I know you probably think I'm silly for worrying as much

as I do, but Hector's tummy is gurgling, I don't think he's in pain as he is binkying around my room as we speak, he's still eating, drinking, and pooing. Even though he's only on a teeny amount of pellets I'm seeing caecotrophs in the morning and have been for the past 3 days, and I think we're on the verge of another smelly poo spell.

I am debating taking him to the vets tomorrow but I don't know if I'd just be over reacting :/ I feel like he hasn't been as active lately, even though he still does have his running around/binky sessions he spends a lot of time sitting around too. I've also noticed a couple of times when he's just been sat that he looks like he's chewing when I'm not aware he's actually eaten anything

Bah, bunnies, who'd have them!!

The sitting around thing ... thats just a bunny thing. They are plotting our demise.

Also the chewing, depends on how loud it is. if it was loud tooth grinding something may be up, but just general chewing i wouldn't worry about.

Just his pellets and hay, I'd rather not change his hay as I have a huge 9.5kg bag of it and I'm not going to waste that (especially if it turns out it's not that) he's been on the hay since day 1 and he's been fine with it, so I really don't think that's what it is

Gurgling can be normal. You can hear Bruce's tummy for miles around when he has been at the water.

And sitting quietly and chomping is often a sign of real contentment.

If you are concerned about the smelly poos talk to your vet, but I think he will grow out of them and they will certainly decrease when he is on a less rich food. And if he is binkying then he is probably ok. It is when buns become still and hide that you need to worry. As with humans, the best tonic for gut problems is to keep your bun moving. If their outer muscles are moving then it will encourage the bowel muscles to move.

Firstly Id never think you were silly! Im sure I worry more than most! ha ha

Secondly I always say to people to trust their gut instincts. You know your bun better than anyone else and you know what is not usual behaviour, buns are creatures of habit.....a change in behaviour should be eyed suspiciously, even if thats just keeping a close eye for a couple of days.

It sounds to me like he is okay if he is binkying and seems quite happy. Buns normally go a bit quiet and hunch up a little if in pain and it sounds like he has plenty of energy.

However, if you feel something isnt quite right then there is no harm in taking him to the vets for a once over.

Give the practice a call first and ask for an appt with the vet that has the most rabbit experience. Be firm in your explanations - don't tell the vet that your not sure if you are overreacting - tell the vet that you feel like something is amiss. Remember you know your bun!

Sending oodles of vibes that everything is tip top......

Ask them to scope his teeth, and listen to his tum.

Good luck hunni x x

I'll see if the smelly poo's come back again, they're ok at the moment, and he's been doing lovely golden poo's. If they come back I may take him to the vets though, just to get him checked out.

I've started changing him over to the adult as I got sent a sample pack with my last hay experts order, then I'll order him a proper bag on Monday

I'm pretty sure nobody on here is ever going to accuse you of worrying too much - it's better than not worrying enough

I agree with Cheryl, I think he's probably still developing the right balance of gut flora.

If you do take him to the vet, ask the vet to show you how to feel his abdomen - you should be able to feel solid poops in the lower gut and this is generally a good thing. Gurgling noises are good too - even if you cannot hear them across the room, you should be able to hear some each side of his tummy if you put your ear up against him.

Zo wrote:I've also noticed a couple of times when he's just been sat that he looks like he's chewing when I'm not aware he's actually eaten anything

Although buns supposedly swallow caecotrophs without chewing them, Humum has noticed that some of us do chew them. Layla does, and I do too... with a look of utter disgust on my face

First of all, don't feel silly for worrying. I worry so much about Willow (and the rest of my menagerie!) and I frequently get told I'm "over reacting" by anyone who has to endure my panic-talk But as Katie has said, you do know your animals better than anyone else, and it's far better to worry too much than not enough!

I think Cheryl basically covered everything I would have said. Willow had a very sensitive tum when she was Hector's age and she just grew out of it over time. Her tummy also gurgles loads when she drinks. Does he drink from a bowl or bottle? Willow has a bowl now and her tum makes far more noise than it did with drinking from a bottle.

Also another thought, when did you start changing him over onto the adult pellets? Maybe he's been given a bit too much of the new food a bit too quickly? Just a thought...

Sending lots of tummy vibes to little Hector and hugs to his worried bunny mummy

I started changing him over last night, he had half a pellet (they are HUGE) in with his normal. He has a bowl and at the moment has pro-c in his water too, should I continue with that or just let his tummy do what it needs to do? The gurgling is definitely after he drinks, which is a relief.

Sparky he used to do his caecotrophs in his litter tray and eat them later, but now he tends to do them at night, though he brazenly did one on my carpet (the cheek!) earlier

Oh, I doubt that's the cause then.

I'd be inclined to continue with Pro-C as I know it helps dodgy tums. But don't quote me on that!

I'm sure someone with a bit more knowledge will be able to tell you for definite

its not silly at all we are all worriers about our fluffs and in turn i'm sure they do things for us to worry about just to get attention

Zo wrote:I started changing him over last night, he had half a pellet (they are HUGE) in with his normal.

You can go faster than this! As a rule of thumb you can change 10% per day if you are cautious. SS adult has aniseed and fenugreek in them - both digestive aids. I know I sound as if I am a supreme rep but I can assure you that I don't use the adult one myself (unless I have acquired a free bag). I use excel and supreme's mature foods for my pair mostly and extra fibafirst on top. But my experience with both Bruce when he was young and Bo when she was here is that it is really the food that is least likely to upset a bun's tum. Rabbits are designed to convert rubbish low nutrient food into energy and for a lot of buns the relatively rich junior pellets are just too full of readily available nutrients for them to cope with.

I know it's just because I'm not giving him very many of his normal pellets, so I thought I'd better start off small!

I know everyone else has answered your queries but I thought I'd agree and say not to worry. No-one thinks you're over worrying, we probably all have at some point thought we're overworrying but you love the little guy and want to look after him properly so you'll of course have worries. For the first year we had Nibbler anything he did which I hadn't seen before I would freak out and worry that he wasn't ok.

Nibbler's tummy gurgles sometimes too.. I have to say, I find something really cute about hearing his little belly gurgling away when you put your ear next to his belly. I've always assumed it's like anyone's belly, you put your ear next to anyone's tum and you can hear ir gurgling away. He also sits there chewing on nothing at times

Sparky wrote:

Zo wrote:I've also noticed a couple of times when he's just been sat that he looks like he's chewing when I'm not aware he's actually eaten anything

Although buns supposedly swallow caecotrophs without chewing them, Humum has noticed that some of us do chew them. Layla does, and I do too... with a look of utter disgust on my face

They are meant to not chew them?! Nibbler seems to take satisfaction out of eating out of his bum then chewing them really slowly. If you ever go 'eeeeerr' at him he does this really funny thing where he stops, stares at you, then slowly starts chewing again. It's really funny, like a 'so what? I will eat my poo and love it!'