# My Rabbit is eating his feces!



## wishbone332 (Mar 6, 2004)

[align=left]*My rabbit, Mr.Cuddles, was sick tohis stomach yesterday. I took him to the vet, and he said Mr.Cuddleswas in need of surgery. I agreed, and today, the vet gave him back tome and said he was sick because some feces were digested byhim!!!*[/align]
[align=left]*Thevet gave him a pill, but he's still eating them today!!! What should Ido?!*[/align]


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## pamnock (Mar 6, 2004)

"Coprophagy", the eating of feces, is an importantpart of your rabbit's health and is the manner in which rabbits"manufacture" and redigest complex B vitamins. These specialfeces that the rabbit eats are called "cecotropes".

Pamela Nock ~ ARBA Rabbit Registrar

http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/


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## wishbone332 (Mar 6, 2004)

*But should I take Mr.Cuddles to thevet for this? Or is this vitamin essential?*


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## Carolyn (Mar 6, 2004)

No need for a vet visit. It's normal rabbit behavior and very importantthat they do this in order to get the vitamins they need.


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## sfritzp (Mar 6, 2004)

What do you mean he was 'sick to his stomach' ?? Ibeleive (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that rabbits are incapableof vomiting. What symptoms was he exhibiting?
What kind of surgery did he have? Did he have an intestinal obstruction?
And finally, if your vet doesn't know that rabbits are SUPPOSE to eattheir feces, I suggest you start looking for a rabbit-savy vet as soonas possible.
I do pray that Mr Cuddles is feeling better.


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## pamnock (Mar 6, 2004)

Perhaps you can give us more details on what Mr.Cuddles symptoms are, what exactly the vet has given him and any otherdetails you can provide.

Pamela Nock ~ ARBA Rabbit Registrar

http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/


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## Carolyn (Mar 7, 2004)

I'm with sfritzp on this one. If your vet didn't know that rabbits eattheir own feces, I'd dump him/her immediately and get someone thatknows something about rabbits. Certainly, I would advise strongly toget a second opinion.


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## wishbone332 (Mar 7, 2004)

*I'm back!!! *

_*AndI'mwith you, Carolyn and spfitz (did I spell it right?)!Maybe I should get a new vet! And spfitz, I'm in the middle of a usefulrabbit encyclopedia I got from the library and it says that rabbits,just like dogs, cats, and humans, are capable of vomiting. So there. Ijust answered one of your questions! But I'm really busy and have togo, but I'll be back soon to read more of your questions, read more ofyour advice, and answer more of your confusing but yet quite wittyquestions sooner or later. In other words, seeya!*_

*Have fun,*

*Wishbone (332) *


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## pamnock (Mar 7, 2004)

This is an interesting site that explains the digestive system of the rabbit 

http://cda.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1634.html



Pamela Nock ~ ARBA Rabbit Registrar

http://www.geocities.com/pamnock/


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## Ceri (Mar 9, 2004)

This has happened to my nursery pet rabbit, he kepteating quite alot of his feaces when i phone my vet they suggestedgradually weening onto another food as it may be too rich for him whichalso it means to the rabbit it smells like food. Hope this is any help



Ceri XX


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## wishbone332 (Mar 9, 2004)

*Thanks you guys! That info is boundto be very useful! I'll have a look at that site right now! Be backsoon!*

*Thanks for the facts,*

*Wishbone (332)*


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## wishbone332 (Mar 9, 2004)

*Thanks for the info, pamnock (and ceri)! Itwas real useful! Oh! And by the way, pamnock, I checked out that webpage and it was really a very informational and useful site! Thankslots, you two!*

*Thanks for all your help,*

*Wishbone (332)*


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## dUtCh (Mar 26, 2004)

Don't worry! It is common for rabbits to eat its feaces...my bunny, Monty eat his too!


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## StickyBird (Mar 26, 2004)

What?!I was pretty sure that rabbits do NOT vomit. Even thereceptionist believed that to be true... Well, hopefully afew more people can shed some light on this. And it is normalfor rabbits to eat their cecotropes, but they look quite different fromnormal feces am I right? I mean, if Wishbone's rabbit waseating its _regular_ feces, might that pose a problem? Ithink I'm a bit confused...

--Melissa and Umbra


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## MyBunnyLovesMe (Mar 26, 2004)

I've seen my rabbit eat her normal feces. She usedto poop in my room, but then she'd basically clean up after herself andeat it....it's icky! lol.


