• 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.

Smelly rabbit

A

Amo2000

New Kit
I have 2 rabbits which are kept indoors Trakker and Bailey. Bailey is the latest addition and for some reason she stinks, I clear there cages out once a week where they get a good wipe down and fresh straw and on a daily basis I empty their litter trays, clean then wipe down any mess they have mad and make sure that everything is clean and fresh (water, hay, food). Unless they have been very messy then I will clean them out twice a week.

Now Trakker (9mth male) I have never had a problem really apart from when he was unwell (he wasn't eating) but Bailey seems to be a smelly girl and I don't know what else I can do. She uses her litter tray, I have not given her any cabbage this morning encase it is this that is not agreeing with her. The only other thing I can think of is as is hasn't been spayed yet (going Wednesday) if this could be another teenage hormonal thing that's causing the smell???

Does any one have any advise or know of any rabbit friendly products that could help with this awful smell.
 
First off cleaning her out daily should help a lot

The smell may well be due to her hormones, but there are other possibilities too such as a UTI, a mucky bum (uneaten cecotrophs).

IMO it is very unusual for a female Rabbit to cause a continuous strong and offensive smell.
 
my 2 buns were stinking and it turned out to be where they had been sitting in the litter tray and their feet had soaked in wee and poo!! after a good wash with hebi scrub they were fine and smelling normal!
 
Jack's-Jane said:
First off cleaning her out daily should help a lot

The smell may well be due to her hormones, but there are other possibilities too such as a UTI, a mucky bum (uneaten cecotrophs).

IMO it is very unusual for a female Rabbit to cause a continuous strong and offensive smell.
Click to expand...

Agree with Jane. I would have her vet checked in case you are missing something causing the smell. I would also clean them out daily, trays daily and have her spayed when she is old enough. What is her diet like and her droppings? Caked on caecotrophs or a bun dribbling urine can make them smell. :wave:
 
For some reason the droppings and urine of my unspayed females small stronger than the spayed girls...could it be the case here?

If so, additional cleaning and spaying your girl should help.
 
I have an appointment tomorrow with the vet as she is going into be spayed as long as she is OK, so I will ask the question tomorrow. She is about 4.5mths.

Yesterday when I got home from work she was in a bit of a mess, she had pooped out next to her litter tray and it was very flat and very smelly, but a lot of it. I cleaned her up and the mess and mad sure there was nothing else in her cage.

Her diet is half to full bowl of excel pellet and a separate bowl with cabbage, broccoli, celery. In the evening they both have a carrot before bed and have plenty of hay and water through out the day. i give them hay cookies as so it gives them something to keep them occupied and once or twice a week i give them a carrot stick thing as a treat. This sounds a lot but it is all given in moderation.

Litter trays are cleaned daily without fail and a general wipe down of their cages as well.
 
You might want to start cutting down on pellets now they are reaching maturity.

Also if Excel pellets are causing her to do unformed poops, you maight find it better to switch to a different brand of pellets (e.g. Science Selective or Wagg Optimum are both easily available from pet shops or supemarkets)
 
Amo2000 said:
I have an appointment tomorrow with the vet as she is going into be spayed as long as she is OK, so I will ask the question tomorrow. She is about 4.5mths.

Yesterday when I got home from work she was in a bit of a mess, she had pooped out next to her litter tray and it was very flat and very smelly, but a lot of it. I cleaned her up and the mess and mad sure there was nothing else in her cage.

Her diet is half to full bowl of excel pellet and a separate bowl with cabbage, broccoli, celery. In the evening they both have a carrot before bed and have plenty of hay and water through out the day. i give them hay cookies as so it gives them something to keep them occupied and once or twice a week i give them a carrot stick thing as a treat. This sounds a lot but it is all given in moderation.
I strongly suspect that her unbalanced caecum and malformed caecotrophs/discarded caecotrophs are the cause of the smell. Buns really only require an egg cup full of pellets once per day - the high levels of starch/carbohydrates in them will be upsetting her caecal flora and causing dysbiosis - caecotrophs that she can't or won't eat as a result, they therefore get discarded, trodden in or stuck to her fur giving the smell. Excel pellets are also renound for causing upset, it would be wise to begin to slowly reduce her pellet ration over several weeks as well as slowly switch it over to a different higher fibre brand. Buns just can not cope with that many pellets, and many rabbits can't cope with them at all.

