• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Cleaning Scent Glands

P

PatchMagic

Young Bun
Hello :)

I'm wondering if anyone has experience of regularly cleaning their bun's scent glands?

My girl is 5 and is in perfect health (thank goodness), she's a spayed dwarf mini lop. She has the appetite of a dinosaur and if she's not flopped out unconscious she's playing like a mad woman. She's an indoor bun and has regular toilet habits. She drinks regularly, eats plenty of hay & veggies and I have no concerns with her wellbeing in general.

Recently we've had to start cleaning out her scent glands around her nether regions. The first time was pretty awful, she had a buildup of white/yellow goo but then layers of tiny poops that had gathered within the folds (if you know what I mean) to the point where it has crusted over the area.

We felt absolutely awful for letting it get like that without realising but, despite a thorough clean, just a matter of days later it was exactly the same again.

So we cleaned her again, leaving no trace of mess but sure enough, 3 days later it was back to being crusted over.

It gets so bad that when she goes for a wee, she will buck her back legs up and kind of shoot if out if that makes sense?

Does anyone have experience of having to clean the glands as regularly as every few days? And is it normal for poop to cake over the area too?

She does, somehow, do her normal poops in between cleans and then obviously some will fall off the area once it's started to cake up. She's producing wee/poop normally but it's obviously getting stuck.
 
PatchMagic said:
Hello :)

I'm wondering if anyone has experience of regularly cleaning their bun's scent glands?

My girl is 5 and is in perfect health (thank goodness), she's a spayed dwarf mini lop. She has the appetite of a dinosaur and if she's not flopped out unconscious she's playing like a mad woman. She's an indoor bun and has regular toilet habits. She drinks regularly, eats plenty of hay & veggies and I have no concerns with her wellbeing in general.

Recently we've had to start cleaning out her scent glands around her nether regions. The first time was pretty awful, she had a buildup of white/yellow goo but then layers of tiny poops that had gathered within the folds (if you know what I mean) to the point where it has crusted over the area.

We felt absolutely awful for letting it get like that without realising but, despite a thorough clean, just a matter of days later it was exactly the same again.

So we cleaned her again, leaving no trace of mess but sure enough, 3 days later it was back to being crusted over.

It gets so bad that when she goes for a wee, she will buck her back legs up and kind of shoot if out if that makes sense?

Does anyone have experience of having to clean the glands as regularly as every few days? And is it normal for poop to cake over the area too?

She does, somehow, do her normal poops in between cleans and then obviously some will fall off the area once it's started to cake up. She's producing wee/poop normally but it's obviously getting stuck.
Click to expand...

Hello

It is not really 'normal' for a Rabbit to get very mucky around their genitals, although occasionally it may be necessary to clean the scent glands. However, the problem should not recur within just a few days. There is usually a reason as to why a Bunny is less able to keep themselves clean. Issues such as dental problems, being overweight or the onset of some arthritis in the spine. In the first instance I would opt to get your Bunny thoroughly examined by a Rabbit Savvy Vet.

This video may be useful to take a look at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x9dbSUdomg
 
PatchMagic said:
Hello :)

I'm wondering if anyone has experience of regularly cleaning their bun's scent glands?

My girl is 5 and is in perfect health (thank goodness), she's a spayed dwarf mini lop. She has the appetite of a dinosaur and if she's not flopped out unconscious she's playing like a mad woman. She's an indoor bun and has regular toilet habits. She drinks regularly, eats plenty of hay & veggies and I have no concerns with her wellbeing in general.

Recently we've had to start cleaning out her scent glands around her nether regions. The first time was pretty awful, she had a buildup of white/yellow goo but then layers of tiny poops that had gathered within the folds (if you know what I mean) to the point where it has crusted over the area.

We felt absolutely awful for letting it get like that without realising but, despite a thorough clean, just a matter of days later it was exactly the same again.

So we cleaned her again, leaving no trace of mess but sure enough, 3 days later it was back to being crusted over.

It gets so bad that when she goes for a wee, she will buck her back legs up and kind of shoot if out if that makes sense?

Does anyone have experience of having to clean the glands as regularly as every few days? And is it normal for poop to cake over the area too?

She does, somehow, do her normal poops in between cleans and then obviously some will fall off the area once it's started to cake up. She's producing wee/poop normally but it's obviously getting stuck.
Click to expand...


Hi PM :wave:

It sounds to me like what you're seeing isn't actually residue from the scent glands. If you've cleaned them out, then they wouldn't need doing every three days or so.

Poop shouldn't cake over the area, and diet is often to blame for this ..

How much dried food do you give her? Could it be that she's not eating all her cecotrophes and they are getting stuck behind?
 
Thanks so much for the quick replies and thank you for the video.

Hi Jane :) She has regular checkups as we take her in with her husbun who has his own issues. I'm fairly confident that dental problems, obesity & arthritis can be ruled out but will raise it on our next visit nonetheless, just in case.

Hi MightyMax :) There are definitely some ceco's stuck in there and then normal poops on top of that. Underneath the ceco pile is clumps of the white/yellow too though.

I've never experienced this with a bun before, we've had plenty of dental issues/stasis/lumps but never this.

Her diet is the same as our other 3 buns - constant access to hay with some forage then two servings of greens a day. Greens include a few herbs, spring greens and a slice of carrot each. She's had the same diet since she was a baby so I hadn't thought of changing it.

Our next visit to the vets is at the end of the month so I'll raise it then but just wanted you to double check it wasn't normal. I've watched lots of videos of gland cleaning and never noticed poop stuck in the area so feared it wasn't the norm :(
 
PatchMagic said:
Thanks so much for the quick replies and thank you for the video.

Hi Jane :) She has regular checkups as we take her in with her husbun who has his own issues. I'm fairly confident that dental problems, obesity & arthritis can be ruled out but will raise it on our next visit nonetheless, just in case.

Hi MightyMax :) There are definitely some ceco's stuck in there and then normal poops on top of that. Underneath the ceco pile is clumps of the white/yellow too though.

I've never experienced this with a bun before, we've had plenty of dental issues/stasis/lumps but never this.

Her diet is the same as our other 3 buns - constant access to hay with some forage then two servings of greens a day. Greens include a few herbs, spring greens and a slice of carrot each. She's had the same diet since she was a baby so I hadn't thought of changing it.

Our next visit to the vets is at the end of the month so I'll raise it then but just wanted you to double check it wasn't normal. I've watched lots of videos of gland cleaning and never noticed poop stuck in the area so feared it wasn't the norm :(
Click to expand...


So no muesli or pellets at all then?

I had to cut some things out of the diet of one of my rabbits as I had a bit of a problem with the rear end. Well not me of course!

Too many greens? Herbs are fine - perhaps cut down in the spring greens and see what happens. And how big is that slice of carrot?

So sorry - I don't mean to sound like the food police here :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

a reader of books
Could Sophie get some vibes? Another dental
6 7 8
Replies
144
Views
2K
KCG
KCG
PumpkinBells
Healing and forearm lifting question
Replies
11
Views
246
PumpkinBells
PumpkinBells
B
Abcess or possible tumour - UPDATE
Replies
16
Views
305
tonibun
T
Back
Top