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Cleaning a mucky bum

zarathustra

zarathustra

Warren Scout
So got back from getting some Christmas photos of the baby, and thought I'd pop out side to check on the ladies.

I saw that Lola had something stuck to her rear end, and on closer inspection it appeared to be poop.

We got her out and snipped out the poop, but her tail looks really matted.

I can't see any loose droppings anywhere in their hutch or run, but this doesn't look like it's only happened between them getting fed this morning and me checking on them 2 hours later.

We aren't really sure how to clean her up properly, should she be seeing a vet or will a bowl of warm water and some kitchen towel followed by a dry do the trick?

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zarathustra said:
We aren't really sure how to clean her up properly, should she be seeing a vet or will a bowl of warm water and some kitchen towel followed by a dry do the trick?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I’d say as a one off that she should be fine to not see the vet, keep an eye on her but could just be something that didn’t quite agree with her or a bit too much veg etc.

I used to clean my messy bunny with unfragranced baby wipes but warm water will be fine as long as she’s dry after.

Congrats on the baby by the way!


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nap91 said:
I’d say as a one off that she should be fine to not see the vet, keep an eye on her but could just be something that didn’t quite agree with her or a bit too much veg etc.

I used to clean my messy bunny with unfragranced baby wipes but warm water will be fine as long as she’s dry after.

Congrats on the baby by the way!


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Click to expand...
Thanks, we have water wipes and stuff, so might give those a try.

She seems ok in herself, hopping about eating hay and begging for treats.

Luckily she was quite docile earlier so hopefully won't be too much of a problem getting hold of her.

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I really depends on how badly it is matted. As you have realised, it's probably happened over time, which will make it more difficult to deal with without getting her too wet in this cold weather and/or causing her distress. The matted fur might have to be cut away.

I think you would be advised to take Lola to the vet to let them get rid of the matts. They could also examine her to establish why this has happened.
 
We had another go with some water wipes, but it's far too matted and we don't want to risk trying to clip the fur out ourselves.

There is/was some matted poop, but to my untrained eye some of it looks like it's where she's gotten wet with all the rain.

She is eating and hopping about and if I hadn't seen the poop earlier I wouldn't have even thought that there was anything wrong.

Anyway, she is booked in for a nurse to take a look and clip out the matting tomorrow afternoon, and the vet will take a look if needs be.

At the moment she is sat on some steps cleaning herself

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Omi said:
I really depends on how badly it is matted. As you have realised, it's probably happened over time, which will make it more difficult to deal with without getting her too wet in this cold weather and/or causing her distress. The matted fur might have to be cut away.

I think you would be advised to take Lola to the vet to let them get rid of the matts. They could also examine her to establish why this has happened.
Click to expand...

zarathustra said:
We had another go with some water wipes, but it's far too matted and we don't want to risk trying to clip the fur out ourselves.

There is/was some matted poop, but to my untrained eye some of it looks like it's where she's gotten wet with all the rain.

She is eating and hopping about and if I hadn't seen the poop earlier I wouldn't have even thought that there was anything wrong.

Anyway, she is booked in for a nurse to take a look and clip out the matting tomorrow afternoon, and the vet will take a look if needs be.

At the moment she is sat on some steps cleaning herself

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Click to expand...


I am glad you heeded Omi's advice as it is not 'normal' for a Rabbit to have a mucky bum that has obviously been going on for a few days. So as well as getting her cleaned up I would make sure a Vet examines her. There are various reasons as to why a Rabbit develops a mucky bum, including dietary issues (to much carbohydrates not enough fibre -ie too many pellets, not enough hay), Dental problems, any problem that may effect mobility such as arthritis or obesity. It is important to try to establish and treat the cause, not just clean up the mucky bum.

Good luck at the Vets :)
 
Fingers crossed we caught it before it got too serious that it requires more than just trimming out a lot matted fur.

I feel really bad that it got this far before I noticed there was something up.

I guess all the wet weather we've had over the last couple of weeks hasn't helped.

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You are doing the right thing having the vet nurse handle this. They can trim the fur in the area to help keep the skin dry.
 
My wife just sent me a message, Lola needs to go back tomorrow for sedation to get more clipping done.

I don't know if this is because it is really bad, or just because she was struggling too much for them to be able to do it safely

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Sorry to hear that Lola has to go back tomorrow, hope everything goes ok, I'm sure she'll feel a lot more comfy once it all done. Good luck x
 
So apparently the vets aren't too concerned, she just needs a good clip, and her skin is very sore.

I think they said it looks like it is mainly due to the recent wet weather, and maybe some urine, but she wasn't clear in poo or anything like that.

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Poor Lola, we've got some cream to apply as well where her skin is sore.

I've ordered some stuff to raise parts of the floor of the run so that that will hopefully help keep a bit drier if we have rain like we have recently.

They have places to go and sit to keep out of the wet, but for some reason they prefer to be on the floor.

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Poor girlie, it must be sore. I'm pleased that you're getting treatment from the vet.

Is the floor of the run on concrete or on grass? Would it be possible to cover it to protect it from the rain?
 
Omi said:
Poor girlie, it must be sore. I'm pleased that you're getting treatment from the vet.

Is the floor of the run on concrete or on grass? Would it be possible to cover it to protect it from the rain?
Click to expand...
It's concrete, I've ordered some plastic flooring to give them more areas which are off the ground and out of the water (in the event of further rain).

It's never been an issue before, but we've had an unusual amount of rain over the last few weeks (like most people have)

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bunny momma said:
Lola must feel lots better after her spa day. What cream?
Click to expand...
Of the top of my head I can't remember, begins with a H (I think).

She looks like she's more comfortable, she was jumping all over the place like a loon with her and Pip playing leap frog trying to get nuggets.

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If it rains a lot I only let mine out for a short time then get them in where it's dry. Do they go in overnight?
 
We force ours to go indoors by putting food in there XD I have to put newspaper down in Winter because it's so wet and Lopsy's feet are basically sponges. Aboleth had a sort of skirt (like a rear dewlap!) which often got sodden and was very matted once, not quite enough she needed clipping though, between me and her we managed to clear it up :) In Winter we'd call her Little Miss Matty Bumskirt which i'm sure went down well with the neighbours XD
 
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