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Help on Sticky Bum !

Claire

Young Bun
Hi everyone

Now I know this isn't a pleasant subject but I need some help pls. :oops:
Lucy my 3 yr old Dwarf Lop has a very sticky bum, she had this problem when got her in October (she's a rescue bunny) and we've never managed to get ride of it.

I've tried changing her food, stopped feeding her veg etc etc, it doesn't make a difference. It doesn't help that her fur is quite long so all the poo gets matted into her fur :( :oops:

My problem is that she is a very shy and timid bunny so we have trouble getting her trust to allow us to clean her. For example, Lucy will allow us to catch her and when we start cleaning her buttom she manages to break free, so we catch her again and start the cleaning progess again, however, her little heart is going 10 to a dozen and then I start to panic. It will then takes her a week to build up the confidence to come over for a fuss and trust me again :(

So by the time she allows me to handle her again, she pongs and her fur is all matted with poo !

What can I do???

I'm so worried about the summer because of fly strike.

Claire
 
Have you tried feeding her on only hay and water, maybe with some probiotic in the water? Keep her on this diet for a few weeks and you should see some improvement. If the hair is a problem, maybe try trimming it. Bunnies have very thin skin, so you'd need to be careful.
 
Hiya My Scooby get's sticky bum, I've removed all dried food from her diet and she now eats hay and veg.

The vet gave her a jab for it last week, and I've been bathing the area in a steriod solution and ointment and so far so good. Maybe a little trip to the vets might be needed, as mine kindly shaved her for me so it was easier to clean, I was a bit nervous shaving the hair around the genitals myself in case I cut something off :shock: .
 
I don't feel confident enough to cut her fur as she wiggles about so much, I would never forgive myself if I nipped her. I think I will have to take her to the vets for that.

I've tried giving her hay to eat but she doesn't touch it !! is that normal??
 
Scooby wasn't that impressed with just the hay, but she soom learnt that if she didn't eat it she wouldn't eat and she is far happier with her clean bum. She is moving around a lot more, because it isn't so sore, which in turn is helping with her weight problem.
 
hiya claire! :wave: when u say u tried giving ur bunny hay but she wont touch it, is that just a recent thing meaning she is completly off her food even pelets? or has she ever ate hay at all :roll: hay is very important to a rabbits diet, should be the main part of their diet and available at all times they should hoover it up lol :D my lot do :oops: so this could be why you have this problem.
 
If she's not eating the hay because she's fussy, she needs to learn that if she doesn't eat it she goes hungry. If the hay is on the floor of her cage, it may be that she doesn't like it to be dirty or soiled, so try a hay rack. If she has a hay rack but doesn't like to eat from it then try putting it on the floor of her cage. But she has to eat the hay. There is absolutely no question of that. Leave her with nothing but hay and water. Make sure that there's plenty of it, and it's good and fresh, and don't cave in and give her pelleted food. Mine are left 23 hours of the day with nothing but hay and water, topped up twice a day. When I bring in fresh hay they dance around as excited as if I'd shown up with carrots or pellets.

If she's not eating in general, she needs to go to the vets. But you really do need to get her eating the hay. Most dental and digestive problems in bunnies are down to not eating enough hay. Every time I visit the vets I get the hay lecture. Seriously, hay will solve the sticky bum problem.
 
Do you use a cage to keep her in? Is it a wire bottom with a drop pan underneath or plain bottom?

Does she use a litter pan? If so, does it have a screen to allow the poops to fall through? What kind of litter and/or bedding are you using?

Our new lop is a fuzzy little one and we've had to keep a daily vigil to make sure she doesn't get matted with poops on her bottom. The only day it was bad was the day she decided to sleep in her litter pan :shock:

:~) Jim

PS sorry for all of the questions :lol:
 
Yep, hay is really important and if you can get her to eat it then you'll problem find the problem will solve itself. Putting hay in/next to her litter tray is another good trick, some bunnies like to munch whilst they poop.

What type of hay have you been trying her with, some of the packaged stuff from petshops it pretty icky as far as buns are concerned. Look for stuff that smells yummy, is greenish, hasn't been chopped short and isn't dusty. Going to a horse supplies shop or look for farmers selling bales direct. You won't need a whole bale with one bun but if you ask nicely they may have a part bale you can have some off.

Best wishes,
Tamsin
 
Ok here goes, answers to your questions !!

Lucy has a very health appetiate !!! she just turns her nose up at Hay, I've tried putting hay in her food bowl, in a hay rack, on top her clean straw bedding (which she eats) but she never touches the hay.

Lucy is an outdoor bunny, she lives in a large hutch which I clean out every other day (I do this for my other bunny too). Both Bunnies are let out of their hutches when I get home from work, they then have the free run of my garden and kitchen so they get plenty of exercise. There's nothing in the garden she can eat apart from grass. They also have free range at the weekends (when I'm there to supervise).

I get their hay and straw from a local farmers so I know its quality stuff.

I use newspaper, straw and shredded paper in her hutch, newspaper and shredded paper to poop on, and newspaper and straw as bedding.

Claire
 
Hmmmm...everything sounds good for the bun.

Maybe try a different litter product...just a guess.

Does she have soft or runny poos? Is that why is get into her fur so bad?

As for the fly strike, add approximately one teaspoon of vanilla flavoring extract, real or artificial, to one gallon of drinking water in an effort to reduce fly strike and warbles by reducing the number of flies in and about the rabbits.
 
From reading all the posts I'd also suggest trying some differnt hay and going for one that smells nice - but avoid alfalfa - its libel to make the runny bum worse, plus its extremely high in calcium and unless your bunny is a baby or nursing then its too much for them.

My charlie bun has really icky bottom problems, which I found improved when I stopped letting him eat grass in the garden - I put his run on the patio and the icky bum stopped. I used to put hay in the run for him to eat instead which he seemed to be more than happy with. My new flat has a concrete garden. :D Might be worth a try?
 
Claire said:
Ok here goes, answers to your questions !!

Lucy has a very health appetiate !!! she just turns her nose up at Hay, I've tried putting hay in her food bowl, in a hay rack, on top her clean straw bedding (which she eats) but she never touches the hay.

Lucy is an outdoor bunny, she lives in a large hutch which I clean out every other day (I do this for my other bunny too). Both Bunnies are let out of their hutches when I get home from work, they then have the free run of my garden and kitchen so they get plenty of exercise. There's nothing in the garden she can eat apart from grass. They also have free range at the weekends (when I'm there to supervise).

I get their hay and straw from a local farmers so I know its quality stuff.

I use newspaper, straw and shredded paper in her hutch, newspaper and shredded paper to poop on, and newspaper and straw as bedding.

Claire

I had the same problem with Ralf - he had a sticky bum after I came out of hospital last time and my husband was feeding them for me. We had to bath him twice a week (we put a rubber bath mat in the bath and my husband supports his front end, whilst I get the shower attachment and wash his back end, I then leave him to dry in the house with the heating down really low (as he's an outdoor bun) until he is completely dry. I also took him to the vets and he ended up having to have a dental as he had spurs on his back teeth - and he too wouldnt touch hay!! They advised I cut his excel down alot, and give him mainly greens (anything they would eat naturally in the wild) and hay of course. This really helped, and the weight has come down (as he was too big to chubby to clean himself properly) and the back end is usually very clean now. We still have to give him the ocassional bath or clean up, but he has improved greatly. He is good with the fur trimming etc, so I am very lucky in that way! :lol:
 
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