Cabbage and brocoli - brassicas - are also renound for causing gut upset, especially if the gut flora are already unbalanced. Carrot again is very high in starch and will only make the problem worse.
You need to try if you can to get her onto a lower carbohydrate, higher fibre diet, possibly excluding all veg for a few weeks until her tum starts to settle down, however, if she is due to be spayed I would be reluctant to make too many drastic changes whilst her immune system is coping with that, although positive dietary changes can only help her recovery.

You may find this article helpful:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=3012&S=1&SourceID=43 :wave:
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Amo2000 said:
I have an appointment tomorrow with the vet as she is going into be spayed as long as she is OK, so I will ask the question tomorrow. She is about 4.5mths.

Yesterday when I got home from work she was in a bit of a mess, she had pooped out next to her litter tray and it was very flat and very smelly, but a lot of it. I cleaned her up and the mess and mad sure there was nothing else in her cage.

Her diet is half to full bowl of excel pellet and a separate bowl with cabbage, broccoli, celery. In the evening they both have a carrot before bed and have plenty of hay and water through out the day. i give them hay cookies as so it gives them something to keep them occupied and once or twice a week i give them a carrot stick thing as a treat. This sounds a lot but it is all given in moderation.
Litter trays are cleaned daily without fail and a general wipe down of their cages as well.
Click to expand...

This may also be where the problem lies to be honest.
Almost all of the foods you are feeding can cause gas, I would start weening her on to a more 'Natural' diet of leaves and things that she would generally find in the wild such as... dandelion leaves, bramble leaves, some fresh grass and pop in some herbs.
Carrot is very high in sugar so should NOT be fed daily either.
 
OMG I had no idea!!!!!!

I have been told by various people and books that I should give fresh greens daily and plenty of them too. With regards to the pellet this is what she has been fed on from a young age (obviously junior then to adult), but again she eats & drinks so much and some evenings when I get home her bowl of pellet is empty as well as her vegetable bowl. So I have topped the pellet up on an evening as my vet told me if a rabbit doesn't eat at all then this isn't a good sign and they can go down hill very quickly so I always make sure her bowl is topped up. Trakker on the other hand doesn't eat half as much as she does and is quite happy with what he is given each day.

I cant put her out on grass at the moment as we have recently laid new lawn and I believe this can also upset them (like spring grass) but as I have to keep her separate from Trakker at the moment as she is a bit of a grumpy moo this is also difficult at the moment.

Again I was always told carrots but to give kale & spinach sparingly.
 
I'm sort of in the same situation as you here! I've just adopted a three year old male. When we got him I noticed his back legs were quite dirty and had a slight smell, but put it down to the fact that he'd been in a shed hutch and would be slightly dirtier than my indoor bum (who compared to him is a bit of a princess!).
I was always finding the newspaper lining of the indoor cage soaked despite it being covered in hay, and thought it was him peeing inside the hutch and was cleaning it out daily. After seeing and assuming he was drinking tonnes if water I also thought this cage soaking was caused by a leaky water bottle so bought a new one, however woke up today to find the cage soaked again!!
I'm at a loss as to what is making this mess, and am desperately trying to litter train him but everytime I see him pee or poo it's in the cage.
I was thinking maybe I wasn't drying the cage properly before putting paper down so gave it a good dry today, so will be seeing how it goes - fingers crossed!!
 
Amo2000 said:
OMG I had no idea!!!!!!

I have been told by various people and books that I should give fresh greens daily and plenty of them too. With regards to the pellet this is what she has been fed on from a young age (obviously junior then to adult), but again she eats & drinks so much and some evenings when I get home her bowl of pellet is empty as well as her vegetable bowl. So I have topped the pellet up on an evening as my vet told me if a rabbit doesn't eat at all then this isn't a good sign and they can go down hill very quickly so I always make sure her bowl is topped up. Trakker on the other hand doesn't eat half as much as she does and is quite happy with what he is given each day.

I cant put her out on grass at the moment as we have recently laid new lawn and I believe this can also upset them (like spring grass) but as I have to keep her separate from Trakker at the moment as she is a bit of a grumpy moo this is also difficult at the moment.

Again I was always told carrots but to give kale & spinach sparingly.
Click to expand...

