET & CARE Help my bunny has diarrhea