Help..poopybutt? I’m not sure

[Kiley Rose]

So I decided to put Marlee and Nixie together this morning…it went alright. Nixie is very submissive but Marlee would groom her a bit and nip at her a lot (especially under her stomach?)

But my question is…

After I put Nixie back I decided to brush Marlee out good since I never really am able to catch her to do anything to her. I held her like a baby on her back to get the knots out by her tail and then was hit with a terrible smell. She had all this poo all over her bottom, and not like little pellets or anything. It was just a big wet clump. I used so many damp paper towels trying to clean it but I couldn’t tell if it was still coming or what? And I’m not sure if the smell was normal but it was just so bad. So I still have her in the xpen (the only place I can catch her) cause I’m not sure what to do next. Is that what everyone always talks about being “poopybutt” or do you think it’s something else?

If anyone has any idea that would be great. I’m not sure if I should just put her back in her cage and check later or if I should take her to the vet.

[Kax0r]

Try to add cornstarch. If it’s hard to remove because it’s slightly dry, put him in a little bit of water and try to work it out.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Is Marlee the fluffy one in your avatar? If a bunny is obese or really fluffy on teh bottom (lionhead/angora etc) they may not get all their cecals (those stinky wet poos that come in the night that they eat) so really could be it.

I would clip the fur actually-use scissors and hold between the scissor and her bottom so you don’t clip the skin. Go slow and ensure your confident enough to do it. (Suggesting this if they are dried into the fur) If you aren’t confident you could get what’s called a ‘hygeine shave’ done at the vet (cheap-they just buzz the fur off the bum) and then see how the poopies are.

Real poopy bum is a wet bum with lots of mushy poop there-a few dried poopies stuck in the fur could be just that-a few dried poopies stuck.
The reason I suggest clipping them out or doing the hygeine shave is so you can see if it happens again and is truly poopy bum or not.

I can’t stress enough to be very very careful with the scissors-they have skin like cats-very stretchy-so be careful careful careful

[Kiley Rose]

None of it was dry, just really messy. I put her back in her cage and theres been a little more wettish droppings that look like a bunch of little poops together. Theres also some poops that look like they have a white powder on them or something…probably from last night? And there’s a ton of fur down there that I would not feel safe cutting because I would not want to hurt her. How much does the shave usually cost?

[Sarita]

That sound like cecals to me. I would recommend too that you get a vet to do a sanitary shave and not attempt this yourself.

It’s possible that this is stress related too due to the bonding.

[bunnytowne]

I trim my lionheads bum so things don’t stick in there.    Yours looks like a lionhead too.   Those cecals are sticky and smell they do tend to cake up and dry up in long haired bunnies sometimes.

Also if they get too much fruit or too rich a diet that could cause excess of cecals too.  If they create such an abundance and I mean abundance  they dont’ eat all of them and they stick and smell.  

[RabbitPam]

I would get the vet to do it initially, if only to have the vet see if they are regular cecals mushed together or poopy butt.
The vet can do a sanitary shave as Sarita suggested, but ask to watch and get tips on how to maintain her care yourself. If your bunny is not troubled by being held that way, you may be able to do it yourself routinely, but it’s a good idea to have someone show you how first.

I sometimes would do a butt bath – a mini bath by setting my bunnie’s back end and back feet in warm water in the sink, holding him while using very mild shampoo or fragrance free baby soap and a washcloth and just cleaning the area without getting the rest of him wet. Towel dry and blow dry on a warm, low setting.

If you think it’s not a one time thing but she’s still excreting mushy, diarrhea like poo, then definitely the vet.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think the poops stuck together=cecals
poops with white stuff-poops that got peed on.

Poopy bum can have many cause-important to see a vet soon!

Keep us posted!

[Kiley Rose]

I wasn’t able to catch her again today to check…once she even sees me go towards her she always runs into her cage and I don’t tend to reach in there unless I want to lose a finger..
I havent noticed any more white stuff and her litterbox is looking like it normally does. Maybe it is the stress from Nixie right next to her..? And it happened the first time I put them together in the xpen, Marlee got squirted a bit with the water bottle whenever she nipped or lunged at the baby. I called the vet and they said that they do not do sanitary shaves. So I’ll try and catch her sometime tomorrow and check it all out, and then go from there.
Thanks for all the help I kinda freaked when I saw it..still pretty new at all of this. I seriously think I’m going to always have rabbits from now on though, I love em!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Awww that’s good to hear Bunnies are great-really never thought they would be such good pets

If it continues thou would be a good idea to see the vet anyways -just in case

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