Yes fresh greens should be fed daily but the portion size should equate to no more than the size of bunnies head.
They are meant to eat their body size in hay every day so continuoulsy topping up her food bowl with pellets will only make her less likely to eat her hay.
 
You probably are already doing this, as I found with my first bun Trakker I had his litter tray and bedding was of the same stuff. So I changed his bedding to straw and his litter tray to sawdust and it seemed to have worked. Plus disgusting as it sounds I kept making sure that when he pooped I put it in his litter tray.

But as being a rescue bunny if he has never had a litter tray it will take a while for him to get used to it.

Good luck hope it goes well today :D
 
Rabbits like to try and kid you you have not fed them. They can never turn up their noses at a chance of food if its offered. Can play havos with their digestive systems though.

Arnie was awful on Burgess it did not suit him but his stomach quickly settled on SS pellets. Might be worth trying different pellets as others have suggested but introduce them gradually.

What buns really need is loads of fresh hay. If you offer a variety of hays mixed together a bun can have great fun browsing for the bits they want to chew. It does their teeth good too.

There are some wild herbs and plants you can give to replace the green veggies that your bun may like. You can buy dried if you have not easy access to safe fresh wild bun foods.
Save the carrots as slices for special treats.
[Do not use gathered wild herbage unless your bun has been vaccinated just to play safe]

Chat to your vet about this too. Hope your buns tummy settles down soon.
 
Amo2000 said:
You probably are already doing this, as I found with my first bun Trakker I had his litter tray and bedding was of the same stuff. So I changed his bedding to straw and his litter tray to sawdust and it seemed to have worked. Plus disgusting as it sounds I kept making sure that when he pooped I put it in his litter tray.

But as being a rescue bunny if he has never had a litter tray it will take a while for him to get used to it.

Good luck hope it goes well today :D
Click to expand...

I line the cage with hay and use that wooden pellet stuff for the litter tray. As soon as I saw him pee in the cage today I soaked it up with tissue and put it under some hay that also had his pee on, which has all gone in the litter tray.
My other bun took to the litter tray like a duck to water, so this is a bit of a challenge for me!! How long can they take to train usually?
 
Um im fairly new to the whole bunny thing, as I have only had Trakker (9mths) 6mths now and he took about a week to 2 weeks i think? And bailey I have had her now for almost 5weeks now and she is using her litter tray, that took again about a week to 2, she was a bit more of a madam as she kept through her litter tray round the cage and I had to contently top it up and put it back where it should be. Apart from yesterday with the poo every where she has got a lot better.

But again they are still young so i'm not sure if it is harder to train an older rabbit that has never used a litter tray before.

I found keeping the litter tray stuff (sawdust) different from their bedding (straw) this has helped me and them to understand that this is where on what they need to go on.

Also keeping their food and water away from the litter tray has helped as well. Even though if Trakker is being really lazy he will move his tray to his water bottle and sit in his tray and have a drink :lol:

This probably sound really bad but as I have never had rabbits before and have always had dogs I have treated them the same in training them as I would a puppy, weird as it sounds it has worked for me.

The only other thing I can think of is that I read that if you have a house rabbit it they wee on the carpet you should use white vinegar over the mark after you have cleaned it up and this is meant to stop them from doing it again, if this would work in his cage i'm not too sure.
 
Amo2000 said:
OMG I had no idea!!!!!!

I have been told by various people and books that I should give fresh greens daily and plenty of them too. With regards to the pellet this is what she has been fed on from a young age (obviously junior then to adult), but again she eats & drinks so much and some evenings when I get home her bowl of pellet is empty as well as her vegetable bowl. So I have topped the pellet up on an evening as my vet told me if a rabbit doesn't eat at all then this isn't a good sign and they can go down hill very quickly so I always make sure her bowl is topped up. Trakker on the other hand doesn't eat half as much as she does and is quite happy with what he is given each day.

I cant put her out on grass at the moment as we have recently laid new lawn and I believe this can also upset them (like spring grass) but as I have to keep her separate from Trakker at the moment as she is a bit of a grumpy moo this is also difficult at the moment.

Again I was always told carrots but to give kale & spinach sparingly.
Click to expand...

Yes fresh greens can and should be given daily but bun must be introduced to them SLOWLY one at a time to allow the caecal flora to grow and adjust with the correct balance of healthy bacteria to outweigh the bad. Buns rely heavily on their caecal bacteria for digestion of food. Anything that throws this balance will cause dysbiosis and upset.

