One-off damp bum

Was out checking the bunnies Saturday evening and Aboleth had a wet wee-y bum: she wasn't wet all the way through, just like she had sat in some wee (sometimes they wee on the bare metal floor of the mini-hutch upper level, no idea why, they're daft; could have been from there) for a short time (maybe to reach up for something) or shuffled through it. She has a weird superthick 'skirt' around her thighs and above her tail: I tell her she has a bum-dewlap :mrgreen: She didn't have it when she arrived, only after her first moult in mid-July. It's not been a problem before, even on wet days. We do brush it and hand-pluck fur out (gently!) but it is really thick and weird still.

I didn't have a chance to do much about it Saturday evening (not being wet through I reckoned she'd be OK) so I left her overnight and took a brush out with me Sunday morning. It was dry, slightly matted but nothing a good set of brushing wouldn't sort out. I got as much out as I could: I trapped her in the playhouse (shut the door to the tunnel out) and brushed her whenever she sat still: she was very good at sitting there taking it, though I did give her a good hour's break in between (mostly because my lungs needed to recover and I wanted breakfast!). I got out as much as I could so the mats were all frayed and loose at worst and they didn't get any worse during the day, and this morning she was a bit less matt-y and not wet again either.

Both bunnies are otherwise fine, eating, pooing, drinking, running about like lunatics as usual: no change in dietary habits, foods liked/left or general behaviour. There's some fur-linked poo occasionally (it looks more like Aboleth's fur than Lopsy's, but could be anybun's poo) but much less than the start of the moult, and they were fine health-wise through that.

I am slightly concerned that, given her bum was wet, she can't reach round there to clean. She has no poo issues: no poo around her bum, and she's definitely weed since (saw her do it) but she's dry as a bone under there now. But still somewhat matty. I will brush her daily this week to make sure she's not matted at all and not getting worse, but the fact she didn't clean herself up in the first place is the worrying part.

I'm loath to take her to the vets now, as she HATES the car journey (OK, I could walk, but it's a longer journey and she might just hate being in a moving carrier), but I think I'm right in saying I should if it happens again.

Any suggestions? She's a young bunny, she reaches to clean herself usually, she's not had any body shape change that I can see/feel and she's just as stretchy and seeking and bouncy as she usually is. Is she just having a bit of difficulty reaching round her skirt, or could it be something more sinister?

She has **** teeth though: vet told me on her checkup Poor kid: they're 'all over the place'! No issues (yet) though: great hay eater, never refuses hard food, just on the Watch list! But I don't think that would be affecting her cleaning?

Could you trim the bum fluff fur so it's easier for her to clean herself and less likely to mat?

One thing I didn't know until recently (you may well do!) is that flystrike often happens above the tail, rather than under it around the bun which is what I thought.

Just mentioning it due to the bum-dew-lap - it's possibly more at risk having that fold there above the tail as it could go unnoticed.

Thanks both

catxx said:

Could you trim the bum fluff fur so it's easier for her to clean herself and less likely to mat?

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Probably not without getting someone else to do it: it's not really long, it's just different. Superthick rather than long.

JonnyandJay said:

One thing I didn't know until recently (you may well do!) is that flystrike often happens above the tail, rather than under it around the bun which is what I thought.

Just mentioning it due to the bum-dew-lap - it's possibly more at risk having that fold there above the tail as it could go unnoticed.

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Mmm, thanks: makes sense! I'll keep an eye on it.

Didn't have a chance to brush her out yesterday (felt really unwell) but went out a little while ago and she's got most of the rest out herself: just one small mat left I'll put it down as a weird oneoff for now but if it happens again, and if she gets particularly damp in wet weather (so tomorrow), I'll pop her down the vets for a spine check etc.

Just updating this thread...

So, because they're on concrete and it's been superwet recently, the poor things BOTH have damp bums (water, not wee: no wee recurrences!). The inside of their playhouse was damp all over, because it's mostly just lino, and their litter tray filler (recycled paper pellets) doesn't really soak it up, nor does the windowsill carpet or the faux-fur on the cat tree. They're not matted as such, just a bit pre-dreadlocky ;P Aboleth was cleaning Lopsy's back end Sunday though: I hope he returns the favour!

I've now taken to putting newspaper down. Just a couple of sheets' thick and not a complete carpeting but in lots of places, with a thick bit at the entrance. They had dry bums this morning, probably because they've been in the hutch rather than the playhouse and it's been dry weather all night. They've pulled a load of hay out of their repurposed hay rack (I took the one out of the run which was constantly wet and took the chains off, meshed the back and hung it in the hutch as the suetcake feeder type one had too-small holes!) on to the hutch floor (and pooed all over it, little darlings :roll, but they've not pulled hay out of the playhouse racks for a while... I did try putting hay in the litter tray but they ate it all. All: not even a small clump left! They like the easy options ;P

I change the newspaper when it's damp. We'll see how it works in the wet weather this week!

Sounds like she could have just sat in a puddle! Deffo keep an eye on her, even more so for next week or so but I know you will anyway

Can you cover their run so it doesn't get so wet?

Clare-uk said:

Can you cover their run so it doesn't get so wet?

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It's half-covered but water runs in from everywhere else and semi-pools in parts of it :roll: It's plain concrete all over that bit of the garden so it just stays wet if it's damp out The corner we tend to feed them in is slightly puddley but it's about 2mm deep at most, because it's that large-aggregate stuff (got stones in ;P) so has 'ridges' and 'valleys'!

