Mucky bottom

Dilly

Hey all,

One of my bunnies has a mucky bottom that I can't clean with tissue. Does anyone know if there is any bun-friendly product that I can use to clean him?

Thanks,

Dilly

EGAR

You have to be extremely careful so the rabbit doesn't develop fly strike: http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-12/fly-strike.html

Shave off the hair if you have to!

Jules

There is a product you can buy over the internets in the uk called rear guard. If it is very mucky you should bring him/her to the vets where they can clean it for you. You have to be very careful of making sure bunnies bottom is kept clean cuz if you don't this can happen... http://www.galensgarden.co.uk/herbivores/health/flystrike.php

It is not pretty.

Dilly

Thanks for the replies. I'm very aware of the dangers of flystrike which is why I'm looking to get him cleaned up. I think that the best might be to get him to the vet and get it sorted and look into buying that product for any possible future episodes.

Thanks!

Sigma Force

Flystrike aside, there could be another reason why the buns bum is mucky.
Ensure the housing is spotless, litter tray is changed daily. Ensure the bun isn't too over weight or unable to clean himself properly.
Ensure droppings aren't loose perhaps cut down on green foods and fruit for a while, stick to carrot and white part of the cauliflower.
If outdoors in a run the grass is wetter than normal which could also be cause for runny poops.

To clean the buns bum take bun to a warm room, clip off any mucky parts, then wash the rear end in luke warm water you can get rabbit shampoo in most pet shops, I wouldn't make a habit of washing them but for this purpose you could just wash the rear end. Pat the area dry and don't put the bun outside until botty is fully dry.

If the hair is a bit fluffy knotted or awkward for you to get at then the quickest and least stressful thing the vet could do is just clip all the hair around the area very short. This will let fresh air in at the skin should it be a little sore and the hair will grow back anyway, doesn't have to be mad short just like a 2 blade type job. That way it will be more manageable for the rest of what's supposed to be the summer.

Rear Guard is supposed to be great if the area is a little red or sore just a little dry the Galens Garden stuff as mentioned is great. I've used some of their stuff with my pigs lovely stuff.

Invest in a small nail scissors as well, if not done already, one of my pigs is a messy madam she likes to sit in the mucky corners no matter how much you clean the housing so I have to keep her bum trim and they are so handy, good and sharp so makes the job quicker just be careful of unexpected kicks handy to have two pairs of hands with a bun.

Let us know how you get on and if you use any of the Galen's garden stuff and how you found it.

lostinnappies

bunny fur is very fine and fuzzy so getting poop out of it is very hard, i wouldnt use any kind of product. Warm water is what we used in the vets just soak his bum in it and soften the droppings, be careful of fly strike.. this is how it firsts starts. While bunny is wet keep him indoors until dry.

Dilly

Thanks again for the replies and especially to GuineaPigRescue for all the extra info!

They are indoor buns and their room is kept clean so I think that perhaps he has been getting a little bit on the plump side and so can't reach so well. his poop isn't particularly runny (apart from the usual ceacotropes) so II'm satisfied that he doesn't have a stomach upset. I will try the warm water trick this evening (despite already getting a few nips for trying the dry method!) and see if that works but will go to the vets if I'm unsuccessful. I have a nail scissors for them which might be good for getting any bad bits off because it's not so sharp that he might scrape himself if he's doing a lot of wriggling.

I'll be lucky if he ever decides to spend time in my company again after this - I've never met an animal that was so capable of holding a grudge

I'll let you all know how I get on assuming I can still type after all the anticipated kicks and bites from my outraged darling

animalcrazy

Some rabbits have very sensitive tummys that get upset easily and they don't take very well to changes in their diet. Another reason for a mucky bottom is if they don't get enough hay in their diet. Rabbits should have hay available for them to eat all the time as 95% of their diet should be hay, you should get meadow or timothy hay as alfalfa is too rich, it will say what kind of hay it is on the bag.

Rabbits with sensitive tummies or even rabbits with normal stomachs shouldn't get too much fruit, it should only be given as a treat, also carrots should only be given as a treat to rabbits, too high in sugar.

If you think your rabbit is over weight then you are probably giving it too much pellets/ rabbit food, your rabbit should be getting 1/2 a cup of pellets per 6lbs and 1-2 cups of veg, it doesn't have to be celery but it can be garden stuff like clovers and dandelions too.

Dilly

Hey all,

Just wanted to give you a quick update. The warm water trick worked fine although to minimise the stress it is definitely a two person job! We used a soft glove and warm water and were able to clean away the lumps and most of the hair. There is no soreness which is good and we are keeping an eye on him to make sure that he's staying clean.

Thanks for the help!

Dilly

Sigma Force

Glad bunny is doing well washing small critters can be tricky does she hiss or scream at you? One of our previous buns was a lovely quiet girl once you didn't bother her too much but at the vets she was completly bonkers, screaming and hissing poor thing hated going vet was afraid of her lol.

lostinnappies

i agree, they can get very VERY stressed at the vets. Always good to min stress in bunnies, and small rodents cos it can kill them (really)

PS, glad the warm water worked.

Dilly

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Glad bunny is doing well washing small critters can be tricky does she hiss or scream at you? One of our previous buns was a lovely quiet girl once you didn't bother her too much but at the vets she was completly bonkers, screaming and hissing poor thing hated going vet was afraid of her lol.

Strangely enough, his nickname in the house is (amongst others!) "the angry little man" but once he's being held properly he's very good (if very stressed) about going through what needs to be done. It is very important though to hold him securely though because the OH was originially holding him and I was doing the washing but he was close to injuring himself in his attempts to get away so we had to swap and once I was the one holding him he was breathing heavily and panicking but not at all struggling to get away.

