Coccidiosis-caused Mucoid Enteritis in Bunnies

May 11

*This is a litter-mate of the kit that we lost about a week and a half ago. This bunny is currently completely healthy and happy!*

This whole issue started about two weeks ago…

Although it’s currently May, our weather here in Western New York can be unpredictable, and two weeks ago, one of the English Angora kits made its way out of the nest box at a little over 2 weeks old on a night that had dipped into the 30’s. When I went out for my 5am check of the litter I found that poor rabbit very cold and only just barely clinging to life.

After racing inside to warm the bunny, I was delighted to eventually see it move and open its eyes. I didn’t trust it to a heating pad or it’s nest box, so I actually went to work for a little while with the bunny tucked inside of my shirt, against my chest. Although it seemed to have recovered from the chill initially, slowly over the next few days, the bunny’s condition deteriorated. Despite caring for it around the clock with syringe feedings, it showed less and less interest in food and became more lethargic. Finally, when I started to hear the kit let out occasional, heart-wrenching screams…I asked Ben to end it’s suffering.

What I didn’t realize was that contrary to what I thought was happening, the kit wasn’t dying from having been chilled…the screams were a sign of what had developed in the aftermath of it’s distress. A problem that unbeknownst to me had already started spreading throughout the other members of the nest box, and would finally openly present itself to me as little jelly-like droppings that started with my favorite, little Vienna-Marked Chocolate kit…

A word of caution: We are not veterinarians. Any knowledge, advice or links that you may make use of in this blog is done at your own risk. Although we seek to share only reputable information, we can not be held responsible for any actions that you take that may result in damage to yourself or your animals, including illness, other bodily injury, or death. Our techniques/medications are not necessarily veterinarian approved, and may not be suitable in all situations.

What is Mucoid Enteritis

*The first kit to show signs of Mucoid Enteritis, with jelly-like droppings. (Please excuse a farm girl’s dirty fingernails!)*

Honestly, there’s not a lot known about the specifics of Mucoid Enteritis/Enteropathy in rabbits. Exactly what causes it is unclear. Rabbit digestive tracts are very sensitive, and any disruption to the movement of food can cause a major threat to the rabbit’s health. With weaning kits, from around 4-7 weeks old, enteritis can be caused by the change in diet of moving from solely drinking their mother’s milk, to exploring bits of hay and pellets. Environmental stress and adrenaline release can lead to the slowing of the movement of food through the digestive tract. This can result in the opportunistic overgrowth of certain bacteria or parasites. I would have to imagine that hypothermia in a young kit would be a very stressful event, which could spark a GI problem.

Ideally, one should consult their veterinarian when they suspect a GI issue with their rabbit. Fecal Float tests can help to pinpoint if there is a specific pathogen to be treated. However, in my case, there are no Exotic vets in my area, not for hours, and the only emergency Exotic vet is Cornell University—which is many hours away. This leaves me treating things the best that I can with what I have available to me.

When I noticed these jelly-like droppings on a kit, they were a huge red flag. I knew that changes in a rabbit’s poop can mean life-threatening issues are afoot, so I did a quick internet search. Uh-oh…could this be Mucoid Enteritis (sometimes called Mucoid Enteropathy)? I went to my trusty Angora group on Facebook to ask the community for their insights. Everyone seemed to confer…enteritis…and high mortality without swift and proper treatment.

Because the GI issue can be caused by such different things, the symptoms are rather varied. You might notice this mucous-y stool…or you might simply find what was a normal, healthy kit the previous evening, deceased in the morning. A kit might scream out or grind its teeth from the pain in its gut. The Facebook community suggested that the most common bacterial cause of enteritis is from various Clostridium species, and the most common parasitic cause is from Coccidia—with Coccidia being the overall most common cause.

What is Coccidiosis

Coccidia is a single-celled protozoan, that is present almost everywhere, including in the digestive tracts of rabbits. Under the right conditions, Coccidia can become parasitic, destroying the cells of host epithelial tissues, as they invade the mucosal lining of the intestine. There are different species of Coccidia that can be present in rabbits. Once a rabbit is infected, it will start passing Coccidia eggs (oocytes) in its feces…and these eggs remain infective in damp environments for long periods of time. When other rabbits ingest these oocytes, they can become infected, too.

