Poop is at a core the perfect way of telling if your rabbit is not only healthy but if they have any internal issues.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'cottontailclub_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',104,'0','0'])); If you’re concerned about your rabbit’s poop or hanging their diet, you should always contact your local veterinarian first. They produce two kinds of droppings: feces and cecotropes. Cecotrophs contain around 28-30% crude protein and up to 30% of the total nitrogen intake of rabbits. You should make a habit of checking your rabbit’s poop for changes every day to keep track of your rabbit’s health. – one cause is that you may be feeding them too many sugary treats and not feeding your rabbit with enough hay. But sometimes, they’ll have merged so much, that the poop takes on an elongated oval shape. Cecal pellets (aka cecotropes) are a special food made by bunny, just for bunny. But as long as your rabbit continues to produce normal poops, they are probably okay. If you see a lot of these double poops, however, this is a sign that your rabbit’s gut is slowing down for longer periods of time. Perhaps more important than the quantity of rabbit poop is the quality. This condition is very smelly, and it’s uncomfortable for your rabbit. If you’ve ever had to clean up after a bunny, you already know that rabbit poop is very firm compared to most other animals’ waste. Since they cannot vomit, their digestive tract has to do a lot of work pushing the hair through the system. The habit of coprophagy was first reported by Morot in 1882. These unique feces are called cecotropes, or “night feces.” They are produced through fermentation of food in the part of the rabbit’s gastrointestinal tract called the cecum. Rabbit droppings don’t harbor diseases like cat and dog feces might, so it’s safe to use even if you’re growing food. Why Do Rabbits Eat Their Poop? A change in litter box habits can also be an indicator of health problems in rabbits. As a general rule, you should not bathe your rabbit. They are rich in minerals, vitamins, proteins, water, and bacteria. How Do I Know if My Rabbit’s Poop is Healthy? You should get to a rabbit veterinarian as soon as you can, and continue to monitor your rabbits appetite and behavior for any possible illnesses. Sometimes, however, the rabbits gut will slow down just a little and two, or even three, poops will collide into each other. The cecotropes are a little brighter, softer, and they are produced in the form of clusters and emanate a little bit of scent. Whether it be from overgrown teeth, excessive stress, or pain from an illness, deformed poop should be treated as a serious medical condition. Rabbit’s should really only be having a small amount of pellets every day (about ¼ cup for an average sized rabbit), and sweet treats (including carrots) should only be given sparingly. Cecotropes resemble small, brown, aggregate berries, like mulberries or raspberries. Many rabbits will be carriers of this and shed spores in their urine. Diarrhea will be very watery. Usually, the rabbit has consumed too many treats and/or pellets. Published January 3, 2013 at 3072 × 2304 in Getting Friendly With Your Rabbit’s Poop. Keep going until your rabbit is completely dry. The two types of mushy poop might be a little difficult to tell apart, but usually if it is the unformed cecotropes it will have a toothpaste-like texture, and they may still have some form to them. If they’ve been litter box trained and then suddenly stop using the litter box, this is an indicator that the rabbit is suffering from some illness or stressor. These droppings are not encountered often, because rabbits eat them shortly after depositing them. The round, dry poop that you would see lying around in their litter pans are the former, while the latter is an important factor to a rabbit’s health. Rabbits have specialized digestive systems, and are prone to issues such as diarrhea. To avoid the loss of these precious nutrients, the rabbit will re-ingest them as soon as they pass the anus, without chewing, to avoid breaking the outer coats of the grains. Here’s how: Rabbit poop looks like a small, round pellet. Tapeworms or pinworms can sometimes even be seen on the excreted feces. Some rabbit pee does contain a microorganism fungus called E. cuniculi. Honestly, rabbit poop is probably the least-gross pet poop you will ever have to deal with. This unique poop, called cecotropes, is produced as the rabbit’s food ferments in his digestive tract. Normal cecotropes are small, dark, round, and shiny poops that stick to each other. It means that something is stressing your