Gross question/situation

[DalekBunny]

Okay, so for some reason Dusty had a little bit of runny poop a couple of days ago.  It completely cleared itself up and I thought nothing of it but I was trying to get him to move in a specific direction (away from the Christmas tree- they’re ornaments, not toys) and I tapped his butt to move him when I felt something hardish and crusty.  It was horribly gross, but obviously I had to figure out what it was, so I peeked under his butt and I don’t know if it’s one of his anal glands or what, but there is a small hard lump of poop stuck to one part of his butt, and parts of his fur (near his glands) was hardened.  A bit like if you got glue on a clump of hair and it hardens.  I have no clue what this is or what to do.  Dusty HATES being tranced and it is nearly impossible to get him on his back, so I don’t know how to check or clean this problem.  Plus, I don’t want to pull the clump off of him, for fear that it will cause him pain.  I’m seriously confused so any help is appreciated.  Thanks!

[Roberta]

Sometimes they managed to sit in the cecals before they eat them… That is probably what it is… I have a little girl who does this frequently..
Blossom has to have a butt bath… I completely clear the kitchen sink area (I find this the best area for me to restrain her gently and remove any hazards..
I fill the sink up with room temp water or just warm water to about 4 centermeters / 2 1/2 inches.. Blossom has becaome very good with it and she now stands in the sink with her front paws on my arm whilst I use my other hand to gently wash her bottom till the poop softens and comes off… Then I wrap her in a towel and we cuddle whilst I dry her bottom… Blossom is very stressy so I usually just drape the towel gently over her eyes and this helps to calm her whilst I dry her bottom… Then she goes back with the others and complains about the inhumanity and humiliation..

[Deleted User]

Poor Blossum – I too will feel awfully embarrassed when my day comes that my kids (don’t tell them, it’s a surprise?) will have to clean my butt!
DalekBunny, luckily I haven’t had to do this with Henry (yet – fingers crossed), but I have had to with my dogs, and exactly how Roberta described above (just the bath tub for me). One thing I am curious about in relation to this situation with buns as to dogs – while I do the dogs, I give their cute little butts a trim with scissors while I’m at it, would this be something you would do to a bun as well?

[Roberta]

Sometimes yes…. Its a good opportunity if they are nice and relaxed during the Butt Drying to snip off any knots etc.

[Deleted User]

Wonderful – great to know! Thank you! I’ll whisper that into Henry’s ear tonight (I bet he’ll be keeping his butt clean himself). Lol…

[Zombie-Sue]

My rabbit doesn’t really like to be flipped either, but I flip him and put him between my legs on the couch so I can cut out any icky goobers around his butt. I place a comb underneath the offending hair and keep the comb between the rabbit’s skin and scissors at all times. Sometimes I use warm water and a paper towel to try to loosen it if it’s too close to his skin to be cut out, and I might split it up over a couple days. When I was ill and un able to check him and he was molting really bad, he got pretty nasty–but a couple of sessions (spread out over two days) really helped. I had my husband hold him sometimes when he wanted to wiggle, especially his head, stroking his cheeks and reassuring him.

I’ve found that making sure the rest of him is deshedded– like, his back and such, the places he doesn’t mind me touching–seems to help him focus more on the areas he doesn’t like me touching during self-grooming, so maybe increase general brushing, especially during a molt, only flipping him over occasionally since he hates it so much. Also, now that he’s bonded with two other rabbits, they help him stay a lot cleaner (my Scully bun, especially, loves to groom.)

Sometimes it seems like all rabbit problems can be solved by buying more rabbits :p how convenient.

[RabbitPam]

I second Roberta’s suggestion of a warm, low water level butt bath. I do mine in the bathroom sink, rather than kitchen, or if you have a set tub with high sides in your garage, that can be even better. Just bring out a chair for the towel so you can sit when you’re done.
For a butt bath you never need to submerge your whole bunny. Holding them under the front paws like they are standing up in the water can give you a firm grip, while you use mild soap (baby or unscented) and a warm washcloth to gently rub the area. I’m sure it’s dried from the runny poos a few days ago, and should come off in little clumps as you gently loosen it and pull it away. If the clumps go but it’s still dirty, then yes, he will clean himself eventually.

But watch for more runny poos, as you may need a visit to the vet for it if it happens again.

[rissakai007]

One time my lionhead Leo was out and he suddenly had diarrhea. His butt and the chair became covered in it. It wasn’t there when i had taken him out, it wasn’t build up of cecals. He litterally had a very large (enough to cover his entire bottom) loose poop right there. Idk what was wrong. His diet was fine. I asked the woman at the pet center while i was there picking up some things. She suggested it was build up of cecals on his fur so she obviously wasn’t listening wholey to my explanation. Anyways, i butt bathed him and it hasn’t happened since. However, he does (not as often anymore) get amounts of poo stuck in his fur and it hardens. It hardens onto his testicals and sometimes hardens over his penis. I have to gently try to pluck the poo from his testicals, i’m scared of hurting him. I always get so worried that he’ll get an infection since i’m sure there’s urine build up in the poo over his penis.

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