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Confused!

Charlie

Young Bun
Lately I have become really confused about what to do for Dandi. She's got both a sticky bottom and a lot of her fur is falling out. I think I know whats she's got wrong with her, Sticky Bottom Syndrome and either excessive malting or some mite problem. Food wise I give Dandi Super Rabbit Excel (for small rabbits) hay, water and once a day a bit of carrot or parsley as a treat.
I've asked a few people about this, including posting messages on here, and I've also looked in the books "Collins Family Pet Guide: Rabbits" and the "Rabbitlopedia".
For the Sticky Bottom Syndrome, it says in "Rabbitlopedia" that you have to give hardly any dry food or non at all, a constant supply of hay and gradually introduce vegetables and wild flowers.
My dad asked a friend, who used to breed rabbits and he said just give her the pellets and hay because the pellets have got all the nutritional things in them.
I read in "Rabbitlopedia" that if the rabbit is malting alot and there is dandruff then its a disease which begins with "c" (can't remember off the top of my head) and that you need to give a course of drops or injections. At the moment, my dad is putting flee and mite powder on Dandi and my dad said we should see if that works before doing anything.
I feel that we should take Dandi to the vet, but then again I'm not too sure because I know it will cost a lot of money just for a check up and if all was fine then we'll get cross because we wasted money on a check up (my dad will be anyway).
I really don't know what to do! I hate being an inexperienced rabbit owner, and I know I should care for Dandi a lot better. I really don't know what to do and I'm so confused!
 
I have a couple of buns here that get sticky bottom syndrome and when it occurs they get just hay! they are fine on this until it clears and then reintroduce small amounts of pellets. Have you had her checked over by a vet?
 
yeah, we took her too a vet quite a while ago now when she first had the problem. I think they told us to stop giving her veggies, which seemed to work for a while, but then she started getting it again.
 
Hi Charlie! Is Dandi a little bit on the podgy size? Sometimes they can get sticky bottoms because they can't quite reach to get to the poos that they eat (sounds gross I know, but bunnies think they're yummy!) Obviously if Dandi is a little overweight she will need more exercise to help her to lose it!

I know some people say that excel is too "rich" for their bunnies and makes them more prone to sticky bottoms, so perhaps try swapping to one of the other pellet foods (but do the change gradually by mixing the food together over a period of about 10 days). I would suggest either Science Selective or Allen & Page foods - you may find Science easier to get hold of, round here they sell it in pet shops and Wyevales, but Allen & Page tends to be at specific animal food stockists (someone correct me if I'm wrong!). These 2 foods are higher in fibre and lower in protein than the excel so can help reduce sticky bottoms.

I think the usual treatment for mites is 3 injections of ivermectin a week apart, I know of lots of people who have tried the shop bought treatments but have found that they haven't worked; the injections get right into the system and clear it properly. Make sure you thoroughly clean out Dandi's house and renew the hay/straw, as there might be some mites lurking in there and they will just jump back on bunny after she has been treated!

Personally I would say that Dandi should go to the vets. Sure your dad may be cross by the bill, but I think that part of the responsibility of a pet owner is to take them to the vet if something is wrong with them - which it clearly is! I don't know how old you are so forgive me, but do you get any pocket money? Could you go without something and save up to pay your dad back for some of the vets fees? He might be happier to take Dandi to the vets if he sees that you are prepared to "go without" something for the sake of your pet?

Good luck, hope other people will be able to give you some advice too xx
 
I would def give her just hay for a wee while and see how she goes if she doesn't get any better i would go back to the vets and get a second opinion XX
 
I do think that excel is not the best complete rabbit food as ive heard of a few people that have found there rabbits are getting a bit sticky on it.You may try looking for a complete food that has a lower protein content as i think theres is too high, this will make them a bit loose as there bodies try to get rid of the excces protine. Rabbits do not need a lot of protein there naturel diet is very low in it. val
 
The Junior/dwarf excel really is very high in protein. If you can't find Science select to swap to try Excel lite - my vet recommends this for all bunnies as it has the highest fibre content of the Excel range.

As said before all food changes need to be gradual.

The breeder was right when they said pellets contain all they need along with hay but you have to bear in mind that rabbits used for breeding need more energy than most and pellets are the easiest and cheapest way to feed a lot of rabbits. If you are keeping a pet rabbit then a variety of food makes it more exciting for them.

I would definately cut down on the pellets (what does your bunny weigh and what breed are they?), increase the hay and try and get her out in her run to get more exercise and fresh grass if possible.

As to the hair falling out - is it in circular patches with bald bits some of the hair broken off half way? If it truely is mites then I have to agree that the shop bought treatments just don't work. Zeus has had a mite problem all through his illness as the stress of being ill meant his body couldn't cope, he got run down and the mites took advantage. I have tried shop bought treatments to try and prevent them and to try and help treat them but the only thing that works is a course of Ivermectin (injected).

If you explain you can't really afford an expensive bill most vets will just charge you for the cost of the medication and won't charge the consultation fee for the second and third injections as you are in and out quickly and it hardly takes any of their time.

Give Dandi a snuggle from me!

