carolineclair
Warren Scout
My house rabbit has had a dirty bum at least 4-5 times a week for the past few months. Some times she does a good job of cleaning up and others it just gets caked onto the soles of her back feet, her tail and the soft bit of skin on her tummy just in front of her genitals. She basically just poos where she is sitting sometimes but then eats it off the towel or carpet she is sitting on at the time but doesn't manage to clean herself properly.
My first instinct was that as she is turning 10 next month, and I can see her finding cleaning a bit more difficult that that was the issue.
We have removed treats and too many greens from her diet though she still gets some grass or herbs daily alongside her hay, I've reduced her mix to about 16g of pellets a day to encourage her to eat more hay. She is eating and drinking and pooing normal healthy looking poos though on top of this so I don't think there is a major gut or eating issue.
I see her eating cecotropes normally most days but wonder if this could be excess cecotropes perhaps and if so why??
I have had to resort to a bath for her hind quarters several times as a wet cloth just wont do the job, especially as its just me trying to clean her single handed. I know a bath isn't good for her though so avoid where possible
We've had many gastric issues over the years but currently her diet is otherwise working well for her so I'm loathed to change too much
If you have experience with older rabbits, is this common? Any helpful tips or suggestions?
Thank you
My first instinct was that as she is turning 10 next month, and I can see her finding cleaning a bit more difficult that that was the issue.
We have removed treats and too many greens from her diet though she still gets some grass or herbs daily alongside her hay, I've reduced her mix to about 16g of pellets a day to encourage her to eat more hay. She is eating and drinking and pooing normal healthy looking poos though on top of this so I don't think there is a major gut or eating issue.
I see her eating cecotropes normally most days but wonder if this could be excess cecotropes perhaps and if so why??
I have had to resort to a bath for her hind quarters several times as a wet cloth just wont do the job, especially as its just me trying to clean her single handed. I know a bath isn't good for her though so avoid where possible
We've had many gastric issues over the years but currently her diet is otherwise working well for her so I'm loathed to change too much
If you have experience with older rabbits, is this common? Any helpful tips or suggestions?
Thank you