rabbit problems

hey every one
am here to ask a few questions
first one
my rabbit sits in her house
and the poor sticks(the poo gets warm) to her bum
i dont think she sick its just that her house is small(we let him sleep on the sofia so hes not sleeping in a small box or any thing she just poops and eats in the small box)

we give her fresh water every day and give her food when she needs it
also the box is full of hay so i think we meet the requirements.


a other problem is that i saw a bit of blood in one of her ears
it wasen't much but am not sure if hes just ictched it or hes got earmites
i notice shes got a bit of wax but not much


please help

Ok. I don't know a lot about ear problems but I suggest a trip to the vet if you are worried. As for the poo she may be producing excess caecotrphs (the soft poo that they eat). If they produce too many they won't eat them all so a diet teak is usuallyy required.

Can you tell me what sort of dry food you are feeding her (pellets/muesli, brand and type e.g. excell junior) and how much dry food she gets per day

It sounds like your bunny needs a good check over with a vet to rule out any obvious or significant health problems. That should be your first port of call, and to make sure she is up to date with her vaccinations etc.

Can I ask why her cage is so small? Is there any way you can give her more space, it is really essential for buns to have plenty of space to play and stretch their legs, it also helps their tummies by keeping moving, things inside move along properly.

In terms of her messy bottom, there are many causes for this from dental issues (which will need a rabbit savvy vet to check) to dietary imbalance that causes overgrowth of the bad bacteria in the caecum and then bunny produces too many caecotrophs or caecotrophs that don't smell right or taste right and so they just leave them, and end up sitting on them - hence the messy bum. Bathing a rabbit should only be done very carefully as it is very stressful for them and it is best to just clean their bottom area and keep them as dry as possible, or you can use sensitive baby wipes or a damp flannel. It is important to keep her bottom clean though for health reasons and to prevent fly strike. (Thankfully not so many flies around now).
The most common trigger for dietary imbalance is too much carbohydrate - and the main source of this is commercial pelleted or museli rabbit feed. For these reasons it is recommended that just an eggcup full of rabbit food is sufficient for an adult bunny once a day, the rest of their diet should be 90% hay. If you feed too much commercial feed, bun will be too full up to eat hay that they so desperately need. Veggies and herbs and weeds/plant material is also essential to the diet, but a bun with sticky bottom needs to get their caecum rebalanced first with lots of hay and then introduce the veg again once the messy bum has cleared up, and slowly.
I would pop her to the vet first of all though for a check up. In the meantime, cut down the dried feed and encourage her to eat more hay. Fresh sweet meadow/farm hay is much preferred by buns to dry dusty petshop stuff. :wave:

Have a read of this: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=670

starcraftmaster61 said:

a other problem is that i saw a bit of blood in one of her ears
it wasen't much but am not sure if hes just ictched it or hes got earmites
i notice shes got a bit of wax but not much


please help

Click to expand...

You also need to get this checked out, it could be canker (ear mites) or just wax, but a waxy ear is a breeding ground for bacteria and she could end up with an ear infection which can be very serious in rabbits, so best to pop her to a vet for this too.

I think from what you are saying that she is a house rabbit who is allowed to roam around quite a bit but she uses a smallish cage for a litter tray? If so this is ok, although she shouldn't be locked in there.

The sticky poo is likely to be cause by either too much food or a food that doesn't agree with her & especially can be caused if the bun is overweight or if older arthritic. Assuming she is a medium sized bun she should be getting a very small cupped handful of a high quality, high fibre pelleted rabbit food. Excel is a good brand but has been known to cause upset tummies in some buns. Science selective is the other I would recomend. Veg wise she should be getting a handful of mixed veg a day. The rest of her diet should be hay hay hay. Any changes you make to her food should be very gradual. Even if you stick to this some buns need a little bit of extra support in the form of probiotics. You can get one from pets at home which is easy to get and quite good.

However you do need to get the ear checked out by the vet. he can also weigh her and give you dietry advice.

ecudc said:

I think from what you are saying that she is a house rabbit who is allowed to roam around quite a bit but she uses a smallish cage for a litter tray? If so this is ok, although she shouldn't be locked in there.

Click to expand...

Oh yes! Sorry, read it in a hurry.

a eggcup of food perday?
gee we feed her heaps
a eggcup dont sound like much?
dont want to stave her lol

her food is a pellets and seeds and grass looking stuff




this a new pet so am not sure how much vets cost
how much you think is a check up in aus money?

starcraftmaster said:

a eggcup of food perday?
gee we feed her heaps
a eggcup dont sound like much?
dont want to stave her lol

her food is a pellets and seeds and grass looking stuff




this a new pet so am not sure how much vets cost
how much you think is a check up in aus money?

Click to expand...

Ok, an eggcup full is plenty especially for an indoor bunny. If she has unlimited hay then she will be fine along with a small amount of veggies. It sounds like muesli you are feeding her, theat's not the best as they can selectively feed. You need to get hold of some pellets instead.

My vet is around £17 UK for a check up I think? I never have just a check up though - usually vaccinations or treatment so it is invariably a bit more. I think some vets charge as little as £12 or so. It depends on the vet, time of day, how specialist they are etc. Not sure what this is in Aus money though sorry

That's probably your problem then dietary wise. An eggcup full really IS enough! (Unless your bun is elderly or unable to maintain weight due to health issues) My buns don't get any rabbit food at all. They live on hay and veg only and are thriving. In the wild buns just eat grass, hay and weeds, plants, bark and roots etc, nothing more. Rabbits are hindgut digestors and therefore high levels of protein and starch (from cereals and seeds etc) are not actually that beneficial to them, and in large amounts can do harm. You will probably find if you slowly start to restrict the dried feed that your bun's tummy improves - but it does take time to recolonise the caecal bacteria properly - several months in some cases. Did you read that article I posted earlier? It will explain it all much better than me.
Seeds are also a risk of impaction. Can you find a high fibre pelleted feed instead that you could gradually switch her over to at the same time as reducing feed amounts? All changes must be done ever so slowly over a couple of weeks really.

I think a vet check up would be a good idea all the same. :wave:

Another good article:
http://www.vet2pet.co.uk/pethealth/rabbithealth/feeding_rabbit.asp