This might help:
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/safefoods.htm

You will need to cut them out and then reintroduce one at a time over 48-72 hrs to find out which is causing the upset but I suspect there is a general dysbiosis from too much carbs from the pellets setting this whole situation up.

Buns should be eating hay ALL day. You only need to give a tablespoon/eggcup of pellets once a day. After this, bun will be hungry and eat their hay. Yes you are correct - it is dangerous for a bun to stop eating, and you must therefore get your bun used to replacing the extra pellets with hay eating gently by cutting down the pellet ration slowly and offering unlimited amounts of good quality fresh grass hay each day. Pellets are like sweets for kids, if there is a big bowl of them - bun will eat them all in preference to hay but hay is what is good for them and what they need to be eating at up to 90% of their diet. Sadly, not all vets have much up to date knowledge of rabbit nutrition, few are adequately trained in rabbit medicine and nutrition.

Yes new turf may be sprayed with herbicides as well as being too rich to graze - just like Spring grass. Grass needs to be introduced to the diet as gently as any new vegetable. But you could pick fresh grass and dandelions, plantains and other safe bunny weeds/leaves elsewhere away from sprays/dog/cat fouling.

Carrots should only EVER be a treat as a small amount. Yes Kale is high in calcium as is Spinach and as your bun is having an exceedingly large amount of pellets - bun will not need any extra calcium at all from other sources. As you cut down the pellets you can feed more calcium rich veg. Buns can not process excess calcium like we can and it can lead to bladder sludge/stones and kidney issues if consumed in excess.

Finally, sawdust is not recommended for rabbits - there has been research to show association with respiratory and liver disease so a wood based/paper based litter is much safer. I would also avoid using straw for bedding and use soft meadow hay, bun might be tempted to eat the straw and it has no nutritional value at all for them, if they are bedded on hay they are more likely to nibble it throughout the day when hungry. :D:wave:
 
Evieandfrankle said:
I'm sort of in the same situation as you here! I've just adopted a three year old male. When we got him I noticed his back legs were quite dirty and had a slight smell, but put it down to the fact that he'd been in a shed hutch and would be slightly dirtier than my indoor bum (who compared to him is a bit of a princess!).
I was always finding the newspaper lining of the indoor cage soaked despite it being covered in hay, and thought it was him peeing inside the hutch and was cleaning it out daily. After seeing and assuming he was drinking tonnes if water I also thought this cage soaking was caused by a leaky water bottle so bought a new one, however woke up today to find the cage soaked again!!
I'm at a loss as to what is making this mess, and am desperately trying to litter train him but everytime I see him pee or poo it's in the cage.
I was thinking maybe I wasn't drying the cage properly before putting paper down so gave it a good dry today, so will be seeing how it goes - fingers crossed!!
Click to expand...

Is your bun drinking excessively as well? This may indicate a urinary tract infection or kidney issue, if it continues then I would have bunny vet checked.

The easiest way to litter train a bun is to put the tray where bun likes to do his latrine - the corner he picks. If he is going randomly this could be an indication of several things, immaturity - bun is not neutered? territorial behaviour or insecurity? Or a health issue such as a UTI.
Putting hay in the litter tray is essential as all buns like to munch on the loo! :D

I would stick to the wood/paper based litter.
Positive reward if you catch bun using the tray will work wonders but the reward must be immediate, buns have a learned response but no long memory in this respect to make the association. Buns being a prey species will train very differently to dogs/cats and positive reward alone should be used, not punishment. Hope that helps :D:wave:
 
Evieandfrankle said:
I line the cage with hay and use that wooden pellet stuff for the litter tray. As soon as I saw him pee in the cage today I soaked it up with tissue and put it under some hay that also had his pee on, which has all gone in the litter tray.
My other bun took to the litter tray like a duck to water, so this is a bit of a challenge for me!! How long can they take to train usually?
Click to expand...

Is he castrated? You can not reliably train an unneutered rabbit. :wave:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Please tell me what this is and if it is something a should worry about.
Replies
2
Views
220
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
A
Scabies in rabbits not being cured
Replies
1
Views
143
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Amy Sanders
New Rabbit Owner
Replies
3
Views
904
Zarla
Zarla
Back
Top