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## dUtCh (Mar 27, 2004)

Stickybird,you mean thatrabbits have morethanone type of faece...I thought faeces are just faeces, nodifference..Ohh gosh , I am totally confused!:?


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## pamnock (Mar 27, 2004)

*dUtCh wrote:*


> Stickybird,you mean thatrabbits have morethanone type of faece...I thought faeces are just faeces, nodifference..Ohh gosh , I am totally confused!:?


Here's a link that will provide more info for you 

http://islandgems.net/nightdroppings.html



Pam


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## Pepper (Mar 27, 2004)

I think this information is helpful,I have a dwaftrabbit that is a year old and I got him when he was 3 months old andthis is the first rabbit I ever had.When,I started to see him eat hisfeces,I'm thinking how sick,but when I read this information it helpedme to know it is normal for them to do that.I'm glad I came across thisrabbit forum.


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## Carolyn (Mar 27, 2004)

Hi Pepper,

I'm glad you came to this forum too. We welcome your ideas and experiences.

-Carolyn


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## dUtCh (Mar 28, 2004)

Thanks a lot Pamnock! Now , I have clear my doubts....learning more abt bunnies


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## MyBunnyLovesMe (Mar 28, 2004)

Okay I read the info, and I've never seen greengrapie like poops, so does that mean she's eating them?? I've seen hera few times with her head between her legs... wasn't sure if she wascleaning herself or what....


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## pamnock (Mar 28, 2004)

*MyBunnyLovesMe wrote: *


> Okay I read the info, and I've never seen green grapie likepoops, so does that mean she's eating them?? I've seen her a few timeswith her head between her legs... wasn't sure if she was cleaningherself or what....


Yes -- a rabbit ingests the cecotropes directly from theanus. They normally do not eat them off the cagefloor. These droppings are normally moist and very dark incolor.

A healthy rabbit with a balanced diet does not produce an overabundance of cecotropes, so you normally won't see them.

Pam


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## dUtCh (Mar 31, 2004)

That explains why I didn't see those cecotropes.It means that Monty ispink health!!


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## donnalee52 (Apr 23, 2004)

You might want to recheck your information.

When we first got our rabbit I read a lot of the websites concerningtheir care, and I've yet to find one that didn't say that a rabbit isincapable of vomiting.

In fact, when I took her for her first checkup the vet gave us a paperwhich talked about rabbits and their care. In the paper they also saidthat a rabbit could not vomit.


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## pamela227 (Apr 24, 2004)

I have a couple rabbit handbooks that I boughtwhen I got my rabbit, and they too say that rabbits are NOT capable ofvomitting. That is one of the reasons giving them Timothy hay and goodpellet food is so important.. they contain fiber &amp; stuffthat helps break down and prevent hairballs from happeningsince a rabbit cannot vomit ahairball like catscan. Maybe the encyclopedia has outdated information in it? 

Either way, I'd get a second opinion on what is wrong with your bunnybefore agreeing to surgery. If you can post the symptoms on here thereare many wonderful helpful people on this forum that can give yousuggestions and remedies as well as help you try to find out what iswrong with your lil one! Be sure to check to see if your bunny's eyesor nose is runny too, those are common signs of illness.

~pam


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## MyBabyBunnies (Apr 24, 2004)

As taken from http://www.cah.com/library/rabbitdiseases.html

_*Hairballs:*_

_Like cats, rabbits (especially Angora rabbits) frequently develophairballs within their stomachs. But unlike cats, rabbits cannot vomit.As a result, hair that is swallowed from the frequent grooming passesinto the stomach and remains there. Over time, the hair develops into asolid mass. As the hairball increases in size, it begins to occupy moreand more of the stomach, leaving less room for food. Initial signs of ahairball problem include changes in the consistency of the fecalpellets, reluctance to eat pellets, and more interest in eating greensand treat items. Later signs include inappetence, smaller fecal pelletsor none passed at all, weakness, weight loss and, eventually, deathfrom starvation._


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## carrots (Apr 26, 2004)

FACT:Feces are meantto be eaten. Rabbit carn't always grab nutrients from their food thefirst time round so to get the rest of the nutrients they eat theirfeces, it's nothing to woory about it is a common fact.


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## Cher (Apr 26, 2004)

Pls refer to thread where I stated that my "bunnysitter" was scared &amp;^%$ of having to tell me about what he SAW:shock:my girls eat whilst I was gone.....hahaha

Gotta agree with the last post


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## MyBunnyLovesMe (Apr 26, 2004)

I still haven't seen my rabbit eat her owncrap.... well, I've seen her eat her normal poops, but not the specialpoops. well, I've seen her with her head between her legs once but thatdoesn't really mean she ate anything ? But I have seen her eat herlittle hard round poops!