Caz
 
A couple of my rabbits got sticky bottom. I changed them from Excel to Science Selective and have not had any problems since. They also get only a handful of SS a day, so a fairly small amount. The rest is hay, hay, hay and some veg!

As for the mites, you really need to go to a vet to have it treated properly!

Vera
 
post subject

I agree with feeding SS, my 2 suffered from sticky bum`s and i changed them to SS, and have had know problems since.

I give only a 2 handfuls a day and loads of hay, and veggies.

They are doing very well on that. :D :D :D
 
thanks for the info!
I've now decided to hardly give Dandi any dry food and lots of hay until her bum gets better and then I'll see if I can find some of that science selective food and gradually introduce it to see if that will make a difference.
My dad went to the pet shop today and got some mite and flee spray for the hutch as well as this big stick which looks like sweatcorn which Dandi had a nibble on!
He told the shop assistant about the problems we've had with Dandi (I'm not actually sure whether he said mites/mange or that her fur was coming out a lot) but she recommended the flee and mite powder which my dad has already put on Dandi anyway, so he wants to continue to try and use that.
The shopkeeper also recommended dog biscuits for Dandi to bite on to help her teeth! Never heard of that before :shock: Have any of you tried it?
 
Dog biscuits are not suitable for rabbits as they can contain meat extracts!

Hay and fresh grass are really the best thing to keep teeth worn down also weeds such as plantain or bramble leaves. Fruit tree twigs to knaw on like apple are also good for front teeth.

Caz
 
My houserabbit has had sticky bottom syndrome for the whole five years we've had him, but he won't eat any hay at all anymore since he stopped about two years ago and will only eat the odd strand of grass! Not sure if this is because of his dental problems and its too painful to eat it, he has his teeth trimmed every month and sometimes he gets put out and the vet works on them. Found everyone's comments on the Science Selective food interesting, my bunny is on Exel, just the normal one, but wondering if changing to SS food would make any difference to his sticky bum despite him not eating hay and he can't eat that much veg either cos it aggravates the problem. Any advice from anyone about curing sticky bum with a non-hay eating bunny would be appreciated. And if SS food might help, where can you get it? Thanks.
 
Please be careful with flea powders as most ask you to leave it in the coat for a period of time before you groom or wash it out.

The rabbit must NOT ingest it during this time. So please keep a very close eye on your bunny.
 
vanessa said:
My houserabbit has had sticky bottom syndrome for the whole five years we've had him, but he won't eat any hay at all anymore since he stopped about two years ago and will only eat the odd strand of grass! Not sure if this is because of his dental problems and its too painful to eat it, he has his teeth trimmed every month and sometimes he gets put out and the vet works on them. Found everyone's comments on the Science Selective food interesting, my bunny is on Exel, just the normal one, but wondering if changing to SS food would make any difference to his sticky bum despite him not eating hay and he can't eat that much veg either cos it aggravates the problem. Any advice from anyone about curing sticky bum with a non-hay eating bunny would be appreciated. And if SS food might help, where can you get it? Thanks.
Vanessa - have you tried different hays? My fussy blighters will not touch shop bought hay :roll: but thankfully I can get organic bales of hay from a farm (OK its 25 miles away but they love it to bits). Buns and piggies of firends also go mad for it so I have to fetch it on a fairly regular basis to divvy it out amongst us... if you can find a farm supplier near you, that may make the difference
 
I'd agree with that. Mine don't really like the shop bought stuff, it seems finer than the hay i get from the farm shop. They also love (even Squidgy does, andhe's a ****** for not eating hay) readigrass, and also grass from the garden.
 
I've tried him on good quality hay from a farm, shop bought and even shop bought in short strands, but he's not interested anymore. He used to love hay for the first couple of years I had him, even pet shop hay, but just stopped one day and shows no interest in it whatsoever. He's not really into grass either, will maybe eat a few strands, but that's it. That's why I was starting to think maybe its too painful for him to eat it with his teeth problems because he used to like it so much before.
 
There are a lot of people on here who own bunnies who have had teeth extracted to solve ongoing dental problems - and the bunnies do extremely well without them. I'm not one of them though, so wouldn't be able to advise whether it might be appropriate for your bunny. Which teeth is he having problems with?
 
If it's painful for him to eat, it may be his molars that have spurs on them. Squidgy had overgrown front teeth (malocclusion) and had to have them removed. He has no trouble eating now, we just have to chop things up into smaller pieces for him and help him with grooming.
Hopeyou find out what the problem is.
 
My bunny has his front teeth trimmed down monthly and has previously had problems with some of the bottom set near his cheeks, but he hasn't needed these treated by the vet in the last few months or so. The front teeth trims aren't done under anaesthetic and don't seem to worry bunny, so I'll probably just carry on getting them done every month unless things get worse. He can eat dry food and veg fine, so maybe he's just decided he doesn't do hay anymore! He does have one continually runny eye though, it used to clear up after different medication and eye flushing, but nothing can seem to get rid of it now. I think I will give the Scientific Science food a try to see if it can help with the sticky bottom and bunny might like a change of menu after years on Excel!
 
Oops, just had a confused moment calling it Scientific Science food, I mean Selective Science, I knew it was two words beginning with S!
 
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