Is This Concerning?

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Today I noticed my 3 month old Netherland Buck had clear jelly-like stuff mixed in with his poop
He lives in the same cage with another Buck and when I got them out two days ago they were both really active


They both only eat out of one of their food bowls but I haven't noticed if either haven't been eating
I can feel some of his bones but he isn't that skinny

 

[Alaska Satin]

Today I noticed my 3 month old Netherland Buck had clear jelly-like stuff mixed in with his poop
He lives in the same cage with another Buck and when I got them out two days ago they were both really active


They both only eat out of one of their food bowls but I haven't noticed if either haven't been eating
I can feel some of his bones but he isn't that skinny

Yes, that looks like mucoid enteritis. I've had to deal with it mostly in the dwarf breeds (Mini Rex, Polish) in our barn. Their intestines are aggravated and produce that mucous in response. They tend to drink a lot, and if your bunny has a water bowl, you might find him sitting with his front feet in it. He could have developed a belly ache from the stress of a move, or from a change in diet; in any case, he'll probably get more and more skinny as time goes on, if you don't intervene. It's good that you noticed it early.

We take the rabbits suffering from mucoid enteritis off pellets, give them hay only for a while. We often give them Nutridrops to bump up their nutrition since they usually go off their feed, and Benebac or some other herbivore probiotic to re-establish a good balance in their gut microbiome. Sometimes it's also been necessary to give them Neomycin oral if they continue to go downhill (unfortunately, now that's prescription only).

I don't breed rabbits that have had this problem as the tendency does seem to be heritable.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

The only change in his diet is that they've been getting quite a few strawberry tops lately, I'm not sure if he's been eating those (almost none have )
Should he be moved to his own cage for a while?

 

[Alaska Satin]

The only change in his diet is that they've been getting quite a few strawberry tops lately, I'm not sure if he's been eating those (almost none have )
Should he be moved to his own cage for a while?

If you can move him to his own cage where he can still see and maybe interact with the buck he's used to living with, like a cage next door, that might be a good idea. But since it's hard to say what the stressor was, I'd be afraid to make too big a change in his life at this point.

At three months old, he was probably fairly recently weaned, yes? His gut ache could have been developing for a while and just reached the critical point where it started producing mucous.

Another thing - keep an eye on his bum, since most rabbits don't want to ingest the mucous, so they stop cleaning themselves. You might have to clean it up for him for a little while.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

At three months old, he was probably fairly recently weaned, yes? His gut ache could have been developing for a while and just reached the critical point where it started producing mucous.

He got his own place with others separate from his mother in the second week of April

Another thing - keep an eye on his bum, since most rabbits don't want to ingest the mucous, so they stop cleaning themselves. You might have to clean it up for him for a little while.

I have noticed it already needs to be cleaned again, I'll try and remember to check it regularly

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I haven't seen any of it today and his tail isn't dirty
He's eating hay fine

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

He's been doing a lot better now
He's only had a few days last week where he had it a little, the other day I saw him eating pellets and the bowl's been emptier since then. They've been getting hay daily instead of every other day like the others and I've been seeing him eat that the whole time