Poopy bum!

Hi

We have a mini lop who was purchased from a breeder and lives in the house. He has always had a very delicate stomach and over the years we have gone from reducing fresh intake right down to where we are currently (under vet supervision) where he has no fresh, Natures Diet muesli (which has very little nuggets) and timothy hay. He has always been quite greedy, something the breeder said about his mother too, who was huge!

I do think he was overweight if I am honest so decided to put him on a bit of a diet, I reduced his Natures Diet and continued with unlimited timothy. He then started mass eating the straw bedding so I have removed that too. But every day he is getting a huge poop ball on his bum and he stinks...we have had to resort to bathing him, he doesn't love it but neither is he very distressed about it.

He has lost some weight but in a healthy way. I phone the vet today for advice, she is not concerned he is very ill but said sometimes rabbits, especially male are lazy about cleaning themselves. So what she has prescribed is Fibreplex...this confuses me as I don't think he has a low fibre diet, but I think she is coming about it from helping him have good gut flora and hoping this solves the problem. We had to weigh him for the medicine and he is 5.5 pounds, which I think is bang on healthy for a male fully frown mini lop, so being fat is one thing I can eliminate

Does anyone have any advice about this as I can't just bath him every day and I really want him to get over this.

Thanks in advance

Jem

As he was healthy on his original diet I would go back to that, ie up his Pellet intake a little bit.

To me it sounds like he isn't eating his cecos. Is he also doing regular poo that is or normal size & consistency.?Uneaten cecos can be attributed to a diet too rich in carbs but can also occur with certain health problems such as being overweight or having arthritis (struggling to reach). Fibeplex would probably help if there is an issue with his normal droppings but not so much uneaten cecos

Hello thanks for the reply. He has had more or less the same foods for the last year aside from the very recent changes and has had the issue both before and after the change, but I am going to bear this in mind...thanks

Hello the not eating the cecos was mentioned by the vet. He has a litter tray and this has dry normal looking poops, but what is caked round his bum is dark and wet so cecos I think? I can't imagine that the carbs is an issues...but have thought about stopping the Natures diet which could be the only source of any carbs and giving him just timothy for a couple of weeks to see what happens? I do think he is noticibly thinner since I cut his food and he is 5.5 pounds now so I can say for certain he was over his weight...probably not helpful.

One thought I have - not exactly diet related, but have you coated him with rearguard (anti flystrike) - if he has a smelly and sticky bottom, it will be a magnet for flies.

Rachy said:

Hello the not eating the cecos was mentioned by the vet. He has a litter tray and this has dry normal looking poops, but what is caked round his bum is dark and wet so cecos I think? I can't imagine that the carbs is an issues...but have thought about stopping the Natures diet which could be the only source of any carbs and giving him just timothy for a couple of weeks to see what happens? I do think he is noticibly thinner since I cut his food and he is 5.5 pounds now so I can say for certain he was over his weight...probably not helpful.

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It definitely sounds like cecos. How much muesli do you feed? Its a good plan to continue to get his weight down, he is pretty heavy for a mini lop who should be 3.5-4 pounds

Has the Vet checked his teeth ? Rabbits with Dental problems can get a mucky bum. Being over-weight is another contributory factor

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/illness/dirtysticky-bottom/


You say you are providing hay, but is he actually eating LOTS of it ? A Rabbit's diet should be 80%-90% hay.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-diet/

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

To me it sounds as though he was filling up on the Muesli and not bothering much about hay. Then you cut back on the Muesli, which was certainly a good idea, but he may have some over long/sharp teeth making hay eating difficult. So I would want to be certain that your Rabbit does not have any Dental issues. He is also a brachycephalic breed and they are prone to Dental problems

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/charities-unite-to-highlight-brachy-health-issues/

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/charities-highlight-brachycephaly-in-rabbits-and-cats/


I agree with Craig re being very mindful about the high risk of Flystrike

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/illness/flystrike/

Thank you for the reply. Deffo not flystrike, we bathed his bum again yesterday and started him on the Fibreplex and after just one dose I can see some improvement...so I am hoping that this what the vet thought an an imbalance in his gut flora...I am grateful for the suggestions though, thank you all and if you do think of anything else shout up

Hello I am certain this is a ceco issue...but the fibreplex has clearly given him some benefit. I had thought they could be up to 5.5 pounds but maybe he is still too fat though he looks good now...will try and trim him down a bit more. He gets a cup of his muelsli...but this muelsli has hardly any nuggets, it is grasses and flowers...the vet says a good one...but maybe I should cut it out for a couple of weeks and just to the timothy?

Rachy said:

Hello I am certain this is a ceco issue...but the fibreplex has clearly given him some benefit. I had thought they could be up to 5.5 pounds but maybe he is still too fat though he looks good now...will try and trim him down a bit more. He gets a cup of his muelsli...but this muelsli has hardly any nuggets, it is grasses and flowers...the vet says a good one...but maybe I should cut it out for a couple of weeks and just to the timothy?

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Do have a read of the advice on the Rabbit Welfare Association's website re Diet. I'd take him off Muesli altogether

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-diet/

Re the Flystrike, the issue is that having a poopy bum makes the Rabbit at very high risk of getting Flystrike, not that Flystrike causes a poopy bum. Flystrike can take hold in a matter of hours, as you will have probably seen from another of the links I posted previously

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/illness/flystrike/

Poopy bum

Hi lots of good links here thank you! He does get his teeth checked at his annual vaccination and they have always been fine...but he is due vaccination now and the vet says as soon as they do appointments again she will have a look. I am going to work on getting his weight down further and reduce muesli right down.

I did try to upload a photo oh him to show his size but I can't find how to do this other than a url and I don't know how to do that

Rachy said:

Hi lots of good links here thank you! He does get his teeth checked at his annual vaccination and they have always been fine...but he is due vaccination now and the vet says as soon as they do appointments again she will have a look. I am going to work on getting his weight down further and reduce muesli right down.

I did try to upload a photo oh him to show his size but I can't find how to do this other than a url and I don't know how to do that

Click to expand...

Here’s a tutorial on how to upload photos http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?475766-Tutorial-How-to-Post-Photos

My Dex is a mini-lop and there was a period in his life when he was going through this same problem. I firstly had to get him to lose weight, and secondly as he never eats hay (yes never touched it in his life) I had to beef up the fibre intake through selecting the right dry pellets. He has been on a diet of fibreplex ever since then and that has helped.

I made my Dex go on a diet and now he's about 1.6kg which is enough for him to reach around and clean himself.

The fact that your rabbit eats hay is a bonus. I think helping him to go on a diet and the fibreplex will help. Hopefully he stops getting a dirty bottom.