Huge poop on bunny’s bottom

[PamperB]

Hi everyone. I have had a very big scare today. 

My bunny Pamper had a huge poop on her bottom, it was obstructing her vulva and it was a little bit on her tail. 

I put on gloves, tried to calm her and with some wet warm cotton I took out what I could. There is still some left but it’s very little and I figure she will try to clean it on her own.

Previously that morning, I had seen her poop and pee normally, which is why I didn’t suspect anything until I saw part of it slurred on the floor.

I fed her exclusively with pellets for the last few days, because I couldn’t find alfalfa in any of the stores, and not wanting her to be hungry, I may have fed her too many of them (it was the only thing I had that I could give her). Could this be why this happened? I feel so guilty.

UPDATE: I got alfalfa, and she is eating regularly. I cut off all the pellets, at least until she gets better. She has cleaned the rest of the poop off. She seems to be in better spirits!

Do I have to take her to the vet? Can she get a UTI because of this? What actions should I take in the next couple of days?

Thank you.

[PamperB]

Is it okay if I trim a little bit of the hair where it is still sticky? I would use a small pair of scissors, because some parts are hard to clean with cotton and I don’t want to be too rough.

[Kbana]

Hi, Yes, that is why she has had excessively goopy poop. Pellets are high in protein and nutrients and too much nutrient rich food can cause poopy butt. Have you tried shopping online for hay? I wonder if you could find online local sources? You are fine to trim the hair if you have to but make sure you can see it really well as to not clip the skin. Rabbit skin is very thin and stretchy so it can be easily cut on accident. I don’t know about the UTI aspect of your question. I would guess not if you cleaned the area but other members may be able to chime in here. I’ll do some research for you too and see if I can find hay resources that ship to Argentina. Do you have any horse feed stores near by? They might also be a resource instead of the pet stores.

[Kbana]

So far it looks like Amazon.com ships internationally. I have ordered hay from them before. I like Oxbow timothy hay. Do you have an amazon account? If not, it is easy to set up and they will give you a list of shipping rates based on your location and weight of the item that is being shipped. Feed stores are the only thing I can think that would be cheaper than shipping hay. Have you talked to your vet about what hay source they use? Also, if you know of any rabbit rescues in your area (or a reasonable distance away) they might be able to direct you to their hay source.

[PamperB]

Hi Kbana! I had to go all the way across the city but I finally found a shop that sells hay! I actually stocked up and bought many packages so as to prevent this situation from happening again. She just eats so much of it

I was just wondering because about the UTI because, well, in humans, when the urinary tract is exposed to certain bacteria, it is a possible cause of UTIs. But I don’t know about the bunny logic of the aspect, haha.

Thank you for the help. It means a lot.

[PamperB]

Oh, the Amazon thing is good to know because then I can look for other types of hay, not just alfalfa. Thanks!

[Kbana]

Sure! Good! Glad you found some. Yes, your bun is 3 months right? I think that is what you said in a previous post. Alfalfa is fine for the next few months but by 6 months you should really switch to Timothy or other grass based hays. Alfalfa is also pretty high in nutrients so as your bun ages it can cause digestive issues like poopy butt and weight gain I think. Mine never ate alfalfa because he was already on timothy when I got him but I think I’m recalling that correctly. Good luck!

[Author]

Messages