Cecal?

Rabbits have a lot in common with men because there is a saying that goes, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach". The same goes with rabbit. The way to a healthy rabbit is through a healthy digestive system.

Do you know that rabbits reingest their droppings? Yes, it means they eat their own poop! Don't feel disgusted just yet. They do this for a good reason. But before you let your imagination run wild, I must mention that they do not normally reingest those big round hard droppings.

Re ingestion normally happens during dawn and dusk. Those that they re ingest are called caecal/cecal/cecotropes/caecotrophes. These pellets are also known as "night faeces".

Now, why do they re ingest the cecals?

To cut the long story short, reingestion is part of a rabbit's digestive system and they do it because there are certain elements or nutrients in their diet that could not be "processed" or absorbed fully. The cecal pellets are filled with extra nutrients and therefore, reingesting these would help them strike a balance in their diet.

So how does cecal pellets look like? If I really need to describe without any real cecal to show as an example, I would show those interested this picture:

What's this?!

Take another look:

Yes! These are PAPAYA seeds. Don't they look like CECALS?

LOL!!! Bet I gotcha there!

Actually papaya is known to provide good enzyme for rabbits and although unproven, it is said to help lower the risk of fur blockage.

Saturdays are normally papaya day for everyone at Meadow Haven!