poopy butt-help!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 8sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 11 months ago by Beka27.

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- 03/11/2011 at 5:15 PM
  Alina
  Participant
  83 posts
  My new bunny Cowboy was given to us by a friend of a friend. He’s overweight, and can’t reach to eat all of his cecels so they are all stuck to his bottom.
  
  I don’t know what to do, how to handle this. We’ve had him a couple of days and he has this overpowering stench of skunk, and there are poop skid marks all over the cage from where he sits.
  When I got home today I filled up the sink with 2 inches of water, we used doggy shampoo and soaped off and cleaned his bottom. To the best of our ability, I can’t get it all without cutting his fur, and he’s so new to us I don’t think he would sit for that without kicking and biting. We dried off his butt with a towel, and then blowdryed him. He was miserable, but he was so good he even stuck his butt up in the air when we were blowdrying him. Like “here it’s miserable but I’ll help so we can get it done”
  
  Honestly? It was awful. I’m alarmed, I felt like I was going to vomit but I held on.
  
  The only way this gets fixed is if he loses weight, but it’s going to be a slow process.
  
  I don’t know what I am asking for here. Support? Advice? Something.
- 03/11/2011 at 5:36 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Have you had him in for a vet check?
- 03/11/2011 at 6:51 PM
  tobyluv
  Participant
  3312 posts
  Do you know if he was mostly fed pellets before you got him, or given a lot of treats? It may be that if you severely cut back or eliminate the pellets altogether, and make sure he eats a lot of hay, that his droppings will get back to normal. You may have to resort to a liittle trimming to get some of the stinky, soiled fur off of him. Maybe if you could just have a some clipping sessions, lasting only a few minutes each, it wouldn’t stress him out or upset him too much. Hopefully he would be cooperative and hold still long enough for you to get the worst parts clipped. It can be tricky clipping a rabbit, especially in the genital area.
  
  It sounds like he may have also been stuck in a cage a lot of the time, and that he would benefit from exercise.
- 03/11/2011 at 7:34 PM
  Michelle&Lolli
  Participant
  2347 posts
  Lolli used to get poopy butt cause I fed her too much fruit. And she still does if I feed too much fruit. She’s gotten grapes and bananas this week so it’s caused a bit of poopy butt.
  
  So first of all, do NOT feed him any fruits or carrots. You can cut out the stuck on poop. I wouldn’t try to pull it off cause bunnies have such delicate skin. I bought a pair of cheap grooming shears with rounded ends. The rounded ends prevent accidently cutting the skin. I found mine at walmart.
  
  If you haven’t yet, I’d take him for a check up at the vet. They can also do a sanitary shave on him. It’s just clipping the hair shorter, not bald. Lolli had this done once and it helped so much.
  
  Regardless of thumping, foot flicks, etc. they always feel better after their butts get cleaned.
- 03/11/2011 at 7:44 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Pull them off with paper towels or your fingers, depending on level of braveness. You can cornstarch his bum and wipe/comb it off to do a good clean. Do not bath him-it’s risky.
  
  And get thee to a vet-it may not just be mechanical (i.e. to chubs to reach bottom) could be a big issue, and even if it is mechanical they are meant to eat those, so it’s risky that he can’t.
- 03/12/2011 at 1:31 PM
  Alina
  Participant
  83 posts
  Well the last owner took him to the vet before I got him and I happen to go to the same vet. He told me it’s just mechanical. He’s eating them, but he can’t reach to clean up properly. When I got him I changed him to a diet of a tablespoon of oxbow pellets a day and tons and tons of hay plus fresh veggies. They only fed him carrots, so we don’t know what he can eat. So leaf lettuce and carrots obviously are good.
  I’m thinking he doesn’t like the pellets though because he pretty much doesn’t eat them.
  We know from his previous owner that is a cord chewer, so we’re still bunny proofing. I had training for work this week so I worked 6 days in a row, but now I’m off and can get some supplies to block off the closet and computer cords. He’s going to be out whenever I’m home, so I’m hoping that will improve his weight
- 03/13/2011 at 12:14 AM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  If you do bathe him again, don’t use doggy shampoo. Don’t use any shampoo at all, just lukewarm water. Use only unscented baby conrnstarch and nothing with aloe vera – it is toxic to bunnies. I personally feel the dry conrnstarch treatment is the best way to deal with this, it should neutralize the odor, too. Comb or brush it out very gently, holding the fur at the base toward his skin to prevent pulling on his skin.
- 03/14/2011 at 12:24 PM
  Alina
  Participant
  83 posts
  Per Michelle’s advice I set up an appointment to have his butt shaved. The vet said a hygenic shave is a marvelous idea, so I feel relieved.
  It sounds kind of dreadful, having his heinie shaved, but maybe if there is not fur the cecals won’t stick to it!
- 03/14/2011 at 12:34 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  While the fur grows back in, hopefully you can do some diet alterations to see if you can fix the problem.
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