They're dry and fluffy again now: I took the newspaper out last night as it had been dry all day (and one, probably Lopsy, had decided it was good to wee on :roll and they were dry when I checked them this morning. Supposed to rain later though!

I was trying to think why we didn't have this problem last year, and it was because Lopsy was on the grass! It doesn't have standing water, it's just damp! I was trying , then, to think of a way to stop them being on the base concrete and I thought about the paving slab advice I gave someone recently: I have some spare crazy paving but, knowing my two, they'll try it and scare themselves because it's a bit wobbly!

the weather can be such a nightmare

Hmm that's tricky then. It'd be a pain but could put paper down when it rains? Not sure that's practical really, just typing n thinking [emoji38] pop up gazebo thing over the whole run? You almost need a rubber draft excluder to stop the water running in.

Hope you can sort something out, even better if one of my daft ideas sparks something you can actually do :thumb:

mini lop1 said:

the weather can be such a nightmare

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Aye!

Clare-uk said:

Hmm that's tricky then. It'd be a pain but could put paper down when it rains? Not sure that's practical really, just typing n thinking [emoji38] pop up gazebo thing over the whole run? You almost need a rubber draft excluder to stop the water running in.

Hope you can sort something out, even better if one of my daft ideas sparks something you can actually do :thumb:

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Thanks Paper would just get mushed into papier mache I expect, or blown around, or pulled apart ;P I do have a gazebo but it wouldn't stop run-in, yes. I have thought of the barrier thing as well, but I don't have anything suitable, nor can I think of anything!

It did rain last night but not much so the ground was just damp this morning (the bunnies were damp on top last night but dry underneath ). I suppose we could feed the exclusively in the playhouse and hutch while it's wet, but that'd make it easy for them to eat stuff... Maybe we'll just have to get indoor-creative!

What about gutter tape? It's like gaffer tape but weather proof? You could possibly put it along the exposed edge to stop the rain running in??

I'm still thinking for ya but oooh indoor solution that would be great.

Clare-uk said:

What about gutter tape? It's like gaffer tape but weather proof? You could possibly put it along the exposed edge to stop the rain running in??

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Mmm, not a bad idea! The run moves about a bit (it's a crappy metal one!) and we'd probably have to scrub the concrete to make sure it's clean and dry, but it could work! Thanks!

but oooh indoor solution that would be great.

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Not that sort of indoor! :mrgreen: Inside their playhouse indoor ;P I can't have them inside: I've too much stuff, no time to sort anything half-decent and they'd be too distracting from my studies: I'm already more than distracted enough! :lol:

Let me know if you try the tape. It's very secure once in place I've used it on guttering and it's never leaked.

Aw shame you can't have indoor buns, I'd love mine inside. But mum has hay allergy and my house is open plan

Update as the wet/damp weather hasn't really subsided...

They're both damp or have spiky-stiff bums a lot now. Aboleth is much worse presumably because of her shorter fur. I'm worried about her feet. She seems OK though: no sore feet (yet?!). I was checking both buns over last night and she was really spiky (wet fur dried into spikes) so I felt sorry for her (until she weed on the floor and then I was like, well, that's kinda your own daft fault, isn't it! :lol but her feet (and most of her bum-area) are fluffy in the mornings so I think she might spend lots of time cleaning once a day and then just thinks she shouldn't bother because she's in and out all the time! Lopsy's mostly fluffy except on the bottom of his feet (which are damp otherwise) and he spends a lot of time cleaning anyway

I've taken to feeding them inside the playhouse: it's permanently newspapered in there at the moment and it certainly seems to be working well as the buns are drier than without. And then they go and wee all over it: I blame that on Matt who left hay down while I was away so they just weed everywhere! Hopefully they'll be re-litter trained in time for my Christmas sitter...!

I have no solutions for you, but we do have similar problems with our set-up outside when it rains. We have three Rexes. Their accommodation is a largish, lino-covered shed attached with cat-flap to an outside area divided into three. The outside area is all on concrete slabs. Outside there is a largish fully-covered square area with a litter tray. This leads into the other 2 wide corridor-type areas with a covered part at the end, again with a litter tray. When it rains obviously their feet get wet and that wet gets taken into the shed. Also if I go into the shed I transfer wet onto the floor from my wellies! As the two male rabbits (Rexes = short fur) have very occasionally had tiny sore patches on their feet (never required treatment, but observed!) I am super careful when they get wet.

I find that fresh hay sometimes gets taken out of the "end" litter tray and put into a pile in the run (why???) and then they wee on it - territorial as it's their external border? All dry food gets "served" in the shed. If very wet in the shed I put down newspaper. Overnight they are locked in the shed (controversial I know, but we are rural and have foxes), so no real problem. Also if it is extremely wet and puddly (seldom), they are locked in the shed.

As I say no solutions, but at least you know others have similar issues

Omi said:

As I say no solutions, but at least you know others have similar issues

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Thanks, that is reassuring! I am glad it isn't getting any worse: I often take a couple of sheets of newspaper with me to stand on if I need to go in the playhouse. Joys of having a playhouse: even little me can reach the litter tray and everything else without opening the anti-dash gate! Only if I need to clean out and replace newspaper (or want to sit with them) do I need to actually go in.