Can artificial flavors in rabbit pellets cause digestive issues?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Make sure Penelope's diet is proper. stop all leafy greens & fresh vegetables. She should have no more than 1/4 cup of fresh rabbit pellets, & a body size pile of timothy hay. Tomorrow, take a sample of her stool for analysis to your vet. They will see if she has any intestinal parasites including coccidia. Based on this, your vet may recommend putting her on a diet of Critical care to increase fiber, or if she needs antibiotics. I hope she is well soon. Take care.

You should never withhold food from rabbits, they must constantly graze to maintain gut health and movement. Ensure the pellets are a high fibre formula and fresh (within date and not damp/musty) and i recommend you use a rabbit probiotic also. Contact your vet immediately if any change in appetite, weakness or reduced thirst is noted

For now, stop feeding anything but hay or timothy hay pellets. Provide water or unflavored PediaLyte to prevent dehydration. Keep his bottom clean and dry. Keep his cage clean and decrease or eliminate any negative stimuli. Severe diarrhea can be deadly in rabbits, so it is important to have Gabi examined by your veterinarian as soon as possible. A rabbit's diet should be at least 80% timothy hay or similar grasses. They require a high fiber diet to maintain gut health. Limit vegetables ( 2 cups per 6lbs daily) and pellets ( 1/8 cup per 6lbs daily) to prevent obesity. Fruit should be given only occasionally if at all.

Diarrhea is definitely bad for rabbits. There can be multiple causes, ranging from different bacterial infections, stress, diet, parasites, and more. You can read more about this at https://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/ . If your rabbit is having diarrhea they should be seen by a veterinarian for an exam as untreated it can become very dangerous as they can become dehydrated and can end up with bacteria in the bloodstream if the condiiton progresses.

Hello. There are just too many questions that need to be answered in order to offer any advice. The best thing is to have your bunny examined by a veterinarian who can check Laddu for intestinal parasites, discuss the diet you are feeding her & possibly start her on a Critical Care diet & possibly antibiotics. There is no way for me to know if this is infectious, parasitic or a dysbiosis, so a good evaluation is imperative. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Thumper! Diarrhea in rabbits is cause for concern as it can be caused by bacterial disturbances which can be life-threatening. The stress of a new environment, diet change, and possibly not eating/drinking for a while may have caused this. I recommend keeping a very close eye on Thumper and having him seen by a vet immediately if he has diarrhea again, loses his appetite, or is lethargic. He may need antibiotics and supportive care to get better.

I'd be concerned that the color of Ripley's diarrhea is due to blood, but given she ate some rabbit food, this could be irritating her GI tract. I can give you a home remedy to see if that helps. Withhold food for 6 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, you continue to see blood in her feces, she starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.