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## carrots (Apr 26, 2004)

yea, all poops contain nutrients so it don't really matter which your rabbit does or doesn't eat. 

View attachment logo.gif


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## MyBunnyLovesMe (Apr 26, 2004)

Well....that's....good....and gross... lol.


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## carrots (Apr 26, 2004)

Don't ask me why the picture above has any relevance i don't know why i added it.


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## AmberNBuns (May 20, 2004)

*wishbone332 wrote:*


> _*itsays that rabbits, just like dogs, cats, and humans, are capable ofvomiting*_


I think we have established that it is common opinion that rabbits donot vomit. I just wanted to add that this is the reason thatrabbits do not need their food withheld before surgery. Theonly reason to withhold food is to keep the anesthetic from making theanimal vomit while under. Since rabbits do not vomit,withholding their food is unneccessary and could lead to GI stasis (Thecease of the function of their digestive tract, caused by an emptydigestive tract) which will rob your bunny's life from you.

If your vet requests you to fast your rabbit, DUMP HIM. :X

FYI.


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## octet23 (Jul 9, 2004)

My advice is to clean out his cageevery morning, to distracts him or her with other food such as carrots,his regualar food and those little bars that have the corn or whateverin them



Good Luck!!!!

Octet23:dude:


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## mhiszxpinay (Jul 12, 2004)

what are feces by the way..im a bit confused


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## rabbitgirl (Jul 13, 2004)

bunny poop....

Rose


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## *nepo* (Oct 15, 2004)

What are feces?


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## *nepo* (Oct 15, 2004)

Sorry I repeated the question I can't delete it


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## wishbone332 (Nov 24, 2004)

*I dumped the vet with a lot ofsuccess, thanks to you, AmberNBuns! I left Mr. Cuddles to do hisbusiness in peace, and eat it too! Thanksguys!*

*Wishbone 332*


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## *nepo* (Nov 24, 2004)

So it is okay if bunnies eattheir normal feces (the round ones)? I haven't seen my bunny eat hisfeces (the dark and gooey ones) Maybe he does it at night. I said ina post way back that my bunny eas overweight, but I'm glad to say thathe is losing excesive weight after I changed his diet. So maybe hedfoesn't do it so often:?.


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## Buck Jones (Nov 24, 2004)

Yeah, I don't believe eating their own regularfeces will do them any harm. I've seen all our rabbits do iton some occasion or another and they all survived the practice.

Buck


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## hoppy2005 (Jan 10, 2005)

hi. i'm new to this page so please be easy on me. i have a Holland Lop 

and he is the most loved and cared for. spoiled too. when i first got him home

he peed on me. is this normal? then he got pooping on the floor even when i put 

paper down so he wouldn't. but the silly bunny still does. i've seen him do things that 

i think he shouldn't be doing. he eats paper and won't chew on his honey stick so he

won't eat the paper. i put hay in at first then went to paper. should i go back to hay?

he always scratches himself and i don't why. when he runs and jumps does that 

he is comfortable in his new home? he also lays flat on his belly. what does this 

mean?my cats don't mind him but my older cat swats at him once in awhile. the

other cat is always running from him. he has to litter boxes one for his cage and one

out of the cage. (it's a cat litter box) so these are the things i was wondering about

i hope you don't think i have no clue on bunnies. i had one when i was 14 and have 

forgotton on what there are for a rabbit. he's only 8 wks old if that is another thing.





thanx

tina bridges


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## lanna21974 (Jan 10, 2005)

*hoppy2005 wrote:*


> when i first got him home he peed on me. is thisnormal?when he runs and jumps does that he iscomfortable in his new home? he also lays flat on his belly. what doesthis mean?


Sorry I cant help with all the questions but.......A youngrabbit will most definitely pee on you. LOL Mine have done so manytimes. I have had older ones do it also but usually when I've held themtoo long and they couldnt get to a nice place to potty. (besides on methat is)

If he's running and jumping while tilting his head it's most likely abinky and that means he is happy. Also, a bunny that stretches outrelaxing is very happy too. 

Welcome to the forum.

Lanna


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## samandshawn (Apr 25, 2005)

*wishbone332 wrote:*


> _*I'm in the middle of auseful rabbit encyclopedia I got from the library and it says thatrabbits, just like dogs, cats, and humans, are capable of vomiting. Sothere. *_


I think that this book should be withdrawn from the library. Perhaps its old??


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