# Uneaten Cecotropes?



## xEmmziex (Jan 22, 2012)

Hey everyone just wondering if anyone has the same problem my bunny tends to eat cecotropes straight from her bum but I still find around 4 un eaten ones in her cage. What should 8 do? Sometimes she stands in them so I constantly check on her. I feed her pellets and recently giving her vegetables carrots and cucumber (but not too much) Also how much should I be feeding her? Im a little unsure if shes now a 'Adult' I got Fudge from a breeder on 23rd October shes a little cutie, I spend my time worrying and googling everything hence why I joined


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## buster2369 (Jan 22, 2012)

I noticed my Buster sometimes doesn't notice that his cecotropes are sitting around. I let him sniff them out and and if he is not interested I pick it up with a tissue and throw them out. He eats plenty of them straight out of his bum so I figure he's getting enough...  I just think sometimes he's not in the mood to eat them 

As for the veggies if Fudge is able to tolerate them then it's OK. Just make sure she's getting plenty of hay. She's still a growing bunny so some alfalfa hay would also be fine...

Rabbits can start eating veggies around 4 months...


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## xEmmziex (Jan 22, 2012)

This is why its took me so long to introduce veggies as I didnt know what these poops were at the time! with her being 5 months is she classed as an adult and how much food does she need? As most mornings she runs around in her cage waiting to be fed sometimes I worry im not feeding her enough :expressionless


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## ZRabbits (Jan 22, 2012)

*xEmmziex wrote: *


> This is why its took me so long to introduce veggies as I didnt know what these poops were at the time! with her being 5 months is she classed as an adult and how much food does she need? As most mornings she runs around in her cage waiting to be fed sometimes I worry im not feeding her enough :expressionless



Bunnies should be fed free choice pellets and hay until they are 7-8 months. Start cutting back on the pellets then so by 1 year, they are used to the amount required by an adult rabbilt. 

You can introduce veggies to them at 4 months, but do it gradually as they could get upset stomachs. Always introduce new foods to rabbits slowly. Their digestive tracts needs to understand the food and learn to process it before it can say, Hey this is good for me. Well, that's how I look at it. Also

Fruits can be introduced at 7 months. You have to watch rabbits with sugar. Do the same slow introduction to each fruit. Also introduce one new thing at a time. If your bunny has problems, you will know the culprit. 

I did this with all my rabbits. They are doing just fine. 

Regarding the age of a rabbit, this is how I remember.


Babies: 0 to 4 months
Teenager: 4 to 1 year
Adult: Year to HOPEFULLY a very long life. 

K


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## buster2369 (Jan 22, 2012)

I was very nervous when I saw a cecotrope for the first time. I thought my rabbit was sick and having diarrhea. After reading stuff on here I realized that it was a normal process and I was just seeing it for the first time because the rabbit normally eats it. It's natural to worry... everyone does it


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## xEmmziex (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks so much for the advice  I have wagg bunny food what are pellets made from? I saw nuggets in the pet store just brown pellets are they the same? Shes just having too many cecotropes


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## Bonnie Lee (Jan 23, 2012)

Hi 
Good pellets should be hay based...
In Australia, the greener the pellets the better they are
for the bunny with lots of fibre in them.

My bunnies squash their left over cecotropes... Ick ha ha.
I just clean it up.


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## Meru (Jan 23, 2012)

Hey what a coincidence! I literally was just signing on to ask a question about this. I hope it's alright if I post this question in here, as to not clog up the forum with the same question. So my situation is just a bit different.

My bunny just started making Cecotropes yesterday, the first time I sort of panicked, because I thought maybe it was diarrhea, and I threw it out. I looked it up there after to see what it was, only to realize it was Cecotropes [ Boy was I happy. ]

Well I felt bad, but I decided that she could form more. Which she did today, this is her second time. Problem is, she's not eating it, though she has been eating a LOT more pellets, and hay lately. She has an appetite that can't be stopped. I'm just concerned, because I read that if they don't eat it, she can get malnutrition or something. 

Did I mess up her flow by throwing away the first one? I feel so bad.


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## Bonnie Lee (Jan 23, 2012)

Hi Meru! I think mods prefer people starting their own threads
to ask questions but I could be wrong since yours is very similar. 

i never see my buns eat their cecotropes as they're very
sneaky and go hide in the corner when I'm asleep or not around
ha ha. and they still have left overs sometimes that end up on the floor.


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## ZRabbits (Jan 23, 2012)

*Bonnie Lee wrote: *


> Hi Meru! I think mods prefer people starting their own threads
> to ask questions but I could be wrong since yours is very similar.
> 
> i never see my buns eat their cecotropes as they're very
> ...



Meru, I don't see why you can't jump on a thread if you have the similar question. Like Bonnie, not sure of the protocol, but I don't see a problem. Why ask the same question when it's already been asked, right?

