Regular runny poop

[Amy]

For the past few months my rabbit Twitch has been having runny poop now and again. When Twitch was at the vets about a month ago getting his vaccination, I mentioned the problem to the vet but at that time I thought it was because I had feed him something different that didn’t agree with his stomach and the vet just thought it was fine.
This morning when I woke up, the part of my bedroom Twitch stays in had small runny poop puddle literally everywhere… This is the third time this has happened in the space of a bit over a week. Twitch seems completely fine, he greeted me as usual and is eating just the same. Has anyone had any experiences similar to this or should I call a vet? I just moved him into my bedroom last weekend to give him more space and overall a better life so could this be happening more often than it had been because of change?

[BanditCamp]

What is his diet? Age? Does he eat any fruits or veggies excessively and what type?

[Bam]

Runny or sticky poop is a common problem in rabbits. It even has a name, intermittent soft cecotropes or ISC. It’s often caused by too little fiber in the diet or too rich food. It can also be a certain veg the bunny tummy reacts to. Some buns seem to be genetically predisposed. Here is a good article about it from the House Rabbit Society. It doesn’t sound at all like what your bun has is true diarrhea, so you can skip the paragraphs about true diarrhea. http://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/

Here’s another article about the mystery of rabbit poop by Diana Krempels:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

[Amy]

His pellets are “meadow menu” by Rosewood
Some Veggies:
Round lettuce
Parsley
Bell pepper
Cherry tomato
Carrot
Baby sweet corn
Cucumber
Coriander (well that’s not really veg)
I’m pretty sure there’s more but can’t think of them off the top of my head.

I sometimes give him a strawberry or a piece of Apple but very rarely.
He’s 7 years old and the only veg he’d eat a lot of is round lettuce which he has every day.

Do you think pellets could cause a problem like this?

[Bam]

Too much pellets can cause a thing like this, but it could also be a veg that’s not agreeing with him anymore. You can try cutting out certain begs and see if it gets better. My Bam gets sticky poop from carrots. But all buns are different. Does he eat hay?

Rosewood Meadow Menu sounds like very good pellets.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Amy on 5/29/2017 12:17 PM

His pellets are “meadow menu” by Rosewood
Some Veggies:
Round lettuce
Parsley
Bell pepper
Cherry tomato
Carrot
Baby sweet corn
Cucumber
Coriander (well that’s not really veg)
I’m pretty sure there’s more but can’t think of them off the top of my head.

I sometimes give him a strawberry or a piece of Apple but very rarely.
He’s 7 years old and the only veg he’d eat a lot of is round lettuce which he has every day.

Do you think pellets could cause a problem like this?

You need to rethink your choice of veggies – bunnies need primarily leafy greens. Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sweetcorn and cucumber do not fit this category. 

[Bam]

Sometimes a probiotic can be helpful. If you are in the UK you can look into those from Protexin, it’s a British company with top quality products. (I’m guessing you are in the UK because of the vaccination + the Rosewood pellets. If you’re someplace else, Benebac might be an option.)

[Amy]

Yes, I agree. I forgot to mention that I also feed little gem lettuce but I still don’t think that’s enough leafy greens either. I have been wanting to find different types of lettuce like red lettuce but I couldn’t find any in my area and of course I can’t feed him cabbage either because he eats pellets.

A few days ago though when I was away I saw “lollo rosso” lettuce packaged with some other lettuces I can’t remember the name of in a grocery store.
I was wondering if you know if this is safe for rabbits?

[Amy]

Thank you. I did actually think it could be cecetropes but some of his faeces seemed a little more liquid-like as well so I’m not sure.

[Amy]

I had started to feed him a little more pellets than usual as the vet recommended to so that could possibly be the problem. And he does have hay.

[Bam]

Lollo rosso is rabbit safe. The only lettuce that’s not considered safe is Iceberg. It’s actually debated whether it really is bad for buns or not, but it doesn’t have much nutritional value so there’s not much point in feeding it anyway.

My bunny Bam has a sensitive tummy, he likes fennel a lot and it agrees with him.

[Author]

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