Without a fecal float, I wasn’t going to know for sure if I was dealing with Cocci or some other infection or issue with my bunnies. However, I decided that I would bet on the issue being Coccidiosis due to the presence of a very stressed kit having been in the nest box (rather than issues from the kits starting to wean themselves onto solid food), and hoped my odds were good since Coccidia is thought of as the most common cause of enteritis.

What to do for Coccidiosis-caused Mucoid Enteritis…

Treat the Parasite

Thanks to suggestions from the folks on Facebook that had dealt with this same issue in the past, I formulated a game plan that involved multiple medications. Here is the list of what I used, why I chose it, and how I dosed it. I used 1cc syringes to administer all of the medication, and when dispensed slowly, they allow the bunny to sort of lap everything up. This is merely an account of what worked for me, and may not be the best option for your own situation. Please consult your veterinarian before use.

Ivermectin - a common anti-parasitic drug was suggested by one of the Facebook group members, and since I had it immediately on hand and know it to be a relatively safe drug, I dosed the bunnies at 0.1 ml / pound, orally, using the 1% injectable solution. For a bunny, this is a very small amount—just over a drop of solution. I’m noting that I used the Ivermectin, just in case it contributed in any way to the bunnies recovering, but in the hours after administering it, I noticed the chocolate kit declining, and more kits starting to show signs of jelly-like droppings. So while I don’t think it helped in this situation, I think it’s worth mentioning. You can find Ivermectin at Tractor Supply and Amazon, and it’s very useful to have on hand. I treat my rabbits with it at least once per year to prevent wool mites, which can be spread on hay.
Corid (Amprolium) 20% Powder - also available at Tractor Supply and Amazon, Corid contains a coccidiostat, which is a drug that helps to slow the growth of Coccidia by interfering with how the organism uptakes thiamine. It was suggested by another Facebook group member who shared a very similar story of kits coming down with enteritis symptoms. She told me that Corid wasn’t a cure, but that it would slow the Cocci while I waited for the next medication, Toltrazuril, to be shipped. I’ve heard of Corid’s use as a coccidiostat in chickens, but I’ve never had an outbreak. It’s very easy to dose and use. You can either administer it as a drench or diluted into the drinking water. For the entire litter of bunnies, I used the Corid as a drench (given in a more concentrated form orally) because at the time I wasn’t sure how much water they were actually drinking, as they were just starting to wean. The drench is made by mixing 3.2 FL OZ of water with 9g of Corid Powder (note the amounts used will be different if you buy the liquid Corid, rather than the powder). The drench is dosed at 0.3 ml (the same as 0.3 cc) per pound of rabbit. My bunnies received 0.075 ml. Administer the drench once per day for 5 consecutive days. The drench will remain good for 3 days, but for the last 2 days of treatment, you’ll have to make a new stock solution.
All of the other rabbits in the room were preventatively treated with Corid in their drinking water. Because they are given the medication as their sole source of drinking water for 5 days, the solution is much less concentrated than the drench. To make the dilute drinking water solution add ¾ teaspoons of Corid Powder to a gallon of water. I gave them fresh stock solution each day to make sure that no medication had settled. This medicated solution was also the water in the cage with the mother rabbit and litter. I wasn’t concerned about the small amounts of additional medication that the bunnies might receive with the tiny amounts of water they were lapping up at the time. But, just note that my bunnies may have received a slightly higher amount of Corid than the drench alone would have provided, and this may have contributed to their recovery.
Within just a couple hours of administering that first dose of Corid, the chocolate kit that was steadily declining, started to again take interest in nibbling hay and oats, and drinking bits of water. This sudden turn in it’s condition why I believe Coccidiosis was the root cause of the enteritis, in my case.
Toltrazuril 5% - The Facebook user told me that the Corid was meant to be a placeholder while I waited for Toltrazuril to arrive, which would actually eliminate the cocci, rather than just suppress it. Toltrazuril is a coccidiocide that damages the protozoa in multiple ways that don’t affect the rabbit’s own cells. I found it cited that because the mode of action of Toltrazuril is so unique, there is no issue of drug-drug interactions. I ordered a small amount from here and chose 1 Day Shipping, so it arrived the very next day after I had started the Corid. Because I had found this study about the increased effectiveness of using Amprolium and Toltrazuril combined for controlling Coccidiosis in rabbits, I decided to continue the Corid and just add the new medication, rather than swap them out. I dosed the Toltrazuril at 0.18 ml per pound of rabbit. Again, this amounted to just a large drop for a bunny. The Toltrazuril is given one dose every 24 hours for 2 consecutive days, and can be repeated 5 days later. I have since found a less expensive source for a larger quantity of Toltrazuril here.
Neomycin Sulfate - to cover all of my bases, I also administered Neomycin Sulfate, sold under the brand Wet-Tail Drops for Hamsters. I found an article that suggested that enteritis survival was increased by treating with this antibiotic that targeted bacteria of the intestines. Now, ideally, I never want to wipe out the gut bacteria of a bunny, but because enteritis is such a serious issue, I decided that it would be better to wipe out any bad bacterial overgrowth quickly, as gut stasis can quickly throw gut flora out of whack. I followed the dosing on the package, administering the antibiotic 2x per day for 6 days to the litter, while following the hamster dosing guidelines. I gave 9 drops to my bunnies at each dose (the package recommends giving half-sized doses to animals under 3 months of age). I gave Winnie, the mother, 1 cc 1x per day for 6 consecutive days.

