Mushy or Watery Stool
Warning! Rabbits with diarrhea often die within hours from flystrike!
Protect your rabbit from flystrike!
What Causes Diarrhea in Rabbits?
When a rabbit passes mushy or watery stool, this is referred to as diarrhea. It is caused by irritation of the intestinal lining or, at a later stage, by inflammation of the intestinal lining. In rabbits, the intestinal lining becomes inflamed very quickly.
Home Remedies & First Aid
If diarrhea occurs only once, for example due to a food intolerance or spoiled fresh food, home remedies can be used as first aid to resolve the diarrhea.
Provided the rabbit is otherwise well, active, and eating normally, it is sufficient to offer good fresh greens such as fresh meadow forage, carrot tops, celery greens, culinary herbs, and leafy branches, as well as oak leaves and oak bark.
If the diarrhea has not resolved after 12 hours, returns, or the rabbit is not eating well or does not appear well, you should promptly consult a rabbit-savvy veterinary practice.
Common Causes of Diarrhea in Rabbits
The following causes are common:
Inappropriate Diet
A diet that places a heavy strain on the digestive system can cause diarrhea. Examples include dry food, including grain-free dry food, large amounts of grain, sweets, treats, too many root vegetables and fruit, or too little fresh green forage.
An inappropriate basic diet is a common cause of digestive problems in rabbits. Please make sure you are fully informed about appropriate, dry-food-free rabbit nutrition.
Fresh Food Intolerance
If your rabbit develops diarrhea after eating fresh food, there is always a deeper underlying cause.
Wild rabbits eat only fresh food, and domestic rabbits have the same digestive system. If a rabbit cannot tolerate fresh food, it usually has parasites or is being fed dry food that damages the digestive system to such an extent that fresh food is no longer tolerated.
A diet that is too dry, including hay, dried herbs, dry food, dried vegetables, and similar foods, can also lead to intolerances.
If everything dry except hay is removed and the rabbit is instead fed exclusively good fresh greens around the clock, such as fresh meadow forage, leafy branches, bitter leafy greens, carrot tops, and culinary herbs, the diarrhea resolves.
Dried Herbs and Herb-Rich Hay
Dried herbs or herb-rich hay can cause rabbits to pass liquid cecotropes, leave behind mushy stool, or sit in their mushy stool.
Fresh Spring Greens
Fresh spring greens, which are particularly high in protein, can also cause diarrhea if they are not introduced gradually.
Infections and Parasites
Infections or parasites such as worms, coccidia, yeasts, or microbial imbalances can cause diarrhea.
A fecal sample collected over two to three consecutive days should be tested for yeasts, coccidia, worms, and E. coli bacteria.
If this does not provide an answer and other causes have been ruled out, an extended, comprehensive fecal analysis is advisable.
Unchewed Food
Unchewed food can place an increased strain on the digestive system.
Possible causes include dental problems or gulping food too quickly because too little food is being offered.
Toxic Substances
Possible causes include:
- fresh food contaminated with pesticides
- fermented fresh food
- medications, such as antibiotics
- ingestion of toxic substances
Cecotropes Mistaken for Diarrhea
Diarrhea is sometimes confused with cecotropes, especially when they have been stepped on or smeared around the anus.
A Stool-Soiled Rear Is Not Always Caused by Diarrhea
A stool-soiled rear is not always caused by diarrhea.
Often, it is actually cecotropes, or the rabbit is unable to clean itself properly because it cannot reach the area due to obesity or because it is in pain, for example from arthritis, spondylosis, spinal diseases, or balance disorders.
In some cases, a heavily soiled surface can also be responsible.
Megacolon
White rabbits with a spotted coat pattern are often affected by megahttps://how-to-rabbit.com/megacolon-syndrome/colon, a congenital hereditary condition.
These rabbits often have mushy stool or diarrhea.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics can affect the digestive system and cause diarrhea.
Especially when antibiotics have been given for a longer period, the gut often remains sensitive for some time afterward and is prone to soft stool.
