Pet Rabbits - Coprophagy and Rabbits

Coprophagy and Rabbits

Rabbits are hindgut fermenters and therefore have an enlarged cecum. The cecum allows rabbits to digest, via fermentation what they otherwise would not be able to metabolically process. Because a rabbit has a sensitive and rather substantial gastrointestinal tract, a rabbit’s diet should consist of some amount of fiber. Without a proper diet, gastrointestinal stasis can occur and have detrimental effects on the animal itself. It is in the cecum that this fiber is digested.

After a rabbit ingests food, the food travels down the esophagus and through a small valve called the cardia. In rabbits, this valve is very well pronounced and makes the rabbit incapable of vomiting. The food enters the stomach after passing through the cardia. Food then moves to the stomach and small intestine where a majority of nutrient extraction and absorption takes place. Food then passes into the colon and eventually into the cecum. Peristaltic muscle contractions (waves of motion) help to separate fibrous and non-fibrous particles. The non-fibrous particles are then moved backwards up the colon, through the illeo-cecal valve, and into the cecum. Symbiotic bacteria in the cecum help to further digest the non-fibrous particles into a more metabolically manageable substance. After as little as three hours, a soft, fecal pellet, called a cecotrope, is expelled from the rabbit’s anus. The rabbit instinctively eats these grape-like pellets, without chewing, in exchange keeping the mucous coating intact. This coating protects the vitamin- and nutrient-rich bacteria from stomach acid, until it reaches the small intestine, where the nutrients from the cecotrope can be absorbed.

The soft pellets contain a sufficiently large portion of nutrients that are critical to the rabbit’s health. This soft fecal matter is rich in vitamin B and other nutrients. The process of coprophagy is important to the stability of a rabbit’s digestive health because it is one important way that which a rabbit receives vitamin B in a form that is useful to its digestive wellness. Occasionally, the rabbit may leave these pellets lying about its cage; this behavior is harmless and usually related to an ample food supply.

When caecal pellets are wet and runny (semi-liquid) and stick to the rabbit and surrounding objects they are called Intermittent Soft Cecotropes (ISCs). This is different from ordinary diarrhea and is usually caused by a diet too high in carbohydrates or too low in fiber. Soft fruit or salad items such as lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes are possible causes. Increasing dietary fiber and decreasing carbohydrates should restore the gut flora to normal in the cecum and return gastrointestinal tract motility to normal. This can be avoided by providing a healthy diet of unlimited grass hay as the main part with fibrous green foods such as broccoli and cabbage and limited high fiber/low energy pellets. Note also that there are other more serious but uncommon causes such as cancer, intestinal obstructions and abscesses.