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Dirty Matted Bum!

J

Julie-Sam

New Kit
Hello,

When I got Sam from the rescue centre I was warned that he kept getting a dirty rear end. He seems to suffer from runny poo at least 2-3 days a week, nothing changes in his diet on these days.

He has a very thick coat and his bum has always been VERY matted and because I am used to cleaning his bum every couple of days. While cleaning him today I was combing out some poo and I noticed that where some matted hair has come out he has a patch of about 1inch that is completely bald.:(

Could my combing have caused this? Should I stop? Or could the hair be irratating him and causing him to chew?

I have never been sure whether to just clean it all up properly once and for all removing the matted hair (probably leaving his bum pretty bald) or should I leave it. The whole area is pretty smelly despite being bathed constantly.

If I remove the hair will he be warm enough, hes a house rabbit.. Do you think I should take him to vet to see what is causing it? He was there for neutering and vet didnt seem concerned when I showed him.

Sorry for rambling!!
 
Has your Rabbit had his teeth checked by a Vet ? It is not normal for a Bun to have a mucky bum and Dental 'issues' are often at the root of the problem.

I would take your Bun to the Vet for a thorough examination and also ask the Vet to clip the fur around his rear end. If he cant keep himself clean he is at risk of Flystrike so I would also ask the Vet about using Rearguard on him

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Novartis_Animal_Health_UK_Ltd/Rearguard/-28337.html
 
Julie-Sam said:
Hello,

When I got Sam from the rescue centre I was warned that he kept getting a dirty rear end. He seems to suffer from runny poo at least 2-3 days a week, nothing changes in his diet on these days.

He has a very thick coat and his bum has always been VERY matted and because I am used to cleaning his bum every couple of days. While cleaning him today I was combing out some poo and I noticed that where some matted hair has come out he has a patch of about 1inch that is completely bald.:(

Could my combing have caused this? Should I stop? Or could the hair be irratating him and causing him to chew?

I have never been sure whether to just clean it all up properly once and for all removing the matted hair (probably leaving his bum pretty bald) or should I leave it. The whole area is pretty smelly despite being bathed constantly.

If I remove the hair will he be warm enough, hes a house rabbit.. Do you think I should take him to vet to see what is causing it? He was there for neutering and vet didnt seem concerned when I showed him.

Sorry for rambling!!
Click to expand...

:wave: I would defitnely take him for a check-up, are you giving him veg/fruit?:D
 
When he was neutered he had his teeth checked and everything is fine. He Always seems to be grooming his hind legs but not sure if he is grooming his bum! Do you think for now i should trim away the worst of the hair and then monitor how it goes from there? He was in the rescue centre for 2 months and was matted when i got him, could he have gotten dirty from sitting in the cage with minimum exercise for so long?

He has hay, pellets and veg every day.
 
:
Julie-Sam said:
When he was neutered he had his teeth checked and everything is fine. He Always seems to be grooming his hind legs but not sure if he is grooming his bum! Do you think for now i should trim away the worst of the hair and then monitor how it goes from there? He was in the rescue centre for 2 months and was matted when i got him, could he have gotten dirty from sitting in the cage with minimum exercise for so long?

He has hay, pellets and veg every day.
Click to expand...

:wave: The reason i ask about veg is that my friends bun, also has had a messy bum:oops: shes taken his veg off him and gave him unlimited hay as normal and touch wood is ok.Sometimes even when teeth are checked under ga, somethings cant be seen without an xray.Good luck.:D
 
stick to a hay only diet for a little while get some differnat hay oat wheat and barley my bun love, also while there get the vet to clip the area as well makes it soooooo much easy for cleaning,
 
What pellets are you giving him. I found that one of mine had a mucky bum when they were on Excel. I now use Oxbow Bunny Basics T which is hay based and did not have any problems for over a year, until 3 weeks ago :roll: but it was only minor. Fibreplex helped to sort it out.

Obviously if he eats hay this is the best thing that will help him.

I also would advise getting the teeth checked properly as they may contribute to the problem if food is not being chewed/digested properly.
 
bunny babe said:
What pellets are you giving him. I found that one of mine had a mucky bum when they were on Excel. I now use Oxbow Bunny Basics T which is hay based and did not have any problems for over a year, until 3 weeks ago :roll: but it was only minor. Fibreplex helped to sort it out.

Obviously if he eats hay this is the best thing that will help him.

I also would advise getting the teeth checked properly as they may contribute to the problem if food is not being chewed/digested properly.
Click to expand...

I was just gonna ask what pellets?

I feed excel & have no problems, but apparently some people experience mucky bum on them (well, their rabbits do:shock::lol:)
 
Thanks for the replies, I have gave him no veg today and am going to switch his pellets over... i was on excel.... he has 2 types of hay at the moment. Trying to only feed him that but he is stealing his misses food and shes so tiny would be worried about just giving her hay!

I think his baldness may be due to his matting mixed with the fact he is losing most his hair molt! His hair is about in inch long and its all coming out to be replaced with hair 1 cm long.... making lots of mess :lol:

Going to take Carmel to see about getting spayed, and getting her nails clipped so will take him along :)
 
dirty bum

I have had the same problem with my rabbit thumper for months now, what i done was got a book on rabbits and it told me to get a damp warm sponge or cloth and give his bum a wipe. :D
 
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