Don't get me wrong if my bunny needs work done, it will be done. One of the first vets I saw said it was his teeth and they did have slight spurs on, and she would do the dental work there & then. I've never been overly keen on this vet as she is always looking for things, if I took a pet in with a bad foot, she would look in his mouth if you get what mean I never agreed with that diagnosis simple because she said that bunnies teeth grow every day, my bunnies gut problem started in the beginning of the year and we have had two bouts of this to date, my argument on this diagnosis is, that if it were the teeth that were the cause, and remembering the teeth grow each day, the problem would get much worse, considering the first bout was at the beginning of the year, not be ok for a couple of months and then be a problem, then be ok for a few months. I saw another vet the following day as there was some poop with mucus round it, well actually it was pretty much mucus, so I took that and a sample of his other poop, the vet instantly treated him for worms, I mentioned that the vet the previous day had said it was bunnys teeth that were the problem, he instantly dismissed this saying that looking at the poops, the rabbit was digesting his food, if a rabbit has dental problems, the food just goes round and round and is doesn't get digested. This is where the discussion on a rabbits diet came in and what a rabbit does and does not need. This is my main problem, getting different diagnosis from different vets. My rabbit is now fine, but his poops were very wet, but he has recently had two injections a worm treatment and me taking things away from his diet, so really I'm not surprised there has been a difference in the consistency of his poop. I'm monitoring his food very closely now and avoiding certain foods to see if his gut problem returns.

Yes I read that about kale and broccoli, my bunny had been given both of those before he had his last bout of gut problems, I can't be sure if this was the case on the two other occasions, but I will be avoiding both of those in the future, and if his gut problem returns at least I can rule those out. I am making changes to his diet, but denying access to the freedom of the garden will not be a change I'm prepared to make at this time. Thanks

Ok first rule about bunnies, is their poop is like a information guide to what's going on inside and if its right or not. Bunnies produce two different types of poop, the first is called caecotrophes, these look like a bunch of rather smelly grapes, very shiny and mushy. These are not actually poop at all, as a normal healthy bun will eat these, and MUST eat them, they can actually die if they don't! Once re-eaten, the bunny's system will then pass them through again, this time as actual poop, which should be big golden brown balls, all pretty uniform in look and size, and should crumble quite easily. These are what you want to be seeing generally you wouldn't see the cecal pellets as these are usually passed at night and eaten quickly. However, if the good bacteria in the bunny's gut is upset, or killed off by the wrong food/s or the bun is overfed, it will produce too many cecal pellets, which you will either find mushed into the floor or in piles on the floor. From what your describing, this is what your seeing from your bun, (not to be confused with diarreah, which normally only affects baby rabbits, true diarreah is rare in adult buns), so what I would do is cut out the green stuff completely for now. And the pellets for a few days, you need to get bunny's system back to normal, and because everything has to go through twice, it takes a while to reach the parts that do the good. Bunny will be fine on just good quality hay for a few days, In fact a bunny's diet should mainly be hay, (around 90% of it to 5% pellets and 5% greens), and no more than one eggcup full of pellets a day. Try this and see if there's any improvements.

I was seeing loads of grape like poops over the garden, today I am seeing much dryer poops so hopefully things are getting back to normal. When I took him to the vet and he was treated for worms, there was, well it looked like wee patches with the odd little poop in the middle, this is when I found the mucus looking stuff too, there was also a little blob of what I can only describe as chocolate moose, that was when the vet treated him for worms. His poops are looking much better now. The problem is he has never been a big hay eater and I'm worried that if I don't offer anything else, he will starve. He does grase on the garden pretty much all day though, so maybe not starve. I will try that for a couple of days then. Thanks

Edit: I have just been in the garden to clear up all the poop so I can keep an eye on any fresh ones, have to say I have just picked up some perfectly formed poop, so hopefully things are improving.

Do you ever give the rabbit an apple?

I used to feed my previous bunnies apples and both loved them.

Maybe try him with an apple as well as hay give something else for him.

It's good your rabbit's feeling better.

Good sign his poop is getting back to normal again.

He use to have a thin slice of apple, it was his favourite, but I stopped it. I'm unsure if I should give him any now

Collie, that was word for word my bunny savvy vet's advice. Spot on.

