Oxbow Animal Health

Vet Speak

In this section, Dr. Micah Kohles, Oxbow’s Director of Technical Services, answers all of your animal health related questions.  If you have a question for Micah regarding the health or behavior of your small animal, send it to web@oxbowanimalhealth.com.

Dear Dr. Kohles,

My year old rabbit recently hasn't been eating her cecotrophs and they've been mushy. Is she just not getting enough timothy hay? Should I reduce her pellets? (She doesn’t eat many of them anyways, so I haven't.)

Also, I'm having trouble picking a good vet, as many of them claim to treat rabbits but I’m not sure which are experienced/accredited or at least sought after. I live in Oshawa Ontario Canada and was hoping you would know of a good one or at least a well known clinic in the Durham area (closer the better of course!) If not, I appreciate the effort.

Thank you for your time
Jen Smuck

Ms. Smuck:

It is important for rabbits to eat all of their cecotrophs and concerning to me that your little one is not. Cecotrophs can naturally be somewhat soft and mushy. Fiber, in the form of timothy hay or orchard grass, is a key component of a healthy gastrointestinal system in rabbits and should make up ~70% of their diet and be available to the animal at all times. I would feed only the recommended amount of a grass hay based pellet, such as Oxbow’s Bunny Basics Timothy (BBT).

I would strongly recommend you see a qualified veterinarian to have your rabbit evaluated for the soft stools. The vet finder on Oxbow’s website is a great resource for finding qualified exotics veterinarians in your area. You can access it here. Another good resource is the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians website: www.aemv.org. Best of luck, and please let me know how things progress and if I can be of any additional help.

Sincerely,

Micah Kohles DVM
Director of Technical Services
Oxbow Animal Health

To read Dr. Kohles' archived Vet Speak questions, click here.