Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Question about possibly abnormal rabbit droppings?

i have found some of the droppings, not all of them, are kinda joined together, theres like two droppings with a line inbetween them, i was just wondering if this is normal? does it mean anything?Question about possibly abnormal rabbit droppings?
What you're seeing sounds like fur that your rabbit is passing. Rabbits tend to ingest their fur while grooming themselves, and this typically passes through their digestive tract. It's normal.





If your rabbit is ingesting too much fur, it's possible that they could suffer an intestinal blockage, which would lead to a very painful death. This is why you should always give your rabbit hay and roughage to help with digestion. The hay works to keep everything moving.





I've also found it's helpful to give rabbits a little pineapple as a treat. There is an enzyme in pineapple that helps break the fur down and make it easier to pass. Plus, they love it. Tidbits in natural juice are the best for them.





Also, brush your rabbit regularly to help remove excess fur, particularly when they're molting. If you groom them, that's less fur that they'll be eating themselves - and less worry for you.Question about possibly abnormal rabbit droppings?
time for an explanation of the rabbit's digestive system here!





Rabbits have a sac called a cecum where the small intestine and large intestine join (where our appendix is). In a rabbit, the cecum is large and contains lots of healthy bacteria and other microorganisms to help the rabbit digest food which hadn't been digested in the small intestine.





The gastrointestinal tract diverts some material from the small intestine to the cecum for further break-down. (Food digested in the small intestine doesn't need to pass through the cecum and goes straight to the large intestine - these make the normal, drier droppings you see in the hutch normally).





In the cecum, the fibre is broken down by the bacteria and turned into ddigestible nutrients; however to absorb these nutrients the rabbit must ingest them into the digestive system once more. The nutrients pass as ';cecotropes'; - which is the droppings you are seeing. The rabbit should consume them the minute they are released - often if a rabbit looks like he is grooming his back end, he is actually taking in the cecotropes. They are brown or sometimes green, mucus-coated and smell slightly stronger than normal droppings. Normally you will only see them rarely, so if you are seeing them all the time it indicates a diet too rich in protein or a more serious condition - so for advice and a checkup, I would recommend you take your rabbit to the vet.





As well as digesting nutrients this whole system keeps the digestive system active and in good working order.





Hope i helped!
It could be just the normal *Cecotropes* which are the ones rabbits eat,or could be due to a slight blockage,please take a look at these pictures %26amp; descriptions;http://www.brightsidewoolies.com/article鈥?/a>





That should sort out any problems!





Hope this helps,xxx
Not normal,. sounds like diahhrea, could be her food. have you given her something new to eat or too much of something?

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