Support the Body as it Fights

Lots of hay! If your rabbit is still eating, fiber helps to push things through the system. If your rabbits are eating pellets, it’s best to remove them for a day or so, and provide large quantities of fresh hay. Personally, I avoid large quantities of treats, including greens, fruits, and vegetables. These items can easily throw off the guts of rabbits that aren’t used to them.
Baby gas drops (simethicone) You’ll find these at your local pharmacy, and can be used for all sorts of situations. They can be helpful for Angoras in the beginning stages of wool block, but they also help with the gut pain associated with enteritis, as well help to move things along in the digestive tract. For the chocolate kit in distress, I gave 1cc every hour for the first 3 hours, and then reduced it to 1cc every 3 hours until the kit seemed to no longer be in distress. For all of the other kits (and also the chocolate kit once it was no longer distressed), I added 1cc of the drops to the Critical Care mixture that I describe below.
Pedialyte With any form of diarrhea, hydration is essential. I used Unflavored Pedialyte (or rather the off brand at my local grocery store) as the base in my Critical Care recipe below.
Critical Care Because the chocolate kit had gone off food, I was feeding it every few hours with a few milliliters of a mixture made from ½ tbsp Critical Care, 1.5 tbsp of Pedialyte, 0.5 ml Baby Gas Drops, and a dash of yogurt for probiotics. The other kits that were still showing signs of nursing and eating some hay were given this mixture just twice per day.
Yogurt, Apple Cider Vinegar or Bene-bac To replace the gut flora that was damaged with the treatment, I added small amounts of yogurt to their feeding formula. After ending the Corid water, a small dash of raw ACV to their water also helps to add some beneficial bacteria back into their systems. Bene-bac was highly recommended in the Facebook community. And while I have it ordered, I haven’t yet received it.

What I used to treat the bunnies from left to right: plain whole yogurt, Neomycin Sulfate drops, Ivermectin (injectable), Toltrazuril, Corid Powder, Simethicone Gas Relief Drops, Critical Care Fine Grind, Unflavored Electrolytes

Post-Recovery and Prevention

One key point that every resource I consulted seemed to stress was that you need to treat your entire herd. If cocci is the root of the issue, it’s very hard to effectively quarantine healthy rabbits from sick rabbits once a problem had presented itself. Many breeders recommend preventative courses of Corid a few times each year to keep the Coccidia under control, should another stressful even occur that could weaken a rabbit.

Some other breeders recommend giving Toltrazuril whenever an animal experiences stress, such as preventatively around the time of weaning, or when an animal must travel such as a bunny moving to a new home or going to a show.

Ultimately, the best tool in your kit for healthy rabbits is your observation. The first part of the battle is recognizing that something is wrong. Closely monitoring droppings is such a powerful indicator of your rabbits’ health. Anything that deviates from a normal, healthy dropping can mean a problem is starting, and the earlier that you catch it, the more likely you are to help correct it. I was not familiar with enteritis two weeks ago, however, by recognizing that a change had occurred and reaching out for help, as well as doing some research, I was luckily able to help my kits. I’m so grateful to everyone who took the time to contribute their knowledge and experience. I’m hoping that I’ve shared at least one little bit of information that will help someone else dealing with a similar situation.

If you have any questions about the specifics of what I did with my bunnies, feel free to reach out!

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