Disrupted Gut Flora
The intestinal flora may be incompletely developed or imbalanced due to antibiotic treatment, an inappropriate diet, or separation from the mother at too young an age.
Stress
Sensitive rabbits may respond to severe stress with soft stool.
Food Intolerances and Allergies
Some rabbits do not tolerate certain vegetables and react to them with diarrhea. This may be due to food intolerances or allergies.
Other Underlying Diseases
Many other underlying diseases, such as organ diseases or viral infections, can also cause diarrhea.
If an underlying disease is suspected, further examinations are necessary, particularly a blood count.
Important: Unlike in humans, diarrhea in rabbits is not harmless and always has an underlying medical cause. It is essential to identify the cause and have the rabbit treated by a veterinarian.
Treatment: What Helps with Diarrhea?
Be sure to consult a veterinarian who specializes in rabbits and rodents, rather than one who primarily treats dogs and cats.
Only veterinarians who have completed specific additional training are able to treat rabbits appropriately, as rabbits receive only limited attention during veterinary studies.
Diet During Diarrhea
In cases of mushy stool or mild diarrhea, a temporary “diarrhea diet” can usually resolve the diarrhea quickly.
For a short period, feed only a varied selection of fresh greens and hay. Whenever possible, offer fresh forage from nature, plenty of wild and culinary herbs, grasses, carrot tops, leafy branches, and fresh oak branches and leaves.
Offer digestive herbal tea made from pure herbs to increase fluid intake and soothe the digestive system.
A hay-only diet should never be used, as hay contains too little water and too few nutrients and can unnecessarily weaken the rabbit.
Dr. med. vet. Anja Ewringmann writes in Leitsymptome beim Kaninchen:
“Proper feeding in cases of diarrhea is therapeutically extremely important. […] A diet consisting only of hay and water is not suitable for meeting the animals’ needs.”
Find the Cause of Rabbit Diarrhea
With diarrhea, it is important to identify the underlying cause. If diarrhea occurs, it is essential to reassess the rabbit’s diet and have a fecal sample collected over three days and pooled from all rabbits in the group tested by a veterinarian for yeasts, coccidia, and worms.
If diarrhea occurs repeatedly, the rabbit must be thoroughly examined by a veterinarian for dental problems.
If an unsuitable or new food was given before the diarrhea started, it should not be fed again, as it could be the cause.
When Is Rabbit Diarrhea an Emergency?
If the diarrhea lasts for more than one day, or if the rabbit is lethargic, refuses food, or shows any other unusual signs, a veterinarian should be consulted immediately, including an emergency veterinary service if necessary, as the condition can quickly become life-threatening.
Rabbits can become dehydrated as a result of diarrhea. This can lead to circulatory failure and death.
How Is Rabbit Diarrhea Treated by a Veterinarian?
The veterinarian stabilizes the rabbit’s circulation with fluid therapy (infusions) and administers medications to treat the diarrhea.
Supportive products commonly used include Durchfallpulver N (Dr. Shaette), Dysticum, and Stullmisan vet. Powder.
In cases of diarrhea caused by antibiotics or other types of poisoning, activated charcoal or medicinal charcoal may also be used, as well as healing clay.
To help regenerate the intestinal flora, brewer’s yeast, Apfelpekti, or prebiotics/probiotics may be used.
However, diarrhea is treated primarily by addressing the underlying cause.
Especially in cases of acute diarrhea with circulatory problems, rabbits usually need to remain hospitalized at the veterinary clinic, where they receive fluid therapy and are monitored.
Care for Rabbits with Diarrhea
A rabbit with diarrhea needs to be carefully looked after and closely monitored.
Diarrhea should be removed from the fur once or twice a day, either by carefully cleaning the soiled fur or trimming it away, and the area around the anus should be kept clean. A veterinarian can shave the area if necessary.
Thorough washing should generally be avoided or carried out only occasionally, as frequent washing can irritate the skin and cause inflammation.
Sometimes it is enough to clean the area with a baby wipe or a wet washcloth. In other cases, the rabbit’s hindquarters need to be placed in a bowl of lukewarm water so that the stool can soften and be washed away.
During the summer months, rabbits with diarrhea must be brought indoors until they have recovered because of the risk of flystrike.
Flies can also be present indoors, so the area around the anus must additionally be checked very carefully twice a day for fly maggots.
Because rabbits with diarrhea have an increased need for minerals, they should also be offered either a Himalayan salt lick or saline solution in a bowl, in addition to their drinking water — never as a replacement for water.
Liquid cecotropes in their intact form
Mushy or Liquid Cecotropes in Rabbits: Often Mistaken for Diarrhea
Mushy or liquid cecotropes are often mistaken for diarrhea.
Cecotropes are generally much softer than normal fecal pellets and can easily become smeared. For various reasons, a rabbit may also fail to eat its cecotropes, causing the rabbit to sit in them or smear them around the enclosure. Possible causes are explained in our Rabbit Poop & Urine Guide.
Some rabbits, however, pass completely liquid or mushy cecotropes. Unlike rabbits with diarrhea, they also continue to pass normal fecal pellets.
Many owners therefore report a constant alternation between mushy stool or diarrhea-like cecotropes and normal fecal pellets. The rabbit’s rear is often soiled with feces, and the rabbit may pass piles of mushy stool.
The cause of mushy or liquid cecotropes is a disorder of the cecum involving a bacterial imbalance.
The problem is usually caused by dysentery or another underlying condition, such as parasites including coccidia or worms, spoiled or unsuitable food, a generally poor diet such as dry food, or severe stress. Yeasts can also be a cause.
Affected rabbits show no signs of pain and their general condition remains unaffected.
However, the most common cause is herb-rich hay or dried herbs.
Treatment of Mushy or Liquid Cecotropes
In cases of dysentery, treatment is with Baytril, usually for 10 days. If the condition has not resolved by then, treatment is continued beyond recovery. Rabbits that have remained untreated for a long time may require treatment for considerably longer, otherwise the condition may recur.
Parasites should also always be ruled out or treated by means of a fecal examination and an adhesive tape test.
A preparation to help restore the intestinal flora is necessary. Prebiotics have proven effective, possibly in combination with probiotics.
We also recommend paying attention to the rabbit’s vitamin D intake, as a deficiency can promote or trigger inflammatory bowel disease.
The underlying cause should, of course, also be eliminated, otherwise the condition will recur.
Willy’s Case
In Willy’s case, despite extensive examinations, no cause could be found for his rear being soiled with what appeared to be “diarrhea.” Despite an optimal diet and numerous treatment attempts, there was no improvement.
His owner reported:
“Every day, his rear is completely soiled, and the clinic can never find anything. Sometimes it is so bad that, if I am at work and do not get home until the afternoon, everything has already dried and blocked the area so much that no more fecal pellets can pass. When I remove it, about ten pellets come out at once. It is really awful.”
Large piles of mushy stool were also frequently found.
Following our suggestion, the owner realized that the material was cecotropes and that an underlying inflammation might be involved.
She treated Willy with Baytril and lactulose, and the rabbit recovered.
About This Article
Original content by Viola Schillinger, veterinarian
Veterinarian specializing in rabbit health, nutrition and species-appropriate husbandry, and founder of Kaninchenwiese.de, a long-established German rabbit care and health resource reaching around 500,000 visitors per month.English translation and adaptation by Erika Kühne Escobar
Medically reviewed by Viola Schillinger, veterinarian
Last medically reviewed: August 2026
Sources include:
Ewringmann, A. (2016): Leitsymptome beim Kaninchen: Diagnostischer Leitfaden und Therapie. Georg Thieme Verlag.
Hein, J. (2016): Durchfall beim Kaninchen–Ursachen und Therapie. kleintier konkret, 19(S 01), 2-9.
Hein, J. (2017): Durchfallerkrankungen bei Kleinsäugern: Ursache, Diagnostik, Therapie. Schlütersche.
Kraft, W., Emmerich, I. U., & Hein, J. (2012): Dosierungsvorschläge für Arzneimittel bei Kleinnagern, Kaninchen und Frettchen. Schattauer Verlag.
