Would a sanitary shave help? That’s what we did for my elderly bun. He would still get poo stuck to his hind legs, but it came off pretty easily with shampoo and a butt bath.

I agree that a sanitary shave can help a lot. Bun Jovi had this exact issue due to his arthritis and hind leg weakness. I had the vet do the first shave, and then I maintained it myself after that. I used a knock-off “manscaped” type trimmer as they are less likely to accidentally nick them. Sometimes I would even just shave off the stuck on poop (not the feet of course).

If possible, it also helps to learn his schedule of when the cecotropes are likely to be produced (for Bun Jovi it was a few hours after an emeraid feeding), so I could try to grab them and offer them to him before they got really smashed into his fur. I used sheepette fabric to line his pen (it’s a medical faux shearling fabric) which seemed to resist the cecals getting smashed in a bit (I still had to wash it a few times per week though).

Is Fresno on any pain meds? We eventually incorporated Tramadol into Bun Jovi’s pain management and that did help him a LOT for a good while.

Sending virtual support to you, dealing with keeping a poorly bun clean is very stressful.

I’m sure your vet will be able to help, “sanitary shaves” are common, and they did really make a huge difference for Bun Jovi.

Has he had an x-ray of his hips and spine? It’ really good he’s still active and does his binkies, but that make it more unusual that he’s not able to get his cecals without them being stuck to him. Do they seem well-formed? I wonder if a pro-biotic could help them be less sticky. Perhaps the UTI antibiotics upset his gut flora slightly and made them more sticky?

One way to get an approximate age on a bun is to look at how parallel their back feet are. It’s not an exact estimate, but as buns age and they get arthritis in their hips their heels will slip out so the feet will become more parallel. In a younger bun the heels will be tucked under and toes more turned out.

Ah, yeah I think Benebac is worth trying. There are also some other rabbit-specific probiotics out there now. Are his normal poops relatively good looking?

For the feet I usually look while standing and hopping along. I think it’s harder for them to keep their heels under while standing still so it may be more pronounced then.

This could also all be EC-related, as EC damages the nervous system permanently. Overall it sounds like his health has improved so hopefully the probiotic and shave make things a bit more manageable!

I use castile soap. It’s been awhile so I’m not sure what brand. Maybe Dr Bronner’s or Kirk’s. Castile soap can be used as shampoo.

Reading your descriptions of what’s going on, I would say it’s very possible that this is simply him going downhill in his old age. As bunnies get old, their immune system starts to fail and things like EC will slowly creep in. We can do things to help manage symptoms as they appear and make them for comfortable.

It is so so hard watching the gradual decline. 🙁 Hopefully your vet can help make him more comfortable and he will still have a long time left! Fresno is very lucky to have you!

It’s so hard watching our bunnies age and their bodies beginning to fail them. It’s hard with any animal, really. I agree though. Although they are not the same, it doesn’t mean you can’t make them comfortable and they can continue on in whatever way the are able. I hope the vet can offer some new ideas on things that might help him. Unfortunately though, you will likely need to come to terms with him not “getting better”. Some bunnies can do great until they are 12-13, others decline sooner.

hi! my bun was getting sticky cecotropes and i read it can happen when they have too many starches. my bun only gets a small piece of fruit at bed time, so i eliminated starchier fruits for a while and stuck with just berries, no bananas at all (she hates me for this) and it solved my problem. i have since been able to add apples successfully and baby carrots but i cant do it all the time. berries were a win. i also use benebac daily and sherwood digestive support since she is stasis prone.

Why would they shave his feet? My vet did sanitary shaves all the time. It was just the butt/inner thigh area.

Oh dear, that’s so frustrating! You definitely don’t need to be dealing with sore hocks on top of everything else with him 🙁

That’s great! So happy he’s doing better!

Thanks for the update! I’m glad to hear he is doing better now.

Oh no! How do they attach? Velcro?

I wonder if you could pad those areas with some extra fur groomed from him (or another bun)?

Maybe you can stick another piece of fleece in there to cover up the rough spot?

What a handsome fellow!

He really is a most handsome gentleman!

Silvadene cream could be an option. But even plain vaseline would be better than nothing. Will make stuck cecos easier to remove,  keep away wetness from the environment plus prevents the sores from drying out too much. Contrary to what used to be said about wound healing,  wounds should not be allowed to dry out. The mustn’t be wet, obviously. But wounds that are kept moist heal faster with less scarring. This is nolonger considered controversial.

Unfortunately we cant use medical honey on rabbits for wounds that they can reach with their mouth, because they’d just eat the delicious honey. Ointments containing zinc are discouraged too, there’s some risk of zinc poisoning if a rabbit ingests too much of the ointment over time.

Whatever you choose, observe him after application. If the ointment is yummy (for a rabbit) or if it annoys him in any way, he will try to lick at the sores and that would obviously not be good at all.

I have only used vet wrap for sore hocks, lined with a lot of bunny fur. I had to make sure that the fur lining didnt extend above the wrsp, or my bun would pull at the fur lining and get all of it out ☹ But as long as I kept the fur lining to just below the top of the bandage he didnt mess with the wraps.

Velcro can be rather hard. I dont know if you could put some fur along the inside of it so it doesnt eat away his own fur and skin?

I “handfelted” the bunny fur I used with water and a tiny bit of liquid soap. Just so that the fur became so matted that it held together. Then I rinsed out the soap and dried these 2 small DIY fur pads.

I didnt wash the fur pads when I redid his bandages after the daily wound care, but my bun didnt have leaky sores.

I’m sorry that I dont remember, but has he been tested/treated for e cuniculi before?

That said, bad age related degenerative changes to the spine can cause acute hind end weakness in dogs, it happened to my GSD. It could happen to rabbits too, we just  recently had a case here on BB  with a bun that had a slipped disc. Antiinflammatory medication is needed to help bring down the acute inflammation.

Ugh that’s so hard to see. I agree with Bam this could be an EC flare-up, this really sounds like what Bun Jovi went through (EC combined with arthritis). I also can’t recall if he was on stronger pain meds than meloxicam, but tramadol really helped Bun Jovi as well.

Yeah, it’s so hard to see them when they can’t hold themselves up. Sometimes the arthritis will lead to degeneration of the spine, as Bam mentioned. Or it can be EC sneaking in. Or it can be both.

Oh no! But I guess that does make sense. There is the chance for an adverse reaction with any of those spot on treatments, Revolution included. It’s rare though. I guess Fresno is one of the unlucky ones. :/

I’ve read that ivermectin is less effective when given topically. Injection is supposed to be more effective.

The only other thing I know of that can treat ear mites is moxidectin, which is an oral medication.

Pet MD has a list of possible treatments:

https://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditions/ears/rabbit-ear-mites