He went a bit further too and said commercial foods, whether balanced pellets or the old style muesli, are more for the owner than for the bunny - as bunny's make a beeline for them and love them so much. But he said, essentially all buns need is hay, maybe some grass, and something woody like branches to chew on.

Same with the greens - maybe as owners who love our pets so much we like to see them happy. And greens make them happy (my two farm reared girls who never saw anything but straw and pellets in their lives til I got them, go crazy for anything green or fresh!) But they can live perfectly fine - maybe better if prone to problems like OP's bun - without that stuff.

I haven't seen poop like that for quite some time. I can't believe poop is making me happy It's been such a worry.

His digestive system maybe just needed a rest.

You say he seems to be on the mend so that's a good sign.

Maybe introduce things again slowly and give in moderation, see how it goes?

I know it's upsetting. I remember years ago I lifted my rabbit up and blood suddenly went down my skirt, brought him to the vet and vet said had colitis. It's distressing when they're poorly but it's a good sign that he's showing some improvement.

Glad things are getting better!

Yeah random having convo about poop but good you're bit less worried now!

OMG that sounds terrible!
Yeah he's been fine in himself since being treated by the vet, I just wasn't happy with the kind of poops he was passing, and obviously I want to avoid any future bouts of tummy discomfort for him, as he looked so distressed. But for now it's all good. Thank you

I'm feeling much more happy, the weekend before last was awful, I was on edge all weekend, upset my tummy never mind his.

Do not give him apple, or any other fruit, fruit is full of sugar, yes its natural sugar which is good for us, but its not good for bunnies or most other small rodents. Same with carrots. Most if not all bunnies will eat pellets/muesli type foods ( though most have stopped selling those now) /fruit and veg over hay if allowed, in the same way a child would choose a MacD's over a salad! Your bun might not like hay, and because you give other stuff, he gets away with not eating it because he knows there's something else. However whilst your worried about 'starving' him by only offering hay for now, I can tell you straight it will do him far, far more harm to continue not eating hay. Hay is vital for bunnies, hay is dried grasses, and bunnies are grass grazers, designed to eat almost continuously which is why they are always munching away. If they stop eating, their digestive tract starts to 'shut down' they go into GI stasis, which unless the bunny starts eating to get things moving again, is fatal. And the problem is that once a bun has stopped eating, it can be extremely difficult to get them to start again. That's why unlike say a dog or cat, they don't tell you to withdraw food for surgery for bunnies. Your bun might not 'like' his hay, but I guarantee you, if there's noting else available he'll suddenly decide its rather nice after all! No animal will starve itself out of stubbornness, they don't think like people, ie 'if I can't have what I want I won't eat anything', they don't have that mentality - if their hungry and its food, they'll eat it!


He's spot on too, muesli styled foods were full of rubbish and did nothing but encourage selective eating. The bun would pick out the nice colourful bits ( designed to appeal to the human owner not the bun) and ignore the plain boring bits. The problem was that the plain boring bits were exactly the bits needed, and the colourful bits full of sugar and rubbish ( which was what made the bun go mad for it) which is why most places no longer sell it. In truth, a bunny could live perfectly fine with no pellet food, as long as a varied diet of hays, grasses and some leafy greens was provided instead.


Believe it or not, the thing that makes all good bunny owners happy is good poop. Because they know that if its good poop, the bun is in fine form with nothing to worry about! You can practically read if a bun is ok or not going off their poop, so its a very good idea to actually learn it, then you can be on the lookout. Generally if bunny poop isn't right, its a very big warning sign and should not be ignored, knowing what to look out for could be the real difference between a successful outcome or not.

This is the best guide I have found so far, with very clear pictures:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/bunnyl...57600299251247

Yeah it was very distressing.

I was incredibly shocked when it happened too as just wasn't expecting it as he'd been fine previously.

Unfortunately rabbits can get colitis just like humans can.

Worse thing I have experienced with a rabbit was fly strike, thankfully it was caught very quickly before any severe damage was done, just the sight of maggots gets me in a frenzy.

What a great site! Looks like it's hay for Scrumpy for the next few days.