Need Help with Stool Issue

[OurBunnyOllie]

we have a medium haired lop mix male that is about 4 years old and we've had him for about 3 years. This past summer he has started having an issue with his poop. It is constantly just sticking to his butt. I have tried keeping the hair around his anus shaved down but it doesnt help. I typically have to wash his butt about once a month. I know its not good for them to have baths but its also not good for him to have poop stuck to his butt all the time. He is in a wire cage that lets the poop fall through to a pan and he also has a litter box in his cage. He is fed a consistent diet of basic bunny pellets and timothy hay. I keep a salt lick and of course water available at all times and he gets an occasional treat of carrots.
Anyone else had this problem? Is there a special food or supplement I could give him to help? Its so frustrating because I know he is miserable and its miserable for both of us to have to bathe him so frequently.

 

[whitelop]

Is he over weight? If he is, he may not be able to clean himself properly.
Or he could be getting too many pellets and not eating his cecotropes and thats what sticking to his butt.
My bun gets a dirty butt when she touches the litter, but you don't have that problem.

Someone else may be able to weigh in better.

 

[OurBunnyOllie]

You know, he is a little chunky. How would I go about putting him on a diet? I know all about dog nutrition but nothing about rabbit nutrition.
What is cecotropes?

 

[whitelop]

Cecotropes are night poops. They're filled with vitamins that the buns need, they usually eat them right as they come out. But if the bun is getting too many pellets they won't eat them as often, because the pellets are a "complete" diet.

As for a diet, how much does your bun weigh and how many pellets are you feeding him in a day? Do you measure or free feed?

 

[OurBunnyOllie]

I just weighed him and he is about 6lbs. I free feed him. He has one of those feeders that you fill to the top and they eat out of the bottom. We could certainly switch to a scheduled feeding, but I'm not sure how much or how often (like once or twice a day). That would actually really benefit my daughter too as its her bunny and it would be a good start towards responsibility of her own pets.

 

[JBun]

Cecotropes kind of look like a cluster of grapes. They're a bunch of little soft poops clustered together and rabbit normally will eat them all. Sometimes when rabbits are getting too many pellets, they can overproduce cecotropes, but it's also possible that the pellets are causing your rabbits normal poops to be soft and stick to his fur. Typically it is the diet that causes this, from your rabbit getting too many carbs and sugars, either from the pellets or treats, or both. I would suggest decreasing your rabbits pellets by quite a bit, and also eliminating treats. Green leafy veggies are still ok to feed though, unless the poopy bum continues after decreasing pellets and eliminating treats. If that happens, cut out leafy greens too. If you are still having poopy bum problems after doing all this, decrease the pellets even more, and if it still doesn't get rid of the problem, eliminate pellets all together and see if that solves the problem. If your bun isn't already getting unlimited hay, then make sure he does now.

If at any time his condition worsens in any way, it's possible there is something else going on there causing the problem, like parasites or bacteria, and you should get him to the vet right away.

Edit: He shouldn't be free fed pellets but should get free fed hay, and then feed, for that weight, about 1/2 cup split up into a 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup at night. If that doesn't fix the poopy bum, you can try decreasing that amount again. You may need to get him a smaller dish for him to eat his pellets out of now as he may have trouble getting to this small amount of pellets at the bottom of his feeder.

 

[OurBunnyOllie]

Ok, I have never see cecotropes in his litter box or in his cage so he must be eating them. I will get him a new dish today and switch him to a scheduled feeding to see if that clears up the problem. Its rare that he gets treats so that will be easy to stop. He does get free fed hay already so I'll keep that up Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[Imbrium]

also, rabbits don't need salt licks and it would be good for him to have some fresh leafy greens added to his diet

diet info and veggie lists:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm