Rabbits have a finely tuned digestive system. As ever, Mr Pratchett puts it better than I could, albeit describing swamp dragons:
" These dragons are generally called swamp dragons because they evolved in swamps, where there is rather little that can be used as fuel, and this is a problem for animals that create flame to incubate eggs, fight off enemies, predators, and other dragons (competitors for food or territory), or just to dispel boredom. Swamp dragons compensate for this by evolving a huge appetite for anything that can be used for combustion. Swamp dragons can rearrange their "internal plumbing", guts, stomach, other miscellaneous tubes, to make the best use of what they have eaten, and to make the hottest flame they can. When having indigestion (a common ailment for swamp dragons), or being over-excited, a dragon tends to explode, which is the most common (practically the only) cause of death for swamp dragons. Swamp dragons are almost permanently ill; the famous swamp dragon breeder,
Lady Sybil Ramkin, has written a
book listing all swamp dragon diseases, their symptoms, causes, treatments, and so on. "
Which is basically a - ahahaha - high-octane description of a rabbit's digestion. Rabbits have a huge caecum (think "lower bowel") in which all the plant fibres they consume meet an array of bacteria which set to work breaking down cellulose and turning it into sugars and starches. The balance of these gut flora is finely-tuned, and delicate - primarily, they are evolved to work best on grasses and hays. The result of their efforts is then excreted as "night poo" (caecotropes), which the rabbit eats off its bum, thereby providing essential nutrients and carbohydrates. Any rabbit that, for whatever reason, stops being able to eat its caecotropes gets ill very fast.
But problems can occur at the other end too. If that gut biome gets disrupted, either through poor feeding, stress, or some other illness, the finely tuned balance quickly goes out of control, and - unfortunately - the rabbit's response is usually to stop eating...which of course exacerbates the problem. Worst case, other bacteria which don't have the beneficial gut effect start to prosper (clostridium being one), and the gut contents start to ferment, creating bloating and pain. Ultimately, if not treated, the rabbit will inevitably die.
It is looking like Pwdin has dodged that bullet. Speaking to the vet this morning, he's eating, and a bit perkier, but they are still waiting for things to happen in the department of poo, so they'll hang onto him until that's sorted...
www.urban75.net
).
