snuffles and dirty bum

Rambi is an albino lionhead x, he has no front teeth and is about 8 years old we think (rescued as an adult).

He is incredibly lively, active and happy.

For the last 6 months he has had repeated bouts of snuffles. The first time he had full on green snot and sneezed quite a bit. It was cleared up with antibiotics, but came back a couple of weeks later. We haven't really been able to shift it properly although the green snot has never come back (occasional bouts of clear snot) and he very rarely sneezes now. He is on his third course of antibiotics to try and shift it. The vet said that the only way to be sure of what is wrong is to put him under GA and this could prove very dangerous for him. Given his very active and jolly nature and the positive reaction to meds we thought it best to not do this.

Now he also seems unable to clean his bottom properly. He eats his caecals by shuffling backwards and eating them off the floor (which results in a messy floor and messy bum). He also can't reach his back paws so they are quite caked in muck (not because of a dirty house I should add!). There are also some new yellow stains on his behind. It is clearly urine and is dry and only at the edges (no chance of scalding). The vet said that we could wash him with baby shampoo when the weather gets warmer to stop him getting flystrike. He gets angsty when picked up (we have trained him to take his meds from the syringe without having to pick him up) so I want to minimize the stress. It is still cold where I am, should we wait before cleaning him or should we do it now so that when it gets warm he is starting from a clean position?

How would I clean him? It is only his rear end that would need it. We don't have a hairdryer so how would we dry him?

Thanks

I would clip as much fur as you can off, now before it gets hot. It will minimise the ammount of wee/poo that gets stuck to him. Unless he is very messy, I wouldn't bath him as such - just clean the area off with some baby wipes. Means you don't have to dry him too!
With an old bun I look after we put some vaseline on his skin where he tends to get messy. This means the wee/poo tends to slide off more easily. Obviously only do it when you can watch him for a while after to make sure he doesn't lick it. We reapply about once a week. When it's warm we also spray small animal fly repellent around his back end daily. Usually do it when he is eating his breakfast as he sits still then! The one I get is in a big yellow spray bottle, but there are several brands.
Hope this helps.
I'm sure somebody else will be able to give you snuffles advice.

That sounds like a wonderful plan! He is a very furry rabbit so when the weather gets warmer we trim him anyway. I will pick him up and trim everything off without washing him. The vet didn't seem to think he was too dirty, and I trust him so I shall just keep an eye on Rambi for now and follow your advice.

It just seems so strange that he still jumps on the furniture but can't quite reach his bottom, still I suppose it makes sense, he isn't as young as he used to be!

Thank you!

Glad to have been on assistance
The old boy I look after can't reach the top of his back to groom either so we cut/groom that area for him too. Suppleness is the first thing they usually loose so can't reach areas of their body, but can still run/jump/hop/play etc fine for many years to come!

You can also use cornflour to get the moisture off, as having urine on his fur will be uncomfortable and will eventually cause urine scald. Rub the cornflour in then brush off.

Have you considered some medication or supplements to treat what sounds like arthiritus? Omega oil, glucosamine and of course anti-inflammatory painkillers like metacam can help.

Has he had all his teeth checked and have you had an xray done? Dental problems and overgrowing tooth roots can cause/worsen snuffles.

i would clip as much of the fur round his bottom off as you can especially the areas matted with poop. This will prevent further matting. And use animal friendly wipes to clean his bottom. It would be a good idea to get some flystrike spray too, coming into these warmer months. It acts as an insect repelent, kills any parasites and helps to prevent flystrike, which is when flies lay their eggs around the bunny's bottom and then the maggots hatch out and cause lots of problems.You're a great rabbit owner for being concerned about his dirty bottom , now you will be able to keep your bunny's bottom clean to help him not to get any problems xx