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Not cleaning very well

Alicia

Alicia

Mama Doe
I'm not sure if this should go in health but Joey struggles to clean himself. I got him when he was around 5 and now he's about 7 (although he's a rescue so not sure) and he's always been like this. Not really unclean but there's always some mess stuck round his tail (sorry) and back end. Not much at all just one or two but I need to cut them out or get a wet cloth. I don't think he's overweight the vet seems quite happy with him when I take him in for vaccinations.
 
Do you mean he gets cecotrophs stuck to his fur ?

There are several possible reasons as to why a Rabbit is not able to keep themselves clean. These include Dental problems, mobility problems such as arthritis, obesity, stress, balance problems such as those associated with a history of ear infections/EC.

If the Rabbit is not eating all his/her cecals this can also be due to a diet that is too high in protein/carbs (ie too many pellets) and not enough fibre (ie hay)

I dont know if any of the above might apply as far as Joey is concerned ?
 
I hadn't thought of that, I think you could be right. He's very active and does eat most of his good so I think his teeth are ok, although he's going to the vets soon anyway so il ask him. Il try reducing the pellets a little bit and giving them more hay and see if that helps
 
Alicia said:
I'm not sure if this should go in health but Joey struggles to clean himself. I got him when he was around 5 and now he's about 7 (although he's a rescue so not sure) and he's always been like this. Not really unclean but there's always some mess stuck round his tail (sorry) and back end. Not much at all just one or two but I need to cut them out or get a wet cloth. I don't think he's overweight the vet seems quite happy with him when I take him in for vaccinations.
Click to expand...

Sometimes a dietary adjustment is needed to cope with uneaten caecotrophes. I found switching to a more fibre based pellet helped and also cutting down on root veg, and including lighter stuff like forage and herbs.

Arthritis could be a possibility, although he is quite young to have had that at 5 years old. It can lead to rabbits not keeping themselves totally clean.

As for teeth - I think this is very unlikely unless the teeth are so dire they wouldn't be able to eat well! Rabbits with no front teeth keep themselves spotless, so I would examine the diet first :D
 
Alicia said:
I hadn't thought of that, I think you could be right. He's very active and does eat most of his good so I think his teeth are ok, although he's going to the vets soon anyway so il ask him. Il try reducing the pellets a little bit and giving them more hay and see if that helps
Click to expand...

What pellets do you feed ? Many Rabbits appear to have problems with uneaten cecals if they are fed Excel Pellets. Personally the only pellet feed I would use now is Fibafirst or Vetcare Plus. Both of which are not really pellets at all, but sticks packed full of fibre. I am also very pro a no pellet at all for healthy adult Rabbits. Obviously it may be necessary for some Rabbits to remain on a limited amount of pellet feed. But in many cases a variety of hays, grass, forage and veg will provide all the nutrients a healthy adult Rabbit needs.

A Rabbit's GI tract is designed to process an ongoing intake of low nutrient foods (as a wild Rabbit would eat- rough grass, leaves, weeds etc), not a 'hit' of highly concentrated nutrients (ie pellets). Hopefully some dietary modification will improve things for Joey. I would weigh him weekly to make sure his weight remains stable,unless he is already a bit tubby in which case a small, slow reduction in weight would benefit his over-all health.
 
Alicia said:
I hadn't thought of that, I think you could be right. He's very active and does eat most of his good so I think his teeth are ok, although he's going to the vets soon anyway so il ask him. Il try reducing the pellets a little bit and giving them more hay and see if that helps
Click to expand...

Hay is the way to go. Readigrass is also good.

Some people say it's too rich for bunnies, but I have some on it 24/7 who cannot eat hay, and no problems :)
 
Joey is on excel. I think they are eating too many pellets so I think I need to reduce them and give them more hay. I've had them both running round the garden twice today and il try and get them out of the run more so they have access to more grass and leaves and things too. I'll buy some readigrass too and see how that goes. Thank you for the help.
 
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