• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Every Angle has Been Covered

fluffiebunnie

fluffiebunnie

Warren Veteran
Not posted for a while, but wondered if anyone can help with an issue that has been going on for as long as I have owned Twinkle (female spayed nethie x about 18 months old). She lives outside with Pickle who is a bit bossy. they dont fight but dont cuddle up either.

She has ALWAYS had a mucky bum, and here is what I have so far done:

Put her on SS and she has now been reduced to 10 pellets a day (half morning and night)
Small amount of veg a day (quarter spring green leaf)
Unlimited hay
Probiotic in water when her tummy really bad.

She is up to date on vacc, she has just been wormed. She has just been weighed at the vet and had a full health check up and all is fine. He said her teeth are not causing any problems.

Has anyone ANY IDEA what can be causing this tummy trouble??? It has really got me cos I think I have done everything I can possibly do, but it cannot be right that she needs a bum wash every week :shock:

Hope someone has that magical answer!!
 
Our old bun Basil had this problem, and we (with the help of our vet) tried so many different things. His seemed to get better when the amount of green veg was reduced but we instead fed him grass and hay, but he'd still have good days and bad days. His problem was he didn't eat his caecotrophs, and being quite well endowed they used to all stick together. He wasn't overweight, he just wouldn't eat them. I'll be interested to hear other people's experiences...I guess some buns have more sensitive tummies than others.
 
Can you cut out her pellets totally? Have you tried her with no spring greens to make sure she is not sensitive to those?

Is she actually a good hay eater? It could be she is still lacking in Fiber....have you tried using Fiberplex with her?

In the mean time would it not be easier for the vet to shave Twinkles bottom to try and minimise the amount of feaces being stuck there.
 
Sooz22 said:
Can you cut out her pellets totally? Have you tried her with no spring greens to make sure she is not sensitive to those?

Is she actually a good hay eater? It could be she is still lacking in Fiber....have you tried using Fiberplex with her?

In the mean time would it not be easier for the vet to shave Twinkles bottom to try and minimise the amount of feaces being stuck there.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply. I have just bought some Excel Lite to slowly introduce her to those as I was reading on another thread that some bunnies dont tolerate SS too well. I could go down the line of no pellets but think that would be a last resort. :cry: She loves them so much.

I stopped giving her veg completely but that made no difference.

She does seem to eat a lot of hay. She gets two big handfuls a day. She is eating hay as we speak... I havent tried Fiberplex. What is that?

The vets did trim her when she was spayed, but the poo just stuck to her skin rather than in her fur.... I have managed to learn how to bath just her underside and tail without too much distress, but would rather not have to put her through it every week.
 
We had similar issues with out mini-lop Molly and never really got to the bottom of the problem. She was a rescue though that came from very bad circumstances, including her partner dying of flystrike, so to some extent we always thought it was due to her diet in her formative months.

We found that shaving REALLY helped. For the few minutes it takes for the shaving to be done, it saved both her and me SO much stress from constantly picking her up and cleaning her.

Hope you make progress - I know what you're going through :(
 
Woodlouse said:
We had similar issues with out mini-lop Molly and never really got to the bottom of the problem. She was a rescue though that came from very bad circumstances, including her partner dying of flystrike, so to some extent we always thought it was due to her diet in her formative months.

We found that shaving REALLY helped. For the few minutes it takes for the shaving to be done, it saved both her and me SO much stress from constantly picking her up and cleaning her.

Hope you make progress - I know what you're going through :(
Click to expand...

How often did the bunny need to be shaved? And was it done whilst the bunny was awake?
 
fluffiebunnie said:
Thanks for the reply. I have just bought some Excel Lite to slowly introduce her to those as I was reading on another thread that some bunnies dont tolerate SS too well. I could go down the line of no pellets but think that would be a last resort. :cry: She loves them so much.

I stopped giving her veg completely but that made no difference.

She does seem to eat a lot of hay. She gets two big handfuls a day. She is eating hay as we speak... I havent tried Fiberplex. What is that?

The vets did trim her when she was spayed, but the poo just stuck to her skin rather than in her fur.... I have managed to learn how to bath just her underside and tail without too much distress, but would rather not have to put her through it every week.
Click to expand...

I would look for the lowest protein pellet on the market. A diet rich in protein can be a key cause of sticky bottom syndrome.

Personally I have had lots of rabbits who cannot tolerate Excel, which has a bit of a rep. for causing SBS but never a problem with SS. Have you tried Allan & Paige?

