Help- Problems-Dirty Bum due to deformity or possible broken leg.

I went out this evening to find that Ava has a filthy bum and it looks like her leg is not working as well as it used too. Her legs at the back are deformed and she has definitely not been cleaning herself.

It looks like she has had runny poo which has stuck to her and it's gone hard with the weather ( It was something like minus 14 last night here). Despite being deformed she has never had any problems with her rear end before and the hutch has been cleaned as usual. I was wondering if i hadn't cleaned the hutch enough, but this is not the case and the other two buns in with her have very clean bums.

So i'm wondering is it possible that the poo and wee is coming out and just landing on her coat and sticking to it because of the way she is deformed, then she is not able to clean it at the moment because she is having problems with her legs.

I'm going to take her in for an emergency appointment tomorrow to the vets. I gave her a wet bath this evening ( which i would never normally do). The poo has hardened and stuck to her fur and i don't want to pull it off, so I'm going to ask the vets if they will do a general anesthetic and clean her up. I think she also needs some treatment for her skin as it looks red raw and possibly needs her leg amputating if this is required as i'm not sure if this is just normal for her or if she has managed to break it, as it normally just dangles in the way.

Any other suggestions on what could be causing the dirty bum. One of her legs seems limp, like it's got no life in it, like it's broken, but it's hard to say, because she is already deformed. I was tempted to take her in tonight, but i think that she will be okay until morning.

She is just drying off now with her bonded partners. She doesn't seem in pain or that anything is bothering her.

I feel terrible though and am quite upset. I feel like i should have noticed it sooner, but i haven't been turning the buns over and checking their bums as they don't like being picked up unnecessarily.

I really wish I'd been doing this all week. I'm not even sure when this has occurred, it only became apparent today.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Poor Ava she looks quite a mess on her behind.

Thanks.

I hope that you kept her indoors overnight ?

Without actually seeing her it's impossible to say what is going on but she most definitely requires urgent Veterinary attention. Only a Vet can give you the answers so for now I'll just send some vibes for her. Please let us know how things go.

I agree that she does need to see the vet.
Could be something like the weather making her legs more sore than normal, so she does not have as much ease of movement as usual.

Hope you find out what it is, wee soul x

Thanks Jane and Kermit.

She is being admitted into the vets tomorrow morning and they are going to take her in for surgery if necessary. They said not to bring her today as if she needs anything there is nothing that they can do. I think they will definately have to clean her up under anesthetic and shave her remaining fur off where possible at her back end. I don't know how her legs are going to be kept dry and clean- maybe i could bath her several times daily.

I checked her today after keeping her and her bonded partners in last night. She was caked in her own urine and poo again.

Her back end is so collapsed, there is really nowhere else for the poo and wee to go except on her legs and bum. She didn't used to be like this before the weather, she would hop around fine. I'm' positive the weather has something to do with it.

She also never used to get caked up, yet in the space of a few days, she looks terribly sore and although she doesn't look uncomfortable, i'm sure it can't be pleasant.

I'm bathing her, even though she is raw, as it is only going to get worse as it did earlier. I hope there is a solution for this at the vets tommorow.

Will keep you updated. Thanks for the vibes and support x

So she has not even had any pain relief :?

If you clean her up, trim the fur carefully as much as possible and then apply a thin layer of Vaseline that will protect the skin from the urine and make it easier to clean her regularly.

If her whole back end has lost movement it maybe a spine/nerve issue.

If you do use Vaseline as Tamsin suggests then you do need to be certain the inflamed skin is not infected. Putting Vaseline on infected skin will make matters much worse.

Thankyou Tamsin and Jane.

I'm not sure if there is any infection, so i'll wait until tommorow to see what the vets say just to be sure. There is definately inflammation, which may suggest infection.

As she is so deformed, it would be very difficult to trim her and i think she would panic. I will let the vet do this under general.

I think she will have to stay as an indoor bun now. I'm just glad this didn't happen in the summer, as i imagine she would have fly strike by now given that she is peeing and pooping all over herself.

The cage is spotless indoors, but her back end was absolutely disgusting within just 8 hours that I'd gone to bed.

I can tell now she is pooping normally though as her droppings seem to have come back to normal. She is also eating and drinking fine. I've stopped her veg though for now as i don't know if this has also been a factor in her getting so messed up.

Thanks again for your help. I'm really worried for her.