How do i clean my bunnys messy bottom!!?

hey my little girl fudge has a sensitive stomach which means she cant get any green veggies and introducing anything little bit at a time. She is on supa rabbit Excel junior and dwarf and loves it. She does eat hay but a handful will last a week, i know this is not enough and i have tried everything but she is eating more than she used to. Anyway due to her not getting enough fiber in her diet from hay she always gets a messy bum. i have cut her food down to 10 grams a day (instead of her usual 40grams) and i find it impossible to clean her bum. i cant bathe her as she hates getting picked up. She doesnt mind me cleaning her bum when she is lying down but water just doesnt work and takes far to long. is there anything i can use or that anyone has heard of using to remove wet and dried in poo from her bum. I hate having to be careful when i am cutting dried poo from around her bum.

Please please help its just turning into a nightmare
thanks x

Hi!

I know some people use cornflour to clean messy bums, they rub it into the poo and it sort of rolls off I think. My Smokey sometimes suffers with a messy bum in the summer, I usually snip off the worst or if it's really bad, you could ask your vet to clip her bum for you, it makes it easier to keep clean for a few weeks.

You're right that your rabbit need to eat more hay. What bedding is she on? You may find if you put her on good quality meadow hay (I buy mine from my local horse feed merchant, a bale is less than £5 and lasts for weeks), she might eat a bit more hay or you could try a taster pack from The Hay Experts, to see if she has a favourite type of hay.

Hope this helps

FC xx

More hay if possible. Excel can cause messy bums too so cutting down/chaning pellets may help. I changed my bun over to Oxbow Bunny Basics and they sorted the problem out (they are hay based). They are expensive but I swear by them.

Cleaning, you can try some non-perfumed baby wipes. Do not wash completely. On occasion I also mixed a drop of small animal shampoo with warm water and used cotton wool pads (but squeeze out before using so just damp) and dry with a fresh cotton wool pad. I have also heard that cornflour may help.

Please remember to do bum checks for fly strike at least twice a day and consider putting some Rearguard on as a precaution.

Thanks for all the help will deffo try all of this.
In her cage she has a large towel covering the bottom and in her litter tray she has woodbased litter and carefresh as using wood shavings would make both her eyes water so cant give her that. She has a hay rack full of meadow hay from my local farm and a hay ball full of flavored hay(dandelion, nettle, peppermint and Rose) from Acorn(local pet shop)

All of my rabbits bottoms and ears get checked morning and night and teeth get checked weekly. I havent heard of rear guard until i checked it out. Do you get that from the vets? also I have read on here that science selective is better than excel but SS is alfalfa based, i thought that rabbit food wasnt meant to be alfalfa based but hay based.

Thanks for all your help x

FudgeMallow said:

Thanks for all the help will deffo try all of this.
In her cage she has a large towel covering the bottom and in her litter tray she has woodbased litter and carefresh as using wood shavings would make both her eyes water so cant give her that. She has a hay rack full of meadow hay from my local farm and a hay ball full of flavored hay(dandelion, nettle, peppermint and Rose) from Acorn(local pet shop)

All of my rabbits bottoms and ears get checked morning and night and teeth get checked weekly. I havent heard of rear guard until i checked it out. Do you get that from the vets? also I have read on here that science selective is better than excel but SS is alfalfa based, i thought that rabbit food wasnt meant to be alfalfa based but hay based.

Thanks for all your help x

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Yes, you can get Rearguard from the vets.

You could try putting the hay on the floor, my lot won't eat hay from hay racks, that involves stretching:lol:!

You're right, SS is Alfalfa based and if you have a rabbit that has real issues with calcium in it's urine, then it's perhaps not a good idea. However, SS has a good fibre content and is fine for the majority of rabbits, so it may be worth a try.

I use megazorb in their litter tray with some hay to cover it. It is pulp based and a lot cheaper than some of the litters you can buy. Lots of people use it on here (it is where I heard about it).

I never realised that SS could be a problem for calcium - that will explain why I had to rush Homer on Christmas Day 2006 to emergency hospital with bladder sludge! He had to have his bladder flushed-not cheap! We now use Oxbow, more expensive but poops are lovely!

bunny babe said:

I use megazorb in their litter tray with some hay to cover it. It is pulp based and a lot cheaper than some of the litters you can buy. Lots of people use it on here (it is where I heard about it).

I never realised that SS could be a problem for calcium - that will explain why I had to rush Homer on Christmas Day 2006 to emergency hospital with bladder sludge! He had to have his bladder flushed-not cheap! We now use Oxbow, more expensive but poops are lovely!

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goodness sorry to hijack this thread does it have too much or too little calcium in it then? as my two are on ss and love it...but dont want any probs...

FudgeMallow said:

hey my little girl fudge has a sensitive stomach which means she cant get any green veggies and introducing anything little bit at a time. She is on supa rabbit Excel junior and dwarf and loves it. She does eat hay but a handful will last a week, i know this is not enough and i have tried everything but she is eating more than she used to. Anyway due to her not getting enough fiber in her diet from hay she always gets a messy bum. i have cut her food down to 10 grams a day (instead of her usual 40grams) and i find it impossible to clean her bum. i cant bathe her as she hates getting picked up. She doesnt mind me cleaning her bum when she is lying down but water just doesnt work and takes far to long. is there anything i can use or that anyone has heard of using to remove wet and dried in poo from her bum. I hate having to be careful when i am cutting dried poo from around her bum.

Please please help its just turning into a nightmare
thanks x

Click to expand...

Snap! Had some problem with Bunnie, she hardly eat any hay and was on Excel Junior/Dwarf and we had to be careful with veg. Always had mesy bum and it took other half holding her down while i carefully and nervously cut away pooey fur!

Then one day she had too much of a new veg and ended up in hospital with GI Stasis.

Anyway since then got her weaned onto Bunny Basics T as this is very high in fibre as made out of Timothy Hay! She has a bout 8 tiny sticks for brekkie, and we changed her hay from Pampurred Pets Phab Hay to Oxbow Timothy Hay and she now eats a tonne of it. Only veg she has a day is a small piece of spring green and 2 lean green beans. Her tum is tonnes better and she hardly ever gets the evil bum anymore!

We have changed her hay to the Alfalfa King timothy hay as it's easier to get and pampurred pets sell it. Plus it keeps her teeth down which is good as never had teeth problem!

If your bun just won't eat much of any hay no matter what or where comes from I would invest in Bunny Basics T. I can order mine through the vet so don't have to pay high internet price + delivery!

bunlover said:

goodness sorry to hijack this thread does it have too much or too little calcium in it then? as my two are on ss and love it...but dont want any probs...

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When we got Bunnie she was on SS, and was getting white sludgy pee. Was because she can't have to much calcium. She also can't have too much broccoli and other hign calcium veg!

Some buns are sensitive and some aren't!

We use megazorb too for litter tray!

Lasts for months and thats with doing a litter tray change every night!

Only down side with it is when she comes out of her litter tray which she loves sitting and lying in, she leaves a trail of it behind it! Which is a good thing when she playing "lets go hide and watch them run around panicking that I have somehow escaped":roll: