Clear mucous in tray but poop looks good?

[TKT]

I just found this in the tray of a young doe. Of course one of my favorites. She's just under 4 months old. There is plenty of normal poop and urine with it. However she seemed a little subdued yesterday evenung. She's always been a very passive bunny when being petted or handled, but seemed a little hunched this afternoon when I cleaned. She got water into her food bowl and her pellets were wet so she didn't eat them. They all always have plenty of timothy hay and timothy - alfalfa horse cubes for their teeth and entertainment. I have not given her fresh pellets yet in case of gastric distress, I wanted her to try to nibble some hay instead. She did just eat an offered baby green with gusto, and seemed to be looking for her pellet bowl, has been a little more active.

I have baby formula gas treatment and critical care available.

Thoughts please? Thank you for any input!

 

[TKT]

Edit to add that I also just caught her drinking water from her bowl.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I just found this in the tray of a young doe. Of course one of my favorites. She's just under 4 months old. There is plenty of normal poop and urine with it. However she seemed a little subdued yesterday evenung. She's always been a very passive bunny when being petted or handled, but seemed a little hunched this afternoon when I cleaned. She got water into her food bowl and her pellets were wet so she didn't eat them. They all always have plenty of timothy hay and timothy - alfalfa horse cubes for their teeth and entertainment. I have not given her fresh pellets yet in case of gastric distress, I wanted her to try to nibble some hay instead. She did just eat an offered baby green with gusto, and seemed to be looking for her pellet bowl, has been a little more active.

I have baby formula gas treatment and critical care available.

Thoughts please? Thank you for any input!

That looks like evidence of the beginning of mucoid enteritis. As it progresses, there'll be more mucous and it'll start to enclose the poops, then eventually replace them all together. The rabbit's belly will get distended, and as she gets more uncomfortable she'll sit in a pretty distinct hunched posture and grind her teeth. Bunnies suffering from this do tend to keep drinking, sometimes to excess; if they have a bowl, they'll often sit with their front feet in the water.

I'd take her off pellets and give her only hay and Critical Care right away. Benebac or any other herbivore probiotic gel is also very helpful. In a pinch I've given mini rex with mucoid enteritis plain yogurt, but while some will eat it, others won't. Adding some NutriDrops for Rabbits to water or Critical Care also gives them a bump, if they've been off feed for long. If the simethicone seems to be helping her, that's okay too.

If you can get hold of Neomycin Oral (last year it became prescription-only ) that is usually very helpful. If you can't get that, you can buy Dry-Tail for hamsters, which is the same drug, it's just tricky to figure out the dosing for a bigger rabbit. (It's not particularly likely you'll have any problems with overdose, but still you want dosage to be more-or-less on the mark.)

One thing we've found is that frequently the more attention these bunnies get (holding,petting, etc.), the better they tend to recover. One especially bad case would only eat and drink when we held and petted him.

 

[TKT]

Thank you SO much, yes I have Benebac Plus as well. I'll start both right away, and try to get the Dry Tail. I do have vitamins for human babies = Enfamil Poly Vi Sol, and Pet-Tinic for dogs and cats.

I also have two does about to kindle and a winter snow storm on the way.

 

[TKT]

Can one give the critical care dry? I followed the directions and she won't eat it moist, and we tried syringing some but only got a little bit down. I did get some Benebac syringed in. She's my sweetest and kindest bun of all the nine I have. Also very pretty!

 

[TKT]

I hope it's a good sign that she's begun munching her timothy hay. She has a bowl of dry Critical Care with some Benebac just in case she will lick it. She did munch on what we were able to syringe into her mouth. It was like feeding baby food to a baby who clamps their lips tightly together, other than that she was such a good sport about it. I did get Bennebac in her though, and I do have yogurt in the house. I had to order the dri-tail on Amazon because none of my local stores had it. I also got another package of Critical Care. Snow is on the way but everybody is covered and dry and protected from the wind.

Her name is Angel for her temperament.

 

[Alaska Satin]

I hope it's a good sign that she's begun munching her timothy hay. She has a bowl of dry Critical Care with some Benebac just in case she will lick it. She did munch on what we were able to syringe into her mouth. It was like feeding baby food to a baby who clamps their lips tightly together, other than that she was such a good sport about it. I did get Bennebac in her though, and I do have yogurt in the house. I had to order the dri-tail on Amazon because none of my local stores had it. I also got another package of Critical Care. Snow is on the way but everybody is covered and dry and protected from the wind.

Her name is Angel for her temperament.

Yes, you can play around with the consistency of the Critical Care. Some prefer it more or less wet. If she's eating hay, that's definitely a positive development, and you want to keep it clean and refreshed so she'll keep eating. You can also offer her some parsley, chamomile (leaves or flowers) and/or willow branches, all of which I've found can help with appetite and pain relief.

I'd still try to get Critical Care into her at least once a day even if it's with a syringe; she looks like she might be pretty skinny already. Another trick is to mix it fairly wet and smear it on her face and legs, where she'll have to lick it off to clean herself. Many rabbits don't like anything new, especially if they have a bellyache (which you know she does - that's why her gut is making all that mucous), but if she gets used to the taste and starts feeling better, she might like it after all. Or not.

 

[TKT]

Thank you so much for the reply!

Her weight is ok, the pic is from when I got her. This morning the dry Critical Care I left in her bowl was down by about a third to half. Her tray is full of good looking pellets and no mucous! Also normal pee. I'm going to try another moist feeding of CC. She is also more animated.

 

[TKT]

Alaska Satin, awesome eye, yes she IS skinny! I feel all my buns pretty much daily, and she is bigger and darker now than in the pic, but she's lost weight this last week. She had bad ear mites a couple weeks back that I didn't catch because she kept her ears flat. One buck from the same breeder's group had them too, but her ears had looked spotless for so long I thought she was good. We treated again a few days ago. Also did toenails, ear check, and weighed everyone. Could that have been the stress that caused mucous? Poo still looks good and she's gradually eating more.

Another issue, she now has a weak hind leg. She can move on it, but it's weak. I'm wondering if she injured her back, discomfort of which slowed her eating? We put her in an expen the last few days with food, water, a towel, half sun half shade, and she motors around, stretches, suns, eats and naps. I sit with her and cuddle her some. She seems really happy there, and now doesn't want to go back to her house.

I'm not sure what her outcome will be, but she's eating more and no mucous.

I so appreciate the detailed help, advice and kindness, thank you!