Anyway, my rabbits usually do their "eating" in the early morning. That's when I usually sometimes see one or two in the litter box, or next to it squashed because they missed one and stepped on it. Mine, like Bonnie's, are very private so I don't see them doing this "nasty" but nutritional habit. 

Don't feel bad. They do miss some every once in a while. Now that you know what it is and it's normal for rabbits, just chalk it up to a learning experience. 

Lots to learn when dealing with rabbits. 

K


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## oryctolaguslady (Jan 23, 2012)

Don't worry about your rabbit not consuming all the cecotrophs: according to some studies that have been done, rabbits that get complete nutrition in their diets do not consume as many of their cecotrophs. (The cecotrophs are a way to get more nutriiton from their food, and they seem to know when they need to eat more and when they don't.) Just clean them up so they don't get smashed all over and stink everything up!


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## Bunnylova4eva (Jan 23, 2012)

I'd limit some of the veggies. From what I've found with my bunnies, some bunnies have a more sensitive system then others. Ripley couldn't start having veggies until he was about 7 months old. Until then, whenever I tried to add the smallest bit of veggies or anything besides hay and pellets, there would be cecotrophs in his hutch. Now he's 7 1/2 mo. and is doing great with veggies.


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## xEmmziex (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the advice, Where can I get high fibre pellets if anyone could suggest a brand for me?? Also with her being 5 months how much should she be eating? As every morning she runs like a looney in her cage waiting to be fed!


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## ZRabbits (Jan 24, 2012)

*xEmmziex wrote: *


> Thanks everyone for the advice, Where can I get high fibre pellets if anyone could suggest a brand for me?? Also with her being 5 months how much should she be eating? As every morning she runs like a looney in her cage waiting to be fed!



Here's something to look at to be able to find out what needs to be in the pellet for your rabbit.

*PELLETS** A high quality commercial rabbit pellet provides trace nutrients, vitamins and minerals that a rabbit might not get if fed only hay and fresh foods. However, very little pelleted food is required for good health. Many experienced rabbit veterinarians are now recommending no more than 1/8 cup of quality pellets per 5 lbs. of rabbit per day, and some even consider commercial pellets a "treat food" that can promote obesity in spayed/neutered adult rabbits. A rabbit fed too many pellets will sometimes ignore hay, to the detriment of the intestinal system! ** A good quality rabbit pellet DOES NOT contain dried fruit, seeds, nuts, colored crunchy things or other things that are attractive to our human eyes, but very unhealthy to a rabbit. Rabbits are strict herbivores, and in nature they rarely get fruit, nuts or other such fatty, starchy foods. The complex flora of the cecum can quickly become dangerously imbalanced if too much simple, digestible carbohydrate is consumed--especially if the diet is generally low in fiber. The result is often "poopy butt syndrome," in which mushy fecal matter cakes onto the rabbit's behind. This a sign of cecal dysbiosis, which can foment much more serious health problems. *
* A good quality rabbit pellet should have at least 22% crude fiber, no more than approximately 14% protein, about 1% fat and about 1.0% calcium. Check the label on the rabbit pellets before you buy. Most commercial pellets are alfalfa-based, which means they're higher in calories and lower in fiber than timothy-based pellets. *
* Baby rabbits may be fed unlimited pellets, as their bones and muscles need plenty of protein and calcium for proper growth. However, the calories and nutrients of commercial pellets fed ad libitum exceeds the needs of a healthy adult rabbit, and will not only promote obesity, but discourage the rabbit from consuming enough hay to ensure good intestinal health. *
* The wise "bunny parent" will begin to gradually taper the quantity of pellets once the rabbit is about eight to twelve months old. and feed no more than 1/8 cup per day for every four pounds of rabbit (you can give a little bit more if the pellets are timothy-based). Some rabbit caregivers complain that their rabbits won't eat their hay. If the problem is not medical in nature (e.g., molar spurs and other dental problems are a common problem responsible for "picky eating"), then it may be that the rabbit is eating too many pellets, isn't hungry, and so doesn't eat the hay so vital to his/her health. Take the tough love approach! Cut back the pellets until you are sure your rabbit is eating enough hay. *


http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html


I don't know what brand they have where you are but in the United States I use ZuPreem. There is also Oxbow and Kaytee. 

With my rabbits at 5 months, I made sure they had pellets all the time. They are still growing babies then. By 7-8 months, it's time to start cutting back to what they will eat when they are adults. 

Hope this helps.

K


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## Ashwii10 (Apr 4, 2012)

Hey everyone, I stumbled across this while lookin for answers about cecotropes. I'm a new rabbit owner, so I need a little help. My rabbit is a holland lop named Scarlett, she is an inside rabbit so I clean her cage around once or twice a day. I just found out about cecotropes. She has very many stuck to the bottom of her cage. I do not know if she eats them or not. But like I said there is alot. Is that normal?


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