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Dirty bottom

Wuezybun

Wuezybun

Warren Scout
I have a female house rabbit who constantly ends up with a dirty bottom and needs bathing.
I've tried a few things already:
- change from excel to SS and reducing pellets in general
- putting hay in her bowl rather than just the rack as she seems not to like stretching up to the rack
- the vet checked her teeth and says there are slight spurs but not enough to create this problem

She does have penguin type splayed back legs which really aren't very mobile. I believe these are the result of her being kept in a small hutch when she was a baby with no space to exercise (she's a rescue rabbit)

Could it be that the lack of movement when she was little has also affected her back and so her ability to clean herself? She does try to clean herself but seems to have a lot of difficulty reaching. She is not overweight.

Is there a type of pellets with a higher fibre content than SS?

What are the best veg to give her apart from hay?

The vet has said that I could try her on metacam for a while to see if the reason she can't reach is because she is in pain when she stretches. Does anybody have any views on this?

Thanks!
 
Have you considered treating for EC? A rabbit having an attack of EC can sometimes end up with a mucky bum.

For those who don't know about EC http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/ecuniculi.htm

It could be because she has reduced movement as she may not get to her anus to re-eat her cecals. This could be arthritis, or any other muscular/skeletal problem. Some lack of movement can be caused by EC.

If she isn't getting too much pellet (egg cup full) or a handful of suitable veg, but is eating lots of hay, then it may be worth investigating for other clinical issues.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your quick response.

I have an EC foster rabbit with a head tilt so Suzi (the rabbit with the messy bum) got a 28 day course of panacur in July. I didn't notice a big difference to her during or after this.
 
Wuezybun said:
Thanks for your quick response.

I have an EC foster rabbit with a head tilt so Suzi (the rabbit with the messy bum) got a 28 day course of panacur in July. I didn't notice a big difference to her during or after this.
Click to expand...

Good, well that may rule that out then, and so it may well be worth trying the metacam for a period of time as this would certainly help with some back/leg issues
 
Wuezybun said:
I have a female house rabbit who constantly ends up with a dirty bottom and needs bathing.
I've tried a few things already:
- change from excel to SS and reducing pellets in general
- putting hay in her bowl rather than just the rack as she seems not to like stretching up to the rack
- the vet checked her teeth and says there are slight spurs but not enough to create this problem

She does have penguin type splayed back legs which really aren't very mobile. I believe these are the result of her being kept in a small hutch when she was a baby with no space to exercise (she's a rescue rabbit)

Could it be that the lack of movement when she was little has also affected her back and so her ability to clean herself? She does try to clean herself but seems to have a lot of difficulty reaching. She is not overweight.

Is there a type of pellets with a higher fibre content than SS?

What are the best veg to give her apart from hay?

The vet has said that I could try her on metacam for a while to see if the reason she can't reach is because she is in pain when she stretches. Does anybody have any views on this?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would suggest asking you Vet to examin her to check for any signs of pain in her spine. If she has issues with her back legs she may also have some spondylosis/arthritis in her spine. This may also be why she finds it difficult to reach up to a hay rack and prefers to eat hay from a bowl.

If your Vet thinks arthritic pain is a possibility then a non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Metacam should help. Metacam is well tolerated and can be given daily to maintain a therapeutic dose. The oral preparation is Honey flavoured and most Rabbits like the taste.

My arthritic Rabbits have also benefitted from acupuncture.

Hope some of this helps your Bun

xx
 
Thanks for the advice. I think I'll give Suzi a trial on the Metacam. It worked wonders on Lola, my head tilt foster bunny and she certainly loved the taste and came running up to get it every evening. The info on honey flavouring maybe explains that..
 
My netherland dwarf has the same problem.
I used to have to give her a bath like..twice a week.

Try to give only green veggies. No store bought treats.
If you don't already, you could try feeding just plain old Timothy pellets
and two types of hay. Like bermuda grass and orchard grass for example.

Or you could take em to a vet and get a fecal float/culture done
to make sure he/she isn't over-producing bacteria and to make sure
your bunny doesn't have a parasite. ><
 
If a rabbit regularly gets a dirty bottom it normally means that something isn't quite right. Often overweight rabbits or elderly rabbits that may be a bit arthritic are prone to dirty bottoms simply because they are unable to reach them easily. If in doubt it is best to get a vet to check it out.
 
Thanks for the advice on the Timothy pellets. Looks like a good way of tricking her to eat more hay so I'll see if I can get some to try!

She is a 2.5 year old mini/dwarf lop who weighs 1.5kg. Her partner who looks the same size to most people and who always has a clean bottom is nearly 3kg so I don't think she's overweight and my vet agrees.
 
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