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Advise needed on cleaning bun that dont ike being handled

looby_lou

New Kit
Hi im new to owning buns and have had my wee giz for about a week, since i have had him i have noticed his poo's are very soft not hard lil balls like i remeber them having when i was small, he seems to be pooing an awful lot too and not in one place but everywhere, i noticed as well that when i picked him up his bottom was a lil crusty i tryed to clean it with a damp cloth but had to resort to dipping his bottom into warm water (which he was not happy with at all) but i then had trouble trying to dry him he's a little nervous and i dont want to upset him trying to wash him daily any advise on how to keep his bottom clean??
He is still quite young about 3 - 4 months he's a Dwarf lop, and at first i was feeding him on hay and junior / dwarf rabbit nuggets from pets at home....but he started to have like cowpat sqidgy poo's so i've taken him off that at the moment and he's just on hay...(and he's poo's still arent solid) also he dosen't seem very active when i first had him he was running about doing binkies and since i've had to wash his bottom its like he is gone all quite and shy, and just sits in the corner
please help im a little worried about him :cry:
 
aw poor Gizmo, you have done the tight thing by just feeding him hay, is he eating it though?

when you got him what food did breeder/petshop/rescue feed him on? Because if you have changed his food over quickly this could have upset his tum.

I havent got much advice other than to say if you are at all concerned please take him to the vets, little bunnies can go down hill fast.

Good luck Gizmo get well soon for your mummy
 
yeah he's eating his hay but im not sure if he's eating enough, he was the smallest of the litter, being bullied and not getting enough food because of his greedy brothers, this is why i decided to take him as i wanted to help him get a bit plumper (only a little mind, i know an overweight rabbit isn't healthy) at first i fed him on russel jnr, he had this one day only, then i realised it might be best to keep him on the same stuff he was eating before so fed him on that, but as i said he's now just on hay do u think it was the sudden change in food what am i best to do?, and also still need to find a way to keep he's bottom clean as i worried it might matt.
 
Hiya,

Hopefully the hay will help. Can you give us an idea of time scale? How long has he just been on hay?

Tam
 
I'm surprised that hasn't helped clear up the problem if it was just a diet change. I think it would be a good idea to get a vet to check him over in case there is something else going on. The vet will be able to give you probiotics and check that he's not getting dyhydrated. It might be an idea to ask if you should should take a sample of his poop with you.

Tamsin
 
hi

poor little guy - would be best to take him to the vets for sub-cutaneous fluids if he's got diahorrea, which it sounds like - hope your vet can figure it out - what litter are you using in his cage/litter tray? Sometimes the undersized rabbit in a litter can have health problems so he may just need some extra TLC till he's older and stronger.
 
Right i've just clean out his cage, so i can keep an eye on his poo's for the rest of the day, he seems a little perkier caught him playing with his rattle, and he's sitting muching on hay at the moment while he was hoping around the lounge, i noticed a few poo's that where firm not solid but they looked wet and slighty mucasy (slightly snotty sorry too much info probally) i've seen pictures of the ones their spose to eat but these are single lil balls not clumps like grapes. but im going to keep an eye on him and if he seems no better tomorrow i will take him to the vet. Thanks to everyone for your help :D
 
Hi me again, Ive been keeping an eye on gizmo and he's poo's are back to normal (lil solid ones) but i did notice when i checked on him this morning he'd been lying in a lil poo pat it was quite smelly and all stuck round his bottom and tail....am i right in thinking these are the one's he's meant to eat? :? ......Also i had an awful job trying to clean him up first i tryed a damp cloth that got most of it off but i couldn't get the lil bits stuck in his fur so i tried the thing with cornflour and brushing it out but giz had other idea and lets just say i looked like a snowman (woman) :( he wont let me brush his underside and as there is only one of me its getting very tiring trying to clean his bottom as he's sitting in these soft edible poo's most nights. Any tips :?:
 
hi

I think they usually only produce too many caecal poops (which they eat) if you're feeding them too rich a diet - is he still on just hay? Glad his diarhorrea's cleared up now anyway - baby rabbits go downhill very fast when poorly.
 
Hi Lou, I find the best way to wash a bunny's bottom is to sit him on the edge of the sink, holding him very firmly against you with your right hand round his chest. With the left hand pour luke warm water from a jug between the bunnies legs so it runs down over the bottom. I do this several times and that helps to soften the stuck poo. It can then be removed with fingers and more pouring of water. Blot the bunny with a towel to dry.
If the bunny has a lot of stuck hard poo sometimes you have hold them the same way and dunk thier bottom in a bowl of luke warm water and swoosh it around gently loosening the mess. You have to careful though as it is easy to tear the bunnies skin if the poo is still stuck when you are removing it, make sure it is soft and just wiping away. If you do this in a bowl then you will need to finish with fresh water to rinse the bunny's bottom.
Hope that helps :roll: .
Good luck at the vets, hope it is just a mild gut problem that can be easily resolved.
 
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