Poopy butt and I don't want to hurt him, but he'll need daily baths and....Help?

[ladysown]

1. is he fat? .. fat rabbits don't keep themselves clean
2. is he eating well?
3. if the problem is that he is sitting in his poops.. give him a wire mat between him and his poop. AND clean out his poop more regularly.
4. the smell is his anal glands, you may wish to see if his scent glands are blocked down there.
you may find this page helpful: http://brighteyessanctuary.org/educ/rabbit-info-scent-glands.html
5. if you just got him, moving can sometimes cause rabbits to produce more cecals, all you can do is wait it out.

 

[StormyB]

He's not fat, he's a healthy weight, he's eating...well, IDK his normal eating habits but far better than my other male when I first brought him home. Thumper barely ate for 3 days when I first brought him home, Brady is eating more. And given the consistency that is the stuff getting stuck to him, a wire mat isn't going to help with anything other than making it messier and harder to clean.

 

[Azerane]

What is his diet? How much and what type of hay does he get. How much and what type of pellet. And how much and what type of veggies or fruits does he get on a daily basis? Eating well is not a sign that the food he is eating is ok for him. You can have two rabbits on the same food, one will be perfectly healthy, and the other will constantly have problems. If you let us know what he gets on a daily basis we can make suggestions for altering it that could help eliminate his poopy butt.

 

[flemishwhite]

. If you let us know what he gets on a daily basis we can make suggestions for altering it that could help eliminate his poopy butt.

I agree, this will help. I really hope we can help out with your problem.

 

[ravenmoore36]

If his fur like my girls is very fine and thick i thin the fur out. But i agree get his glands checked.

 

[mikenyny]

Hi, I'm back. I got another rabbit last night. He's a totally white, 2 year old, papered, Holland Lop. He is also not neutered. However, I discovered that because of that, or some reason, he has severe issues with poop getting stuck to his little testicles. I had to give him a full, putting him in the tub with warm water, bath. I just checked him again just a moment ago and he needs another bath because poop is stuck to him again. I don't neccesarily mind bathing him daily, but I still have to pull the poop off his little testicles and I don't want to hurt him, I mean its gotta hurt having someone tugging on his junk even if I'm trying to keep him clean. Any tips to help de-poop his underside or prevent poop from sticking? I am hesitant to neuter him because of several reasons. He's fully papered, he's showable and my main reason is there isn't a rabbit-savvy vet I trust to do the surgery without killing him. So, I WILL neuter him if it comes down to that and I find someone, but without giving him an unnecceasary surgery, any ideas?

(Reply)
I have had this problem with my female semi-Lion Head (aged 4 now) for a year and a half; what I do - every 3 days - is give her a "sitz" bath (not a whole bath). Procedure:
1. I do this in the back garden. 2. Get a small table (plastic patio type) and a plastic chair. 3. Get a small round plastic bowl. 4. Put 2 plastic 5 litre bottles with luke warm water on the table. 5. Place some old towels on the table. 6. Place a container with washing-up liquid on the table. 7. Place a pair of unpointed scissors on the table. 8. Pour a drop of liquid in the bowl and 1/3 fill with water. 9. Capture your rabbit and place it across your knees. 10. With one hand, lift the rabbit up so you are snuggling it and with the other hand, move the bowl of water onto your knees. 11. Gently lower the rabbit's butt into the water. 12. Put some liquid on one hand and wash the rabbit's butt. Replace water and repeat. Dry the rabbit's butt. 13. Carefully trim the fur immediately around the rabbit's butt. I am thinking of recording myself doing this and putting the video on You Tube. Best of luck.

 

[edwinf8936]

I had one that had an ongoing problem with soft poop and sticking. Diet didn't seem to remedy it. Finally the vet had me gather poop from the other rabbits and made a slurry mix. I feed this to the bunny and it cleared it up.
We had dealt with this problem for a long time and nothing seemed to fix it for more that a short time.

 

[ravenmoore36]

Before my boy was spade i used to put baby oil on his bits. Made it easier to wash off as the oil put a barrier on his skin. Get them both spade it calms them down they dont get aggressive and helps prevent future health problems. It is miles kinder to get them spade.

 

[StormyB]

So after tweaking diets and everything, Brady is eating the pellet most days. Like, maybe one in three days, he doesn't eat it and I have babywipe his butt off. We're getting there, its better though.