Rabbit poo problems ?

Question

Our house rabbit keeps doing runny poo's on the floors, she has had them for a couple of months now, we stopped feeding her greens and carrots to try and stop them and just feed her hay and pellets, but that has not worked, we have had her to the vets twice to have her bum cleaned as it got that bad around her backend but they are not concerned and say she is ok and not as bad I we think it is, has anyone else had this problem and how did they stop it, any diet tips etc., we love her to bits but don't know how long we can keep cleaning the floors after her as we have a newborn baby and he is getting to the stage of crawling and don't really want him crawling in rabbit poo, please help as we don't really want to give her away ?

Answer 1

Is she eating enough hay to get the much needed fiber?

I stopped giving my rabbits any food other than hay when they started not to eat enough and now the eat the hay before anything else

Answer 2

Don't give your familyy pet away! Take her to a vet now and find out what is wrong. This should not be happening with this rabbit. It is not normal.

You ahve already spent more in cleaning supplies than you will for the vet!

Answer 3

i wouldn't give her away. Have you considered housing her outside? Bunnies do have some runny poos that they usually eat. I think you should start feeding her greens and continue with the hay and pellets. I think if your vets say she is fine then it may not be as bad as you think. Alternatively you could try and find a vet specialied in rabbits and see what they say about it. If you can't keep her outside simply buy her an indoor enclosure instead of letting her roam around all the house. Try to keep her indoor cage as clean as possible to prevent poos sticking to her.

Answer 4

I have 4 house rabbits and let me be the first to tell you that sludgy poops are not normal. Veggies like Kale often make a softer p**p but you said you took her off greens.

Are you feeding Alfalfa or Timothy pellets? Same for hay?

In older rabbits alfalfa is too high in fat and often causes the sludgy poops.

Try cutting back on pellets all together, if a dwarf about 1/4 a cup a day and a larger rabbit about 1/3 a cup a day.

What type of litter do you use in the litterbox? Certain types of wood secrete oils that are dangerous to rabbits, and if yours is eating the litter that could be why.

Try getting some papaya enzyme tablets, rabbits love them, and they help with digestive problems. All mine look for their daily papaya enzyme tablet. You can also buy them at your local drug store.

http://www.binkybunny.com/SHOP/tabid/55/...

Why would you give your rabbit away for a medical problem? I dont understand that, its not your poor rabbits fault. I dont know why your vet would tell you that is normal. Is your vet an exotic vet? Do they get a lot of rabbit clients?

Once you get the sludgy poops cleared up you can start slowly reintroducing veggies, like parsley, celery, brocoli and others.

Please go here for more info on rabbits: http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/

Answer 5

I'd suggest less pellets and a lot more hay.  At least 90% of the rabbit's diet should be a good quality timothy hay (not alfalfa).  Have the hay always available and only give a little grain in the morning with just a handful of greens at night.  Make sure there is always fresh water too.  

Good luck!

Answer 6

My rabbits have the same problem occasionally. Go to

http://islandgems.net/diseases.html

That should help a bit. I usually reduce the ammount of veggies and give them alot of timothy hay. Oh, and just a reminder, rabbits cannot eat lettuce. That is another cause. Don't worry if the vet says it is ok.