Our lop eared female rabbit is 4 years old and has had intermittent diarrhea for as long as I can remember.It lasts for about a day and she is ok for several days or over a week.We wonder if it is due to her eating too little of her cecotropes.We know iron is constipating and eating too little cecotropes would reduce iron intake.That is the only possibility we have found that makes any sense.She has a varied diet of alfalfa and timothy hay,spinach,carrots and plain bunny kibble.We have tried holding back different foods from the above group for a week to try to find the culprit but with no success.
Thank you in advance for any thoughts you might have.
labtek
We had a lop ear rabbit for 11 years, he never had problems with digestion. We fed him bunny pellets, apples, carrots, spinach, and he had a salt wheel.
My current bunny, Susie, eats bunny pellets, apples, carrots, spinach, mixed salad greens, kiwi fruit, oranges, and celery leaves and she LOVES her salt wheel......her bowels are normal also.
could she be stressed? Watch the activity around her and see if there is loud noise, or possibly active kids when she has these bouts.
Our Susie likes quiet, and we keep her hutch mostly covered (except for one area where she sits to look out the window)because she doesn't like a lot of activity around her. she gets out to exercise, but really likes her "comfy box and quiet time"
Snowhawkwoman Big Owl the traveling dogs Xena, Phoebe, and the Spooker Punky - the amazing insane Rving Squirrel 1997 Fleetwood Jamboree 29' The traveling Zoo!
Well for starters, what does the (rabbit qualified) vet say? This is where I'd start. Have we run a fecal? Any other tests? Rabbits are subject to certain internal parasites, which may be carried from a very early age. Coccidia springs to mind, but I'm sure there are others.
As far as food... Spinach should only be fed in limited amounts or occasionally, due to oxalic acid in it that can become toxic. And which, now that I think of it, can interfere with iron uptake at least in humans. Carrots are also only to be fed in limited amounts due to the high sugar content, which can throw off the GI tract. You might consider a more varied diet, slowly adding in things like parsley, green or romaine lettuce, cilantro, carrot TOPS, dandelion greens and so on. House rabbit society (www.rabbit.org) has lists of veggies that are usually well tolerated. Cilantro, dandelions and parsley are three standbys for my guys. They love them and no concerns about toxicity or high sugar.
Take a look at the "bunny kibble" and see what is actually in there... I found that I was feeding my pair a pellet with preservatives in it that I would never feed my dogs or cats (larger and able to regurgitate, which the buns cannot!) so I found a better brand that doesn't include such pollutants.
The other thing I'd look at is the drinking water. Is it in a bottle? Those things are nearly impossible to clean, and could easily build up something nasty. High mineral? Heavy chlorine? Any of the above could throw a sensitive system like a bunny's out of whack.
susan
What I want to know is, when are they going to start selling Comfort Zone for HUMANS????? 'Cause some days...
You are right about the spinach Susan.....feed it sparingly.......Susie LOVES cilantro (as does Punky).....and some times susie eats her carrots and sometimes she doesn't.....maybe she "needs" the sugar sometimes??
We use filtered water with Punky and Susie......so we don't have mineral build-up...I would have not thought of that........but then, I always carry "home" water for my dogs when we travel in the RV.....so I should have thought of that one!!
Good luck labtek.......hope you find out the "cause" so your bunny feels better!
Thanks to you all for the suggestions.My wife is a nurse so she will give all these suggestions some serious thought.We love all animals but this rabbit is the love of her life-----I'm an "also ran" compared to this bunny.------Thanks again.
labtek
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