Bad Mats!?!

[Bunnys4life]

Hi I Recently got my little bell and noticed she had a really bad mat that had poo on her tail,

I am taking her to the vet but how do I avoid this later on? 

[Bucephalus]

Make sure she is getting an adequate diet to prevent overly spft and sticky poops. If shes a long haires breed you can clip around the genital area to prevent the matting from creatong an issue. If this is an Angora you may need to work on your grooming schedule or keep her shaved down if shes only a pet.

[Bucephalus]

My bad. Dang phone.

[Bucephalus]

Woops

[Bunnys4life]

I am not really sure if she is a angora is is not super fluffy

[Bucephalus]

If you were ablw to share a poc rhta might help a bit. And if possible the area that gets the poop matting with the problem on it.

But all in all with the limited information im leaning towards improper diet.

How long have you had her? What are you feeding her currently?

[Bucephalus]

Flipping phone

[Bucephalus]

I realy have no idea why it’s double posting.

[Bunnys4life]

I got her yesterday and i am feeding her the rabbit and guinea food mix

[Bucephalus]

She should be on straight pellets and grass hays such as orxhard coastal or timothy. Avoid alfalfa. Its usually too high in calcium for.older rabbits. Mix foods are usually super unhealthy for rabbits It’s like popping open a family size bag of chips for them. They also need to be transitioned over to the new diet slowly. If not possible feed nothing but her hay for a few days and slowly introduce her pellets.

Whats the brand and blend you’re using? My angoras were previously on nutrena naturewise but I’ve transitioned them over to manna gro pro.

[Bunnys4life]

all that is in my rabbit mix is oatmeal timothy hay and pellets there is no fruit or nuts

[Bucephalus]

What ia the primary component of the pellets?

[Bam]

Sometimes baby buns get a little bit of sticky poop. It’s because they don’t have a mature gut microbiota. They can also get sticky poop from stress, not necessarily bad stress. Getting a new home full of unfamiliar sounds and smells and people is a form of stress. The most important food for a young bunny is hay, alfalfa if you can get it, or grass hay or a mix. There’s lots of fiber in hay that the bunny gut needs.Hay also has important nutrients, especially in alfalfa hay. Alfalfa is rich in protein and calcium and that’s good for growing buns.

If there’s sticky poo on her tail you can try rubbing in some cornstarch into the poop, then brush out/pick out the cornstarchy poop with your fingers.

Sticky poop is not a veterinary emergency. If her poop becomes runny or if you see mucus or “gel” in it, you should contact a vet, because that is an emergency.

[Bunnys4life]

She is Actually 3 years old,
And its not just poo its fur that’s on the bottom of her tail that has got poo mixed in

[Bam]

Oh, I’m glad, then the risk of true diarrhea is a lot lower. As long as she is still producing normal round poops as well as sticky poop, this isn’t an emergency. It’s a condition called intermittent soft cecotropes, and it’s very common in rabbits.

You can cut off the poopy fur with scissors, but take care (obviously) so you don’t cut into the skin. I sometimes cut poopy fur from my Bam’s behind. You can also give a butt bath in a couple of inches of lukewarm water. Dry the bunny thoroughly after so she doesn’t run around with a wet behind and get cold. You can use a microfiber towel or even a hairdryer on the lowest setting.

There are many reasons why an adult bun can get poopy butt, but the most common cause is dietary. Sticky poop can result if the bun doesn’t eat as much hay as it should (and because we free-feed hay to our buns it’s difficult to keep track of exactly how much they eat), if the bun has had a new type of veg or more veg than normal, or, especially this time of year, fresh grass from the outside.

So the first thing you do (after dealing with the actual poopy fur) is to look over the diet. You can reduce amount of pellets and give more hay, that’s often the quickest way to “mend” an upset tummy. There are no health risks with cutting back an adult bun’s pellets by a third or even 50%.

Here is a good article about intermittent soft cecotropes:

https//rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/

[Bunnys4life]

I am taking her and her friend who we also brought to the vet for a cheak up they have really bat mats and a few sores on them,I will ask vet for more advice
But thank you

[LBJ10]

Have the vet do a sanitary shave to remove the mats. You can start over after that.

[Author]

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