Poopy bottom possibly due to medicine?

[Andrei]

Hi, we have a young female rabbit here who had a “sprained leg” according to our vet. She recommended giving her calcium tablets (it says calcium + phosphorus on her note) and vitamins (LC-Vit https://goo.gl/0ZlFU3). This rabbit also had a poopy bottom prior but was given nothing for it since it looked mild. Now, it hasn’t gotten better and we have no idea what to do. I read someplace that it might be because she was being given pellets too young and so I thought of giving her mustard greens for the meantime as well as cleaning her bottom. What could you guys advise for my situation?

[Bam]

You can try a bunny-appropriate probiotic. Benebac is one, but there are many others.

Other than that, more fiber is key for a bun with poopy butt. If you can get her to eat more hay it’d be great. Poopy but stems from an unbalanced gut microbiota, and the gut microbiota in a young bun is (of course) immature. Pellets are as a rule quite fine for young rabbits after they’ve been weaned. So what’s lacking could very well be hay. Plain grass hay is best because alfalfa hay is so rich.

Medications and also the forced immobility after an injury is very likely to contribute to her problem. She might not be able to clean herself properly “downstairs” due to her sprain.

This is a very good article about poopy butt aka intermittent soft cecotropes:
http://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/

[Andrei]

Is it advisable that I clean her myself? How would I possibly do that?

[jerseygirl]

How old is she, Andrei?

What is her current diet?

With her sprain, it might be best to first attempt to clip off soiled fur or clean with wet wipes (if possible!) instead of bathing. But sometimes, bathing is the only option. I’d only do this if she is badly soiled and unable to clean herself up.
I’d place some sort of rubber mat down in the bath or sink first, to keep her steady.

Here is a pretty good description of how to give a rabbit a “butt bath”. You probably won’t need to use ointment that is mentioned in the article. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html 

[Andrei]

I don’t exactly know how old she is but all I know is that she hasn’t developed her sex organs yet. Her diet is composed of breeders’ pellets and water with the calcium tablet and vitamins that I indicated in the first post.

[Andrei]

UPDATE: I tried cleaning her up earlier but I wasn’t able to fully clean her, she was very stressed with the entire process so I didn’t proceed any further. I also switched her food to sweet potato tops (talbos ng kamote for Filipinos) as I read that it was a feasible and affordable food for bunnies here in the Philippines. The areas trimmed by the vet when I first took her there had been covered by poo and even her tail was almost gone because of the poop. I’ll take her to the vet when the vet becomes available in a few days while I monitor her closely for the meantime.

[Bam]

Sometimes sticky poop can be brushed/combed out if you first massage corn starch into it so it dries up.

Introducing a new veg right now might not be ideal, I’d rather stick with what she’s used to. Can you get her any type pof hay? I know this can be difficult in some countries, but another one of our Indonesian members recently said Bunny-nature had launched a product-line in Indonesia. They have several varieties of hay: https://bunny-nature.com/products.en

Hay would be really good for your little one, together with pellets and water.

[Andrei]

I’m afraid hay isn’t an option, would there be any alternative? Hay is REALLY difficult to find here in the Philippines for a reasonable price

[Limit]

Posted By Andrei on 3/29/2017 4:23 PM
I’m afraid hay isn’t an option, would there be any alternative? Hay is REALLY difficult to find here in the Philippines for a reasonable price

Unfortunately hay is most of their diet and the most important factor… this would explain her bad butt situation. Is there any farms around? Horses, cattle anything that stocks hay? You could ask them if they’d be willing to give you hay as long as you pay for what you’re getting. If not then the only way is to get the more expensive stuff… it really is needed for all rabbits diets.

[Andrei]

UPDATE: I took her to the vet yesterday and was given another set of medicine for her pooping. They gave me antibiotics and rehydration solutions for her.

[jerseygirl]

Thats good you were able to get her seen again.
What is the name of the antibiotics she is on?

We’ve had other members from the Philippines post here on Binky Bunny who had the same problem with finding hay. You could possibly introduce grass into her diet (after all, hay is just dried grass) but it may mean you’d have to regularly worm her incase she picks up intenstinal parasites from grasses. A lot of owners who let their rabbits regularly graze in their gardens worm their rabbits every 6 months.

I tried look up what type of grasses might be common there. Bermuda grass would be suitable.
If you can find a suitable grass, you could cut lots and dry it yourself so you’ll have a supply for your rabbit. Sometimes lots of fresh grass can be a bit much for them.

[12345ABCDE]

Posted By Andrei on 3/29/2017 4:23 PM

I’m afraid hay isn’t an option, would there be any alternative? Hay is REALLY difficult to find here in the Philippines for a reasonable price

Hay HAS to be an option. If that means paying through the roof for it, well that’s just how it is. Hay is the most important part of their diet. You cannot simply skip it.

[Andrei]

I’m going to pick up some hay tomorrow. I found a known but not so close location near me that sells hay but it’s the alfalfa kind which afaik based on other sites is not really as ideal. Will that suffice instead of nothing though?

[Andrei]

Posted By jerseygirl on 4/01/2017 5:17 AM

Thats good you were able to get her seen again.
What is the name of the antibiotics she is on?

We’ve had other members from the Philippines post here on Binky Bunny who had the same problem with finding hay. You could possibly introduce grass into her diet (after all, hay is just dried grass) but it may mean you’d have to regularly worm her incase she picks up intenstinal parasites from grasses. A lot of owners who let their rabbits regularly graze in their gardens worm their rabbits every 6 months.

I tried look up what type of grasses might be common there. Bermuda grass would be suitable.
If you can find a suitable grass, you could cut lots and dry it yourself so you’ll have a supply for your rabbit. Sometimes lots of fresh grass can be a bit much for them.

They gave me “Papi Scour” which is an “anti-scouring” medicine that has antibiotics and electrolytes to kill parasites that affect small animals. 

[Azerane]

Alfalfa hay is better than no hay Since she’s still young, alfalfa hay is recommended for younger rabbits anyway. She’ll at least be getting the fibre from it and it will help a lot with dental health.

[Andrei]

They didn’t have stock for Alfalfa either but I did get some meadow hay. It’s Chipsi Meadow Hay and for reference of the Filipinos who might be looking, it’s found in Cartimar Pet Center for $7 (350 pesos) 4kg.

[Bam]

Meadow hay is great for bunnies.

[Andrei]

Posted By bam on 4/02/2017 4:46 AM

Meadow hay is great for bunnies.

Yeah both our buns seem to love it. I also won’t feel bad for feeding them lots of it since it’s a staple in their diet. I hope it helps with my lady bunny’s gut issues.

[Bam]

I hope so too! It’s really great they love it, they can’t overdose on hay.

[Author]

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