Hind leg Urine stained Fur

[imona]

I have a predominantly white rabbit. He is a healthy, neutered male of about 18 months old. He keeps getting urine stains on inner side of his hind legs. He's active, he's eating, I've been cleaning his tray from 1-2 days. I've applied barrier cream (pointlessly since it does seem to be only staining), and I feel as if it isn't getting better anymore. He's a lionhead mix of some sort so he is a fair bit of fluff. But I use hair-buster and I try and trim his fur when possible.

He was bonded with another male of the same age and in January they had a scuffle. Have been split since then. They were together for probably 15 months at least of their lives, and self-bonded themselves with no conflict the same week of their neuter (they were not particularly aggressive when I split them a few weeks before neuter)

First vet visit was clean bill of health. I'm going back and going to ask for testing for things. Urine did appear to be within normal range. But going to ask for urine test anyway. I

What kind of issue could be causing this? Is he just being lazy? Is the broken bond (making headway towards rebonding) just coincidence, or is there a likely health reason that might've caused his aggression to other rabbit. I did bring home a third (spayed female in JUly) but bonding has been inconsistent due to ongoing life issues. And until recently Gus and my third were getting on great, it was Claude and my third who were the issue in the trio bonding.

Another bunny owner from a discord server, who has bunny sat for me before, has offered to take them for a week or two in April, in order to bond them for me.

So is there any possible health issues I could be missing? Things I should push for at the next vet visit. or is it possible he's just a lazy aimer when it comes to pee?

 

[Shimmer]

It is worth considering treating both rabbits for EC, as this can cause problems with the kidneys and is excreted in urine. They are more vulnerable to this common parasite when stressed. Talk to your vet. Standard treatment for EC is oral Panacur daily for 28 days (available without prescription - it is a cat / dog / rabbit wormer). The 10% liquid is cheaper for doing 2 rabbits. Everything that has been in contact with urine needs disinfecting on days 21 and 28 of treatment.

I hope the bonding goes well. Trios are worth it.

 

[imona]

I never considered EC, since there are no symptoms showing that he's having issues. But, i THINK I have panacur, actually. I keep a lot of the non-prescriptive stuff in the house for emergencies. Still going to the vets but this is a good thing to ask about as well. I imagine all three should be dosed, though? They live in close quarters.

 

[Shimmer]

If you are treating for suspected EC, it is best to do all rabbits at the same time, then you get a clean start. The parasite is very common and rabbits may not show symptoms for a while, but it is best sorted before they start with head tilt or hind leg weakness as that's when the damage is being done.

I have one of a trio that is susceptible to what I assume is EC. As soon as she starts showing the slightest symptom (very slight weakness in hind legs / wobbly hopping in her case), I treat them all for 28 days and she recovers.

The disinfection on days 21 and 28 is important as it breaks the cycle of reinfection at key stages of the lifecycle of the parasite.

There is a test available to show if the rabbit has had or possibly still has active EC, but it is so common that I have always chosen to treat anyway. I know I have had a rabbit with it in the past and suspect that there is some lingering environmental factor here (they are all outdoor rabbits on grass, so difficult to totally eliminate after treatment)

It may be worth getting a blood screen done including kidney and liver function to see if that shows up anything - probably a better use of funds than an EC titre test.