Smelly Poops

[laurene1017]

Hello everyone! I’ve searched the internet high and low for answers, but none are the exact problem I’m having. 

I have had my bunny, Lenny, since October when I rescued him from the great outdoors (a resident at the apartment complex I live at apparently let him loose). I made an appointment within the month to get him neutered since he stunk so badly, plus he was showing some cage aggression towards me. Long story short, now that it’s getting warmer, I’ve noticed that my place stinks. It’s one of those sour, offensive smells like BO. I clean his litter box daily at this point (I use to let it go every other day) as well as pick up any loose poops I see in and around the cage. I change his bedding as needed. Also, his poops are normal colored and shaped. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

The thing is, he’ll do a poop as soon as I change it and make the house stink all over again. I can’t keep wasting litter, and I can’t keep him outside yet. And before anyone asks, it’s definitely the poop that smells horrible and not the urine. 

His diet consists of almost all hay, and I try to incorporate greens as much as I can. A bag of spinach can last him 3 days, and I don’t go to the store that often haha. I will give him broccoli, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and any other veggie leftovers I have that he’ll eat. I don’t do this every day since I don’t always have fresh veggies around, and the poop especially smells when he has fresh food. I try to stay away from the pellets too, since I usually give him a feeder full if I go away on the weekend and I know they aren’t the best for buns. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I love my little Len, but he sure is a stinker!! Thanks! 

[jerseygirl]

That smell sounds like territorial poos. To me, it’s a bit like corn chips. Is he leaving some scattered poos out of the litterbox?

With territorial poos, they look like normal fecal droppings (ie. round hay balls) but have a slightly shiny coating. That’s what’s smells. Are you noticing that?

[laurene1017]

I figured it was something like that, and YES! I do notice a shine to them. 

He does poo outside the box sometimes, but I just thought it was because he wasn’t the best at litter training. Usually it’s within the cage, but if he’s snacking outside, I’ll find the random poo ball, or they’ll be on top of his little ledge in the cage. 

How do I stop this?? I do have a male cat, but Lenny doesn’t have a problem with him and vice versa. 

[jerseygirl]

When they do territorial droppings, it’s usually more out of the box, which is why I asked.

This sort of thing normally resolved by itself, after he’s felt his marked his territory adequately.
I wonder why he’s doing it. Could you cat have been in his litter box?
Have you had visitors (human or animal?)
Has his box been moved to a new position?

Maybe it’s just a beginning of spring thing…

There’s not much you can do but wait it out. And try use things around the place that absorb odour. Sorry!

[laurene1017]

None of the above! Maybe it’s just a Spring thing, but it’s good to know it’s relatively normal! 

I’ll keep my Glade plugins going! Haha 

Thanks! 

[Azerane]

In addition to that suggestion, I’d also recommend cutting down on the broccoli. It has a tendency to cause gas, and bunny gas can be very stinky

[Author]

Messages