rabbit out. There is little correlation between the size of the rabbit and the size of their poop. Can you catch diseases from your rabbits droppings? Rabbit manure is organic, it improvessoil structure, drainage and moisture retention. As the intestinal tract slows down, hair and food start to get stuck along the gastrointestinal tract, creating bigger blockages. Their health depends on the constant motion of their digestive system, so often illnesses can be detected early by changes in a rabbit’s pooping habits. Basically, golden rabbit poop can be seen as a way of viewing your rabbits nutritional balance. They don’t yet have the antibodies to protect themselves, and so their bodies can’t fight against any dangerous bacteria they come into contact with. Most people mistake soft rabbit poop for diarrhea. Though uncommon, it is possible you will find mucus in your rabbit’s poop. Rabbit poops need to be monitored for consistency in size, shape, smell, texture, and color. But pet rabbits produce them at different times as it depends on their feeding routine. A rabbit's poop can tell a lot about its overall health. It prevents a number or dangerous health conditions that could develop later in life, and it can solve a number of... My name is Amy and I am the Bunny Lady! Sometimes very small rabbits will produce fecal pellets that are bigger than the droppings of a 10 lb rabbit. The Scoop on Poop. Rabbits poop A LOT. For example, a rabbit that has recently been scared may produce smaller poops for a few hours after.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'cottontailclub_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_0',105,'0','0'])); Rabbit poo that is fresh should be soft and brittle, a little bit of pressure should result in your rabbits poop falling apart into a small dusty like substance. You can grab a handful of rabbit pellets and spread it all over your garden. Droppings that are too small, dark and irregular in shape show that your rabbit isn’t processing food well. The … Their poops are dry, scentless, cocoa puff balls. Some rich vegetables, such as kale, dandelion greens, carrot tops and chard, may also cause excess cecotropes. There are many possible causes of abnormal poop in rabbits. So it’s important to become familiar with your own rabbit’s poop, so you can be very clear about what is normal for your rabbit. As they break down, they improve and build the soils structure, add stability and hold nutrients for plants and other organisms in the soil as well. If you examine and break one apart, you will see the undigested plant fibre that it’s formed from and it crumbles easily. The feces and cecal matter stuck to the rabbit’s butt will attract flies. I am here to make sure all of you rabbit lovers have everything you need to care for your fluffy little bundle of joy. I am a lifelong rabbit lover and have been specializing with rabbits at my local animal shelter. … Also known as fecal pellets, these normal rabbit poops should look very much like cocoa puffs. Rabbits eat all of their food twice and the first time through their system, it comes out as cecotropes (or cecal pellets). Rabbit Poop & Cecotropes. Rabbits eat their round one veggie balls and/or their neighbours. GI stasis is pretty common, so it’s important to learn the symptoms: GI stasis is often a symptom of some other underlying health problem. They are high in nitrogen, short-chain fatty acids, microbial protein, B vitamins, sodium, potassium, water, lysine, the sulfur amino acids, and threonine. Gently pat the wet areas of your rabbit with the towel. The short-chain fatty acids in their cecals provide an additional source of energy, and the B vitamins provided can be in excess of the rabbit's needs. With obese rabbits, the best thing you can do to help your rabbit stay clean is to get them on a healthy diet. This happens when a fly chooses to lay eggs on your rabbit (usually around their bottom), and when the maggots hatch they start to eat through your rabbit. To monitor your rabbits health through their poop, you’ll have to know what’s normal, and what to look out for. 6 thoughts on “ Cecotropes ” Maya on November 28, 2014 at 8:46 pm said: Hi, So a couple days before Halloween I got a new bunny. If the spacing between the poops is also uniform, this is a good indication that your rabbit’s digestion is working just fine. This will help you stay on top of your rabbits health and catch any signs of sickness early. To avoid a potential hairball blockage, try brushing your rabbit once a day to keep them from ingesting so much fur. In adult rabbits, diarrhea is almost always caused by some sort of parasite or poison.