Plez Help wot can i do?

About a year ago i got a 5 yr old bunny from a nearby family that were moving.
He had rearly been picked up and held, so he dos not like it at all.
After about 6 months he got very attached to me and wont let any one else near him, he is my firt rabbit and when i went to the vets the vet refuse to hold him as he is agressive and large.
The other week i found he had poo stick to his bottem and his priverts were sore and a bit swolen, i phoned the vet and they said that they couldnt help me. :bunny: :rabbit2:
I dont know what to do, i dont want him to be in pain and i have herd that you shouldnt wash them to much or it attracts magets!
Does anyone have a similar problem or can ofer me some help??

Chomper had a bit of diarrhea a while back and got poo stuck all over her bum. She's not too thrilled about being picked up, and I wasn't comfortable with the idea of giving her a full bath for just a bit of poo on her bum.

My solution was to take a soft washcloth, soak it in warm water, and gently wash her bottom. It took a while to get all of the dried poo out of her fluffy fur, and she wasn't too thrilled by the whole process, but I bribed her shamelessly with some of her favorite fruits/veggies while I washed, and that seemed to work.

I'd also suggest finding another vet. Your rabbit will need veterinary care, if not for this issue, then definately at some point in his life, and you must have a vet willing to provide care to him no matter what his disposition.

I'm not sure about rabbits, but I know that my dog (a ninety pound black lab) sometimes requires a mild sedative for some veterinary procedures. Perhaps something similar can be done for your bun?

well my vets always make me hold the rabbit while they do the business end of things - could you try this? It's not a very professional attitude for a vet to refuse to treat an animal because they're scared of it though :?

Meanwhile, if you get some cooking cornflour and massage it into the poo on the fur, it should slide off and you can brush it out and put some vaseline or sudocream on the sore bits.

You also need to figure out why he can't eat his poops, as this is probably what's stuck to him - the eating poops are squidgy compared to the currants they leave around the place.

Usually if a rabbit is overweight they can't reach around to their bum too easily, or with an older, large rabbit maybe they have arthritis, which your vet could treat as they treat dogs with arthritis. If you can find a different vet then please do - I wouldn't trust a vet that cared so little about rabbits, and lots of vets specialise more in dogs and cats so know little about rabbits.

Another cause of too many eating poops is feeding too much mix, as it has more protein in it than they need - but with your rabbit being old and big, I bet he's a bit arthritic, or possibly getting too fat - again if he's fat he needs less mix and more fresh hay, several bundles of it a day.

Hi there,

My bunny; Dante, suffered from the same thing. I took him to the vets and it turned out that because he was quite a big, chubby rabbit, he had been unable to clean his bottom properly, so his bottom was clumped up with poo. This poo was then making his genitals (private parts swollen and red). The vet gave him a pro-biotic to give to him orally twice a day, and I was told to buy some a tub of Sudacrem from the Chemist and gently massage this into his private parts every day. It certainly did the trick! The pro-biotic made his poos more solid and the Sudacrem healed his private parts. He's since been on a diet and doesn't suffer these problems any more.

Like you, I was really worried, but a few days after I started with this treatment, Dante's bottom had completely healed up. However, you need to continue this treatment for 7 days.

If I was you, I would suggest your vet prescribe Pro-biotic for your bunny and go and get a tub of Sudacrem from your local chemist. It sounds just like Dante's problem. You can read Dante's story on Page 15 of this forum.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Carol

Welcome to the board! interesting that we have almost the same username! could get confusing :lol:

Your vet does not sound very helpfull! but as elve says, if you hold your bunny while the vet looks at him it should be fine.
Big bunnies do have trouble cleaning their bum, I had a bunny who was quite old and a bit over weight who needed help to keep clean. Baby wipes can be useful. I had no trouble with bathing my bunny to keep him clean. It's only a problem if you put him back into his hutch while still damp. Also, if he's an outdoor bunny he could get a cold.
I would consider finding another vet. It looks as though you've been given good advice on here, but it also helps to know that you have a co-operative vet when you need one.

i cant believe your vet won't help, that is a terrible attitude to have, its not like you have a 70kg dangerous dog! surely there must be a member of the practice that could help to hold your rabbit, thats what us nurses are for (touching the things a vet wont :lol: ).
if you are competant to hold your bunny secured in a towel, there should be no reason for them to refuse him medical attention and you should tell them that.

Hey

What a horrible useless vet you have!!

Poor u

Can you tell us what area you are from? Then maybe someone on here can recommend a bunny friendly surgery?

well first of all - you did the right thing seeking help and advice from the vets. What a shame they werent helpful - i recomend you find another one that is bunny friendly.

Follow all the advice given above - it works!

I have an overweight bunny who struggles to clean herself. Getting her to eat pellet food and lots of hay has helped her to lose abit of weight and to have a less messy bum.

My bunny really likes (thank goodness) sitting in a little bit of water (with a tiny bit of baby bath) in a washing up bowl.

I kneel down so that her paws and head are on my kneees and she has a little stroke while i soak her bum.

this helps to loosen it up and i give it a very gentle wipe after - be warned - get lots of towels and wear old clothes as it sometimes goes everywhere!

Hope you find a method that works for you and your bunny - they will get used to the routine even if they dont like it much. Good luck

I dont know what to do, i dont want him to be in pain and i have herd that you shouldnt wash them to much or it attracts magets!

Click to expand...

It's best not to bath them too often just because it stresses them out too much, but bathing them won't attract flies/maggots. If you rabbit has a dirty bum in the summer when flies are around, that will attract flies, which will lay eggs on your rabbit, and they can be quickly fatal. So, it's best to make sure your rabbit's bum is clean, then address why it's dirty to begin with - like people said, is he overweight so he can't reach back to eat his poos?

its not always a case of the bun cant..somtimes it appears that they wont.
my friend had a french lop who was incrediably lazy. he wasnt overweight (thanks to a strict diet ) he just couldnt be bothered to clean himself properly.

as for the flys, 'rearguard' helps but its not complete protection so make sure you keep the bun as clean as you can (that includeds his hutch) and check him all over..but particulaly his back end twice a day as the maggots can appear within hours.