What is this?? (pictures of a certain part)

[Karla]

Hey. I need your help with Jack. Jack has problems cleaning himself, and so once in a while I clean his bottom. But now I just found this as I was moving his private parts to the side:

 

I cannot figure out if it is poo and something I should just remove. It is placed on the side of his genital parts – on the side where he is without fur and is pink. It smells like poo.

But the strange thing is that it sort of looks like it is attached to a bubble of some kind. So the bubble (which is part of his skin) sort of covers it at the bottom…I’d say it would look like he actually poops from the side and not from the middle? And that this poop has stuck while he has been pooping.

Sorry for a really bad description! Can anyone tell me how to deal with this? Do I just pull, should I let it be, should he see a vet?

I’m completely blank here.

[Karla]

Here is to clarify – the poop (I’m confident now it is a poop) comes out of this hole, which I have circled.

 

[RabbitPam]

Since it’s the weekend I would keep a close watch on his poos, and check the area for any change for the worse, ie. redness, swelling.
You got it off already, but I was going to recommend using a warm, soft damp cloth to moisten the area around it and gently see if it falls away.

If there is any change, call a vet to look at it, but it seems to just be a stuck poo. If you do need the vet, show her these pix.

[jerseygirl]

From your description of where it is I’m wondering if it;s from the anal glands? Could be waxy substance from them(some can get quite dark plugs, or poo that’s gotten trapped in anal gland pocket. As Pam said, warm cloth should soften it up for easy removal.

Maybe it is just poo. Might have some hair in it so hasn’t dropped out properly yet.

[Elrohwen]

I was thinking anal glands too – it seems to be in the right position.

[bunnytowne]

Thats what I thougth too.   Cotton gets those.  I open the gland and viola  a long black solid thing.  I have to use tweezers to get it out.  And I clean them once a month too.  Yet his still does that.   Probably cuz he poops his cotton scented poop on me when he is digging on my shirts.  With me in them.

Maybe since he uses his so often they get that buildup

Might be what your bun had going on

[BinkyBunny]

That second photo looks like it’s that waxy smelly stuff that comes from the anal glands. I mean it’s right there coming from the gland fold. You may need to clean them out if they are getting so full that they are pushing out the residue like that.   FUN times ahead for you.     (no, it’s not that bad…I mean, it’s stinky to clean them out, but it doesn’t last long.)

[Karla]

Thank you for all your help! We have just come back after spending most of Saturday at my parents’ place, but I will begin “operation remove poop from anal gland” now then.

So what’s the deal? Besides pulling out the poop should I sort of sqeese the anal glands?

[Karla]

I did it! I’m so happy I tried sqeesing the anal glands gently, but nothing came out. It took 10 minutes or so to remove the poop from the anal gland but I succeeded. Should he not be able to remove such things himself?

He is 5 years old, but that is really not that old for a bunny. Yesterday my boyfriend was asking me to come and check out Jack..he was sort of bended down and moving backwards. It seemed that he was trying to clean his feet, but that he just couldn’t bend properly down and thus had to move. So I supported his back so he could stay still and lick his feet. I’ve only seen it this once, but I did wonder if he could have less flexibilty due to old age or something. Could just be weird one-time behaviour, but since he also seems to have problems keeping himself clean?

[RabbitPam]

It’s not unusual to have trouble accessing their hindquarters as they age or become overweight. Next time you get him checked by the vet be sure to tell her since it may be something like the onset of arthritis, or he may need to go on a diet. She can clean his anal glands for you the next time he needs it and see if he has more going on. Watch to make sure this isn’t a chronic situation. If so, take him in for an exam.

[BinkyBunny]

Seems  like you may have gotten the  glands cleaned ??- however you don’t  need to squeeze them (like a dog or cats). The stuff really doesn’t fully come out that way — or at least you won’t get all of it.   Check out the  Monthly Maintenance Section and scroll down to anal glands to see how you clean them.

They are little slits right where the stuff is coming out (in the secondp pic)   and when you open them (with  your fingers)  they will have a gross waxy substence like ear wax in them. Many times they can get very hard and uncomfortable for a bunny (Which may be why your Jack is not leaning on his hiney when he is trying to clean his legs)

Once you open the slit, you will see why it may be hard for a bunny to reach them. They go pretty far up, plus they are confined to that little pocket, which would be difficult for a bunny to get to.  So that is why it is important to check them.  Some bunnies don’t produce much gland stuff, while other produce alot.  And so how often they need to actually be cleaned will be an individual thing.  Just check every month (not that you have to clean every month) but just to get an idea of how quickly he builds it up and to prevent it from getting hard and uncomfortable.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Bindi’s gland looked exactly like that a couple of months ago. His way of telling me to stop procrastinating the anal gland cleaning. I was a wuss though, after my initial try and failure to get him still, I got my vet to do it since he was going in for an ear check anyways.

[bunnytowne]

Oh nooo don’t squeeze the anal glands.  they open up .    They are on each side of his uh  penis.  Sorry I don’t mean to offend or be graphic but I can’t think of anything else to call it and I figure using the anatonically correct term instead of slang would be more appropriate.

They open.  Usually people take some q tips wet them and use them to clean the waxy substance out.  Cotton Boo’s I have to get out with tweezers very carefully so I don’t tear his skin by mistake.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh nooo don’t squeeze the anal glands. they open up . They are on each side of his uh penis. Sorry I don’t mean to offend or be graphic but I can’t think of anything else to call it and I figure using the anatonically correct term instead of slang would be more appropriate.

Totally

I’ve always heard it called the genital mound. I quite like ‘peri area’

Definitely don’t squeeze. You just gently open it up-it’s like a flap-the anal glands are external whereas in a dog they are inside and you have to put your finger in the anus and squeeze through the skin. Bunny bums are easier

[Karla]

Okay, thanks to all of you. I really ought to read up on this – it has just been a topic that was nice to ignore. No squeezing! Promise I won’t do it again.

And thanks for the link, BB.

[TARM]

Ugh, I started doing glands on the shelter buns a few weekends ago and OMG did it stink! I couldn’t get rid of that smell until I got home and showered. *gag*

[Author]

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