I'm very proud of him for being such a good bunny about it - not sure that I'd be happy being held in place to have my bottom cleaned!

Thanks again folks!

Sigma Force

Hey people did you know that there's bunny insurance now.
http://www.petinsure.ie/index.cfm/page/aboutpetinsurance

Hey Dilly any piccies of your nice clean rabbit

Dilly

Here's a pic of my two babies. The owner of the mucky bottom is the black guy and the other is my gorgeous girl Daisy. Sorry about the quality - the pic was taken with a phone.

Any other bunny owners with pics to share?

Dilly

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Hey people did you know that there's bunny insurance now.
http://www.petinsure.ie/index.cfm/page/aboutpetinsurance

Hey Dilly any piccies of your nice clean rabbit

Thanks a mill for the update, I've been trying so hard to find an insurer for my buns!

Sigma Force

Awww they're so cute chilling on the stairs lol

Yeh was delighted as well (eventhough I've no buns atm) that there is now rabbit insurance bout time. Fingers crossed as time goes on you will be able to ensure most if not all pets.

Dilly

Any other bun owners with pics to share?

Jules

I would read the small print on the bunny insurance. Few things about it i didn't like too much.

Sigma Force

Haven't had a chance to read anything more into it, must do though, what kind of things did you find Jules

carwash_2006

With a €150 excess it's the rare rabbit that you would find this pet insurance useful for. My experiences if rabbits needing vet care if it is that extensive they rarely survive. I think I know of one rabbit that has run up big vets bills and is still here to tell the tale.

I suppose one of the main reasons for this is that few people realise their rabbit is sick until it is very sick, because they hide their symptoms so well.

lostinnappies

carwash_2006 wrote: »

With a €150 excess it's the rare rabbit that you would find this pet insurance useful for. My experiences if rabbits needing vet care if it is that extensive they rarely survive. I think I know of one rabbit that has run up big vets bills and is still here to tell the tale.

I suppose one of the main reasons for this is that few people realise their rabbit is sick until it is very sick, because they hide their symptoms so well.

From my experience working in the vets the vast majority of illesses which rabbits came in for were 1 teeth (normally clipped unless molars but not that expensive) 2 ears (may need anaesthetic to flush out or pluck - a little more expensive because it requires long course of antibiotics) and 3 enteritis (usually the most costly of all because requires intensive nursing care, sometimes fluids and a hospital stay if severe) Other then that if a rabbit is vacc against mixy etc then they are quite low cost animals.

Sigma Force

That is a lot to pay out.
However rabbits can survive with the proper vet care it sometimes depends more on the vet than the rabbit.

Teeth problems if caught early are easily solved but may require a rabbit going back every now and then so that would mount up.

Eye and ear infections and things like that should easily clear up but are fairly common.

I think some vets just may not recognise the symptoms or haven't got enough experience with rabbits. They are more delicate but most problems they should recover from if given the correct treatment.

If a bun is spayed that cuts down the risk of reproductive cancers, if vaccinated against myxomatosis and VHD that helps.

I think some problems are more to do with a rabbit hiding the illness so owners don't know until the bun becomes really ill (checking poop regularly and weighing the bun etc all helps with this).

I find that rabbits kept outdoors in winter seem more likely to become ill or die. From respiratory problems or a sudden drop in temperature. If their bedding gets wet in winter they would be freezing.

People say this about guinea pigs too that they are very delicate and usually die when ill etc but I have found a lot of the illnesses in guinea pigs is easily treated of course there will always be more complicated cases but as more common ailments go sometimes all they need is a shampoo treatment with a specific shampoo, or a drop of ivomec or adding something to their diet or drops for their ears or a course of Baytril or perhaps simply changing their bedding from woodchips to newspaper and hay or cleaning them more often list goes on but in general they are very simple things that people don't think to do or the vets don't know or think to mention.
Another important thing a lot of vets forget to say is give the animal a pro biotic with the antibiotic this goes for birds and other small animals as well.

If I had rabbits I think I would still pay for it as some rabbits can be prone to the 'snuffles' or teeth problems which sometimes means regular trips

carwash_2006

What I am saying here is that most of the things like teeth and treatments for things like sniffles mostly aren't going to add up to over €100 for each time, so unless they will consider the teeth an ongoing condition and start covering your vets fees after you've spent €150 on them (which I doubt) it's not of much use there.

Yes you can get other situations where they can get more costly, but considering the way rabbits go into shock easily, most illnessess that might rack up bigger vets bills are not going to get to that stage.

Yes the vets make a huge difference (I don't know what I will do for a rabbit vet when my current vet finally retires, he threatened it last year and was tormented into staying), but it is so often down to the owner picking up on the early stage symptoms for the rabbit to have a chance. No matter how good a vet is, they can't work miracles where things have been let go too far.

Fair enough if you want to pay the premium, but people should be very aware of the fact that it has a €150 excess before signing up, it is more than twice the excess I have for my dog and cat insurance.

Sigma Force

I would say if enough people insure and some competition from other companies the price will eventually go down.

lostinnappies

can i also just add that if there is a recurring problem with teeth (front teeth) you can buy teeth clippers (they look like a pair of plyers) and have your vet show you what to do. Often when clipping front teeth they may break off. As horrible as this sounds, it does no harm to them because they grow back again and doesnt stop them eating. The only thing is that some rabbits teeth dont grow in the right direction. I dont mean to be graphic here but their teeth can grow up inside their heads, through their sinus's and into their heads. In this case it can be very expensive.

If you are confident however to do your own clipping it will save you money on vet bills and i would always recommend checking with your vet if they develop a runny nose while having teeth problems.

I also would keep "small furries" indoors during the winter or inside somewhere where there is a constant temp.