Fibreplex is a paste which is goven into the mouth froma dispenser not dissimilar to Panacur. Its a highly concentrated Fiber and probiotic mix designed to be given 3 times daily for 3-4 days (until tube is empty).

http://www.protexin.com/vet/product.php?id=22

I have had good results from it in the past.
 
Last edited:
Excel Lite is 12% protein. Science Selective is 14% protein - which is why I thought it might be worth changing... as I know the protein might be causing the problem.

But any other ideas are greatly received......
 
Sooz22 said:
Fibreplex is a paste which is goven into the mouth froma dispenser not dissimilar to Panacur. Its a highly concentrated Fiber and probiotic mix designed to be given 3 times daily for 3-4 days (until tube is empty).

http://www.protexin.com/vet/product.php?id=22

I have had good results from it in the past.
Click to expand...


So would she be on this for life? Or just until I use one tube? Her litter tray is always full of nice round poos so she can do normal ones.... just not sure where the mess is coming from!!!! (Well I know its coming from her but unsure as to whether it is her c-poos she not eating or just on/off squitty poos).
 
fluffiebunnie said:
So would she be on this for life? Or just until I use one tube? Her litter tray is always full of nice round poos so she can do normal ones.... just not sure where the mess is coming from!!!! (Well I know its coming from her but unsure as to whether it is her c-poos she not eating or just on/off squitty poos).
Click to expand...

I would try it for a couple of weeks and see if it helps but its not really practical to keep her on it for life. It could offer you support whilst trying to identify the problem.

I would seriously consider cutting pellets out all together for a while too.

My rabbit Caspian, who I lost in November, had terrible GI troubles and he was getting through a tube a week to try and improves his GI function. It certainly improved the quality of his stools but sadly his problems were much more serious.
 
Its so difficult to get the balance right. My other bunny, Pickle, eats whatever he likes and has never once had a problem....

I watched Twinkle today and she was munching on this morning's hay for a good hour - more than Pickle did.

Another thought - could the Panacur rabbit wormer have caused an extra messy bottom? As I have just done a routine course for them both - vet suggested it when seeing her mucky bum when she had her check up.

Also, when I got her she was on a food mix and didnt have this problem.... so are the mix foods less protein? (I know they are not high fibre - but just thinking aloud in that it might be protein she has a problem with)
 
I had problems with excess poops.

After much trial and error - and dimness - on my part I realised the pellets (Excel Junior) were to blame. I tried probiotics and fibreplex which had no effect. Barney fared no better on SS when we swapped to these, I guess he was an overly sensitive bun, so I then tried Oxbow Bunny Basics T.

Bingo! The excess poops stopped as soon as Barney went onto these. They are very high fibre and timothy hay based. I am sure the other pellets were too protein/alfalfa rich for him. Barney is a mini lop, am wondering if small buns are more sensitive.

I highly recommend the Oxbow pellets. It may well be that there are other factors with Twinkle too but I would suggest cutting out Twinkle's pellets altogether and see what effect that has and then introduce a different pellet if the excess poops stop.

Good luck
vanessa xx
 
fluffiebunnie said:
Its so difficult to get the balance right. My other bunny, Pickle, eats whatever he likes and has never once had a problem....

I watched Twinkle today and she was munching on this morning's hay for a good hour - more than Pickle did.

Another thought - could the Panacur rabbit wormer have caused an extra messy bottom? As I have just done a routine course for them both - vet suggested it when seeing her mucky bum when she had her check up.

Also, when I got her she was on a food mix and didnt have this problem.... so are the mix foods less protein? (I know they are not high fibre - but just thinking aloud in that it might be protein she has a problem with)
Click to expand...

I had one rabbit who I thought *may* have had SBS caused by Panacur but It stopped not long after we completed the course. Its certainly not documented as a side effect, and I would not expect it to be your primary issue here given Twinkle has had SBS since you got her.
 
Well she has tried mix which she was on when she was a baby and I didnt "notice" the problem but changed her immediately to Excel as that was what Pickle was on.

Noticed a problem with her then so changed to SS after reading good comments on here. Mucky bum still bad on SS so now looking for other options...


Can either go down the line of:

Less protein Excel Lite

or can try the

Higher fibre of Oxbow (where can I get that from?)

Please vote now for my two options!!
 
Sooz22 said:
I had one rabbit who I thought *may* have had SBS caused by Panacur but It stopped not long after we completed the course. Its certainly not documented as a side effect, and I would not expect it to be your primary issue here given Twinkle has had SBS since you got her.
Click to expand...

Agreed... just thinking aloud :)
 
Last edited:
Vanessa.B said:
I had problems with excess poops.

