Spotlight: Daily living with a megacolon rabbit, McMuffin
Author: Anna Maria Miranda, long-time HRS foster
Living with a megacolon rabbit changed my life. For the better.
Having fostered McMuffin, a glamourous, sophisticated girl bun who is very gentle, sweet and sociable has been such a treat. She doesn’t let her condition change the way she behaves. She still has excellent litter habits. She doesn’t chew. She doesn’t dig. She gets along with my German Shepherd and tolerates the occasional run in with my senior boy bunny, Lucky. She learned to go up and down stairs with me and can take them just as fast as any other bunny.
What reminds you that McMuffin is a little different than other bunnies—are her lovely curves—or as Fergie might say, her lovely little lumps, which gives you more of her to love. Knowing what to feed your megacolon rabbit (unlimited hay and some oats are McMuffin’s favorites) and making sure your rabbit takes their medication as prescribed is essential to keeping your megacolon rabbit healthy and happy.
McMuffin’s daily life is like that of any other bunny, I just like to think of her in human terms as a rabbit with “dietary restrictions” which we jokingly say in our home as “gluten free”. The other difference about living with her is the “daily poop check”.
Check the litter box for the size, shape, and quantity of poop. Some describe the shape of megacolon rabbit poop as “logs” or “cow piles”. These each tell a different story. “Logs” are normal and “cow piles”, especially soft could mean the rabbit ate something that changed the consistency of their poop. For McMuffin, this sometimes happens when I give her fresh greens, depending on the greens. These are relatively normal and nothing to be alarmed about.
If you find that her poop might be runny (which only happened in the beginning when she was acclimating to her new environment, which can cause stress. The first time I saw a cow pile, I brought McMuffin to HRS for a checkup, where she received some additional medication (just in case), then left with a clean bill of health.
McMuffin is covered under the “Golden Ears” program at HRS. This program is designed to provide ongoing medical services at HRS at no costs and relieve the financial burden* for any potential adopter. In addition to free medical services, adopters will receive any specialty supplies needed to get set up, 15% discount at the Hop Shop, discounted boarding (emergency rate of $10 per night), and a 2-year HRS membership.
If you are interested in adopting or fostering McMuffin, I highly recommend it. She is truly the best house rabbit guest a foster or adopter could ask for.
*This does not include emergency medical care. The adopter could take the rabbit to their preferred vet, but that would not be covered as part of the program.
Take the first steps to fostering with HRS here! 🐰
