Millie's dirty bottom

[Moonstone]

Millie is a lop/Nethie cross, 12 years told, and has arthritis. She's been on twice daily Metacam for about a year now and has herbal medicine mainly for the arthritis.

She's her usual self, still runs around like a rocket when food's arriving but a bit more unbalanced on her feet when she's just pottering around. She used to do a great job keeping her bottom clean but lately not so much. I would like to put her outside (shed with attached runs) once the frosts are over as she's happier outdoors but I would like to sort the bottom issue first, if possible.

She's on a healthy diet, lots of hay. No pellets at all, just two joint tablets which she has with the metacam twice a day. I forage for her daily, and she has supermarket green leaves in the mornings and is on two of Galen's Garden's dried herbs and flowers mixes. I also give her a treat in the evenings, a small piece of fruit or something.

I think she's slightly overweight so I need to cut down in general and cut out the treat (which is going to make her very annoyed!). Does she basically need a higher hay ratio? Or do I just have to accept the fact that with pain in her spine she can't reach under so well? Should I clean her myself (which would be alarming for her)?

 

[Shimmer]

I would cut out the fruit and generally increase the hay rather than anything else.

I also wouldn't be putting a rabbit outside if it had a permanently messy bum. It's just a magnet for flies and has a very high likelihood of flystrike - which I wouldn't wish on anyone. So you really need to sort out the issue before she goes out. She's still prone to flystrike inside - it only takes one.

If you have to give her a bum bath, make sure she's fully dry before she goes outside - flies are still drawn to the damp areas. Grooming her with a comb regularly (eg daily) may also help as it means less poo gets stuck in her fur. Work up to it slowly so she gets used to it.

I think she really needs another assessment by your vet to see if there is any more appropriate treatment than what she's on currently, and to check on her weight, etc. Getting on top of it will dramatically improve her standard of life, so it's worth it.

In the meantime, I would look at getting some F10 germicidal wound spray with insecticide in stock. Available from many places online. It is effective against flystrike if caught very early, or as a preventative while you get the mucky bum sorted. It can be used on sore skin or open wounds. Just make sure that no cats can come into contact with it as it is toxic to them.

F10® Germicidal Wound Spray with Insecticide – Product Information – F10 Products

www.f10products.co.uk

Flystrike in Rabbits

Find out about Flystrike in rabbits today. Explore prevention, risk factors, treatment advice and more here.

rabbitwelfare.co.uk

 

[Omi]

I agree with Shimmer. I reckon if you cut out the daily fruit/treat you could well see an improvement in her mucky bum. If you are foraging for her daily, I would save something she likes to eat to give as an evening treat. For instance Cow Parsley is becoming very lush here now. Both my bunnies get so excited with it, that I think I would struggle to give them anything else that they would prefer. I think that without the treats she should also lose some weight, which would be helpful in general to her, but particularly for her Arthritis.

 

[Moonstone]

I'm so sorry, I forgot to reply! Thank you Shimmer and Omi. I have cut out the fruit and she's already cleaner, it was definitely a bad habit to get into so it feels good to be out of it again. She's been getting through a bunch of parsley which I don't normally buy her because of the oxalates. I'll have to move on to something else but she loves parsley so it's a good stepping stone. I've always been too scared to give her cow parsley because it looks like that other thing that's toxic, is it hemlock? I decided at one point that the cow parsley like thing growing in the wilder parts of my garden is hemlock but I can't remember what I based that on.

Is F10 germicidal wound spray better than Rearguard? I've not ever used either.

Watching her in the last few days, I think she's in more pain than she was. I don't have a lot of headroom with the Metacam but she's only on a medium dose of the herbal meds so I'm going to increase that before thinking about taking her to the vet again. The vet used to just stress her out but in recent years it has also seemed to increase her pain and tiredness.

 

[Shimmer]

Rearguard has it's down sides. It's expensive, is a single dose 25ml bottle (so about £30 every 8-10 weeks), can be difficult to apply with the sponge applicator, can't be used on sore or broken skin, is only licenced for application to the bum area, needs reapplying after a bum bath, and can reduce the appetite (which isn't good in an already compromised rabbit).

Clinical particulars - Rearguard

www.noahcompendium.co.uk

The F10 germicidal wound spray with insecticide is applied as needed on any area of skin (including on damaged skin) and doesn't affect appetite. So you can use it daily if needed (eg after a bum bath) - just a quick and easy couple of squirts with a hand trigger spray. A bottle lasts for ages.

F10® Germicidal Wound Spray with Insecticide – Product Information – F10 Products

www.f10products.co.uk

As for arthritis treatment, your vet has other options besides Metacam, so it's definitely worth talking to them and getting her reviewed again. She would need to be seen 6 monthly for any prescription meds anyway, including metacam.

 

[Moonstone]

Thank you, Shimmer, the wound spray does sound like a better bet.

Please can you tell me what other options the vet has besides Metacam? They haven't mentioned any, so it would be good if I could mention some to them. I will increase the herbal drops though, I know they work because I forgot to reorder in time once and she went rapidly downhill, which I hadn't been expecting, but I suppose things go through a rabbits body more quickly than we get them out of our own systems.

 

[Shimmer]

I've no experience of arthritis meds for rabbits, but you could do a search on her or start another post asking about it specifically. There are a few people on here who have had arthritic rabbits.

 

[Moonstone]

Okay, thanks.

 

[Shimmer]

As for flystrike prevention, I have used Rearguard before for a rabbit with flystrike, but wouldn't again as it severely depressed the rabbit's appetite. F10 was so much easier and cheaper for what I was needing it for later (open wounds from jaw abscess surgery on outdoor rabbits that hated being indoors).

 

[Orenoko]

I have an arthritic bun who was just on metacam, she's now also on calpol and gabapentin. I'd ask your vet potentially about these. I also give her oxbow joint support (not sure if that's what you're referring to with the treat).

Mine also has a bit of a sticky bum recently, I have an appointment for her to have her bloods tested just in case. I think it may be partly down to the arthritis but not 100% sure. I use baby wipes to clean her and comb her fur. Unfortunately she's really not a fan of being picked up but needs must.

 

[Moonstone]

Thank you, Orenoko. I've made a note of those two to ask the vet about. In good news, Millie's bum is clean now but I'll bear that in mind about the baby wipes. She's on Sherwood's joint support tablets but I think they're very similar. Just about to start her on a stronger and different herbal mix from the complementary vet.

 

[Orenoko]

Thank you, Orenoko. I've made a note of those two to ask the vet about. In good news, Millie's bum is clean now but I'll bear that in mind about the baby wipes. She's on Sherwood's joint support tablets but I think they're very similar. Just about to start her on a stronger and different herbal mix from the complementary vet.

Ah yes I've got those too, I bought them when the others were out of stock but madam wasn't a fan! I personally find baby wipes easiest as they're more efficient than tissue and less worrisome than trying to give them a bum bath, that's not something I'm confident with. Hope Millie's bum stays clean and you get some improvement!