After much trial and error - and dimness - on my part I realised the pellets (Excel Junior) were to blame. I tried probiotics and fibreplex which had no effect. Barney fared no better on SS when we swapped to these, I guess he was an overly sensitive bun, so I then tried Oxbow Bunny Basics T.

Bingo! The excess poops stopped as soon as Barney went onto these. They are very high fibre and timothy hay based. I am sure the other pellets were too protein/alfalfa rich for him. Barney is a mini lop, am wondering if small buns are more sensitive.

I highly recommend the Oxbow pellets. It may well be that there are other factors with Twinkle too but I would suggest cutting out Twinkle's pellets altogether and see what effect that has and then introduce a different pellet if the excess poops stop.

Good luck
vanessa xx
Click to expand...

Is this what you use? (They seem to do two kinds)

https://www.thehayexperts.com/product_info.php?products_id=245
 
Is Twinkle passing formed caecotrophs that she is just not eating ?
Could that be because she finds it uncomfortable to get to her bum because she has some arthritis in her spine?

Did she have her teeth checked under GA ? It is often not possible to see a molar spur on the very back teeth whilst Bun is awake.

I believe Tree (SOAD) has/had a bun who would get a mucky bum on pellet feeds but was fine on a mix :?

Janex
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Is Twinkle passing formed caecotrophs that she is just not eating ?
Could that be because she finds it uncomfortable to get to her bum because she has some arthritis in her spine?

Did she have her teeth checked under GA ? It is often not possible to see a molar spur on the very back teeth whilst Bun is awake.

I believe Tree (SOAD) has/had a bun who would get a mucky bum on pellet feeds but was fine on a mix :?

Janex
Click to expand...

Thanks Jane for replying. To answer your questions...

I havent seen her eat caecotrops or seen normal ones from her.

She is very lively so do not think she has discomfort in her back. She is a skittish bouncy thing so would find it hard to imagine she has arthritis - but worth mentioning to a vet I agree.

He teeth were checked whilst she was awake with a tool put into her mouth and the vet looked in that way. He was looking for a good few minutes both sides. She eats hay very well and would not want to put her under a GA if I can sort this with a diet change.... agreed if I have tried every diet change then the only option would be a GA for a more thorough dental check.

I only had her on mix for a couple of weeks when I first got her so cannot be 100% sure it didnt cause any problems.
 
when you cut out veg, how long did you cut it out for? I would just give hay and a few pellets in the morning, as she seems to be a good hay eater. Having no veg won't hurt her as pellets have vitamins in them. Nethies are a bit squat and can struggle to reach their bum, so if she hasn't got a lot of room she will sit in them accidentally whilst trying to turn around to eat them - how big is her accomodation?

I would also recommend cooking cornflour to give her bum a dry bath - just rub it in a pinch at a time, working it into the dirt with your fingernails, and it will slide off. The piggie I used this on had been dirty for 2yrs - it seemed when I washed her it gave her a urinary tract infection which made her wee more, and the constant dampness made her caecal poops stick to the fur in a slurry which dried like rock - and of course without eating her caecal poops her digestion was unbalanced and she was never 'quite right', although not actually ill. 2 cornflour 'baths' later, her uti cleared up, her poops became more formed, as she was eating her caecals properly, and she's so happy now I wish I'd tried cornflour years ago :roll:
 
fluffiebunnie said:
Its so difficult to get the balance right. My other bunny, Pickle, eats whatever he likes and has never once had a problem....

I watched Twinkle today and she was munching on this morning's hay for a good hour - more than Pickle did.

Another thought - could the Panacur rabbit wormer have caused an extra messy bottom? As I have just done a routine course for them both - vet suggested it when seeing her mucky bum when she had her check up.

Also, when I got her she was on a food mix and didnt have this problem.... so are the mix foods less protein? (I know they are not high fibre - but just thinking aloud in that it might be protein she has a problem with)
Click to expand...

another forum member (friskyclover I think?) has put her rabbits back onto mix, as they seem to be better with their tums on mix - but she only gives a tiny bit really as a treat, not a whole bowlful. Might be worth a try but you need to change foods slowly over the course of 2 weeks, just a tiny bit more of any new food per day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Gi stasis, no vets available
Replies
9
Views
199
ERCD
E
hazelthebun18
Need help Rabbit has fur loss on foot
Replies
3
Views
215
Babsie
B
PumpkinBells
Healing and forearm lifting question
Replies
11
Views
246
PumpkinBells
PumpkinBells
Back
Top