Has anyone noted extremes in hot temperatures leading to diarrhea? I'm not seeing any real "jelly" in the poops this time around. But their rearends are caked with poop. They're 7 week old holland lops who had been previously very healthy until this hot snap in Maine. I've been keeping their grain fresh daily by changing it completely out to avoid moisture in the pellets from all the humidity.
Hot Weather Stress Lead to Diarrhea?
- Thread starter wildeden
- Start date
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Several factors can cause diahhrea in hot weather
- they may be drinking more and it can cause digestive upset - mine tend to eat more hay in the worst heat and avoid their pellets that are higher in protein and increase body heat during digestion.
- water gets polluted quicker in hot weather - bottles can look clean but have transparent bacterial biofilms in them as well as blue-green algae growth
- it's too hot to properly groom themselves so a little quickly becomes a lot - I pluck all fur around my lion lops bottoms to avoid this problem, even in cool weather
- Its too hot to move so they might not be eating their cecotropes as they should
- heat stress suppresses their immune systems and opportunistic diseases (such as coccidia) can flare up
- they may be drinking more and it can cause digestive upset - mine tend to eat more hay in the worst heat and avoid their pellets that are higher in protein and increase body heat during digestion.
- water gets polluted quicker in hot weather - bottles can look clean but have transparent bacterial biofilms in them as well as blue-green algae growth
- it's too hot to properly groom themselves so a little quickly becomes a lot - I pluck all fur around my lion lops bottoms to avoid this problem, even in cool weather
- Its too hot to move so they might not be eating their cecotropes as they should
- heat stress suppresses their immune systems and opportunistic diseases (such as coccidia) can flare up
Thank you for the detailed answer, Dood!
A couple of questions so that I can work on preventatives:
Aside from cleaning the water bottles, I heard you can also add ACV to the water to prevent algae growth - is this something worth doing?
Would Sub Q fluids make things worse? The kits were eager to eat some oats. I can clean up their bottoms. They're very spiny but still active and not grinding their teeth.
A couple of questions so that I can work on preventatives:
Aside from cleaning the water bottles, I heard you can also add ACV to the water to prevent algae growth - is this something worth doing?
Would Sub Q fluids make things worse? The kits were eager to eat some oats. I can clean up their bottoms. They're very spiny but still active and not grinding their teeth.
Frosted Rabbits
Well-known member
Dood hit everything I can think of. Yes, adding some vinegar or even Vanilla flavoring/extract will suppress algal growth. Make sure you have ventilation so those heat radiating ears can work as efficiently as possible. Avoid corn and alfalfa!
