Rabbit trouble..... I think

[newmotherofthree?]

Hello all! Its been so long since i logged on sorry been really busy with personal things lately. Any way we have a rabbit that a child got for a birthday present in september. We have no idea how old she is just that she is an adult. Today moments ago she passed a clear substance from what we think was her private but could have been from rectum. Its clear and looks like hair gel. She has never had this happen before we got her and the conditions she was in before were less then optimal. Her diet is what it was when we got her mostly pellets with a carrot here and there but thats it. Has access to clean water 24/7. What can this be the kid is a little concerned and i do squirrels not rabbits so i have no idea what it could be. If its of any note she was bathed before this happened and is currently shedding.

[Milo's Mom]

Are you saying the only food she gets is pellets? No greens, no hay?

Any chance you can take a picture of what you're describing?

[newmotherofthree?]

has hay in her cage but doesn't get greens. and yes ill upload a picture of her and the "area".

[Milo's Mom]

What kind of pellets are you feeding her and what kind of hay is it?

[newmotherofthree?]

purina rabbit chow and timothy hay.
If you look at the picture of her private you can see some of the substance there. Her name is Claire.

[Milo's Mom]

When is the last time Claire popped? This is VERY important. Claire may be going into the 2nd stage of GI stasis...not good.

[Milo's Mom]

Is she grinding her teeth? Is she tucking all of her feet under her and sort of hunching into a loaf/ball shape?

[newmotherofthree?]

She doesn't know. Claire is upstairs in her room and she was at school all day.

[newmotherofthree?]

no grinding of teeh and haven't seen her in a loaf/ball shape. right know she is running around the floor. Her behavior is completely normal for her.

[Milo's Mom]

She doesn't know. Claire is upstairs in her room and she was at school all day.

doesn't know what?

[newmotherofthree?]

doesn't know what?

The last time she pooped. her pellets look normal i can post a pictur of them if you like.

[Milo's Mom]

Do you know if Claire has been spayed?

[Milo's Mom]

The last time she pooped. her pellets look normal i can post a pictur of them if you like.

Yes, the fresher the poop for the pic the better.

[newmotherofthree?]

Not spayed.

[newmotherofthree?]

Most of her pellets or smashed from her stomping her feet which she does all the time because she hates being in her cage but if you look you can see a pellet of poop there.

[Milo's Mom]

If Claire is acting normally that is good. Hopefully this was caught soon enough. I believe due to her diet her GI system is slowing down. When the GI system slows down the body will produce mucus to lubricate the GI tract to keep thins moving through the system.

I would also suggest that you find a good well respected bunny vet and find out if she's been spayed. If she has not, it would be a very good idea for you to consider having her spayed.

I have a big packet of info for you. It talks about all kinds of things related to buns. Most specifically diet. You need to change Claire's diet SLOWLY, but the sooner the better. Will you please PM me your email address? I cannot attach the file on TSB cause it's too big. I will email it to you.

[newmotherofthree?]

yes i will and thank you very much

[Milo's Mom]

I see fur in her poop pellets. This is probably due to her molting. Thing is, excess fur can also slow down her GI tract. You may offer her a Papaya TABLET. You can get them at a health food store. One tablet a day is plenty.

Also, if you groom her frequently while she is molting it will remove the excess fur so she does not ingest it.

[Milo's Mom]

I just emailed the packet of info.

[newmotherofthree?]

Thank you. I will follow your advise very carfully have a nice evening.

[Milo's Mom]

PLEASE make the diet changes SLOWLY!!!!

The pellets she's on now are crap. You should change them too. Oxbow Essentials Adult Bunny Food is readily available and has the appropriate dietary amounts of what she needs.

[Milo's Mom]

You have my email address, so if you have anymore questions please feel free to use it!! :thumbsup

[Milo's Mom]

I just got the email I sent you returned saying the account does not exist. :dono

Want to send me another PM with the address again, just in case there is a typo.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Good advice Milo's mom. Many unspayed female rabbits develop cancer and die before they are 5, so it is a very good idea to get her spayed! I don't pay as much attention to my domestic rabbit's poop/urethral discharges so I haven't seen what you're describing in one of my domestics, but I have seen it in the wild cottontails that I raise. 99% of the time they are fine, some of them are sick and doing poop that is slime, but that's a constant thing, not just one time randomly. My guess would be that if it was small it was probably from the urethra. Bunnies have very sludgy urine with high calcium levels and secrete mucous to protect the delicate urethral lining. My guess is you are seeing some of that.

Does she have a litterbox in her cage? Bunnies are very easy to litterbox train and I'd highly recommend training her to keep her cage neater. Wet hay can have a lot of bacteria in it.

[island rehabber]

Good job, Milo's Mom :thumbsup :)

[firerunner]

I so love this board, squirrels. opossums, rabbits, birds..doesn't matter someone always has great advice!!!!

[Mommaluvy]

I am no where near as experienced with domestic buns as you all are... BUT will add a few small things.
Our vet told us apple tree limbs were very good for their digestion.. now if that is not the case.. disregard but please tell me so I don't repeat the mistake.. ( It is part of the story )

And Wet Cage.. can get you a nasty pest called the Fur Mite.


And a somewhat funny ( only in the sense I am a dunce ) yet tragic story.. 6 + years ago...I got three of my children a rabbit . 3 Rabbits. They LOVED these guys. The oldest two had done some research. ( but not nearly enough in hindsight at that time) These rabbits.. we thought we had 2 males and one female, were all living together and were not yet sexually mature - but too close for comfort.. New cages needed to be built.. Did not particularly want them to mate... BUT we had seen the two brown ones ( from the pet store) Mating with the white one ( rescued meat rabbit ) . So we new we had to get a move one with those cages..

Unknown to us.. One tragic night.. something or someone opened their hutch door. Or the kids in their haste putting them away that night.. left it open. We will never know . I had to be somewhere early that morning and came home at sunrise to see two rabbits that looked alot like ours in our drive way.. OH Boy.. We could not find the third which belonged to the oldest girl.. ( Later we did find her/him in our neighbors yard.. screaming.. as their dog had attacked her.. she died in our arms as soon as we got her to safety.. Still surprised that 100 pound dog did not kill me trying to get that rabbit away from him- yep.. I just walked right in to their fenced back yard with out thinking about it.. chased doggy off and snatched up Bree...)

So.. a day or so later.. the white one starts discharging blood. I thought.. " ITS IN LABOR !" ( told you I was a dunce) I brought "her" in and put "her" in the tub with fleece and hay. Hours passed and no babies arrived.. I made a vet apt. Took "Huffy" in and found that Huffy was a MALE and the mating was bully like behavior.

Huffy was not in labor.. he was pooping bloody mucus from stress. and to add some apple branches to his snack tray.

Vet gave us meds and the apple stick thing. Told us to separate them cause they were both males.. and could kill each other...and directed us to the House rabbit Society and gave us a nice packet about domestic rabbits.

Huffy passed away this summer at about 6 yrs old. Skittles is still kicking and hopping around 6+ yrs old.

Fianna- the girl who lost her bunny to the neighbors dog.. Got another named Springer.. and while she takes the UTMOST care of her pets.. Somehow Springer got Fur Mites a few years back.. and had to be treated. So while her rabbits cage is the CLEANEST of the three.. she was still doing something wrong. Or conditions were just right for fur mites...

So don't take that to mean that YOUR rabbits cage is in bad shape.. just.. lots of reasons ( like SRABT said ) to be as stellar as possible with the dryness and cleanliness of the enclosure.

And yes.. I am a dunce.

If I pm you MM will you email me your packet too?