messy lionhead bottom :S

Hey guys, I have had my lionhead lola for just over 2 years now with no problems, up until december last year. I had to go away to see my family abroad and left her at petpals a rabbit hotel. When I returned the woman told me that lola had got messy and she had bathed her, and that she thought she had a sludgey tummy (something she never suffered from before!!) I also noticed that there was no hay in the hutch only newspaper and that the bottom of the hutch was covered in newspaper, also the food in the bowl was not her normal as I provided!!

After picking her back up and seeing all that had happened I immediately took her to a vet, who saw the state of her furr which she had to shave underneath due to a fear of fly strike! What she found underneath was sore bunny skin due to urine burns! She was also given antibiotics for a case of bunny cystitus!

Since then she seems to constantly get a messy bottom which I have to frequently clean and makes her smell! This makes me really sad as I look after her so much and the vet said that its due to her long hair and that she is healthy and happy. But I can't help but think there is something else I can do other than keep trimming her hair and thoroughly bathing her (something I have to do as she keeps sitting in her own puddles of wee!) She is a house bunny by the way and we have laminate flooring, though her area outside her cage is covered with saw dust!

Can someone please help or offer any ideas? Thanks!

How much pellets and hay does she get now? Have her teeth been checked recently? What veg do you feed?

The reason why I ask about teeth is because if the teeth are painful they might not reach down to get their cecals. Another possible health thing is something restricting her mobility. I should think if it's sludgy rather than cecal-like it's probably more likely diet but those might be two things you might want to check on. The sitting in wee is also worrisome but not something I've had experience with so I'll let someone else deal with that point.

As for diet I'll tell you about Mini For 2 years we struggled with her and mucky bum. Eventually I found this place and learnt about the correct diet. I increased their hay, got better quality hay and reduced their pellets, actually at the time they weren't on pellets they were on muesli so that was another change I made. It got a lot better but didn't go completely so I started looking at her veg. Turns out she can't deal with sweet vegetables like carrot, mange tout, baby corn, etc. She also doesn't process brassicas, cabbage, spring greens, etc that well either. I now give them just herbs and things foraged such as dandelions and it's almost gone. When she moults we get a bit, moulting requires energy and also a lionhead needs more energy to their longer fur, not that Mini is a lionhead but the same principles apply.

Hey thanks for your reply! Its not a messy poo bottom its unfortunately the fact that she wee's then immediately sits in it! She is a house bunny and we have laminate floor, but the area she uses as a toilet is thoroughly covered in newspaper and saw dust to try and soak it up!

She has enough hay and pellets and only visited the vet just over a week ago for a check up. They said her teeth were fine and that she is the perfect weight so isn't struggling to reach the area! She also had blood tests to make sure she didn't have a urine or kidney infection and all her results came back clear! I just don't know why she is doing it? And why she started as it only started happening after december last year and has got worse recently!

As I said the vet said to me its due to her long fur and the only thing i can do is continue to trim and wash her! Though personally I feel like this is slightly excessive to have to bathe and trim her more than once a week!

Thanks!

PUPPY PADS! They're brilliant Pack of 40 from argos for £14 O think :? But they are really good I have the same problem with Poppy, but since getting the puppy pads, if she sits on it after, it's already absorbed But I change them anyway. Maybe cut them in half for corners of the room. (Her favourite places to pee as well as the litter tray lol:roll

I have to clean her bum for poop that might get stuck but it's drastically reduced and we only have to clean her once a week, if that I put a puppy pad in her litter tray and hay on top and change it daily. Works great Although she enjoys flopping in it more.. (Puppy pads are everywhere just in case lol)

Edit: Oh They're £11.99 http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/s...d=1500002701&langId=-1&searchTerms=PUPPY+PADS

Ah thanks so much they sound brilliant!! Gona go and buy some ASAP! Your bun looks more than pleased with the results!

Misfitfiend1989 said:

Hey thanks for your reply! Its not a messy poo bottom its unfortunately the fact that she wee's then immediately sits in it! She is a house bunny and we have laminate floor, but the area she uses as a toilet is thoroughly covered in newspaper and saw dust to try and soak it up!

She has enough hay and pellets and only visited the vet just over a week ago for a check up. They said her teeth were fine and that she is the perfect weight so isn't struggling to reach the area! She also had blood tests to make sure she didn't have a urine or kidney infection and all her results came back clear! I just don't know why she is doing it? And why she started as it only started happening after december last year and has got worse recently!

As I said the vet said to me its due to her long fur and the only thing i can do is continue to trim and wash her! Though personally I feel like this is slightly excessive to have to bathe and trim her more than once a week!

Thanks!

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Have they mentioned something called E.Cuniculi or E.C. to you at all? I believe that can cause incontinence as well.

No this has not been mentioned to me, but after today's distressing vets visit I am going to change vet!

Since starting this thread, I of course took Lola to the vet for check ups etc. The vet told me that she seemed fine but would give her blood tests to see if there is a more serious issue. After waiting a couple of weeks and paying nearly £200 (though the cost is not an issue, her health is a million times more important to me!) the results came back clear. Though she "may have had a gaul stone which has been passed through the urine" according to the vet.

I mentioned to the vet that I was seriously concerned by her messy behind and the fact that her tail had become solid due to mess. Something I had tried to prevent and cure but to no avail. Both issues did not seem to concern the vet who replied again with keep bathing her and keeping her clean.

Unhappy with this response I took her back today, and luckily we saw a different vet (at the same surgery) who immediately looked worried and said it was clear she had a urine infection and that this messy/dead tail fur needed to be removed!

Once the tail her was removed what was left was an upsetting sight. Her poor tail was also infected and some tissue was dying! How has the previous vet not noticed this and dealt with the situation, as he tail became hard and matted after leaving her at the "rabbit hotel" when I went away and I have been voicing my concern for over 6 months now!!

Needless to say I am thoroughly angry and upset that nobody has helped me to prevent this situation from occurring in the first place (and charged me another £100 today for the hair removal and antibiotics).

I am bathing and trimming Lola every single week, checking her daily but this situation seems out of control!

Anymore advice guys? I will start a new thread as well to try and generate a larger response thanks in advance!

I forgot to mention that she is on antibiotics and close inspection, and that the vet today said that her tail should be healed and healthy eventually!