Poopy Butt

[Pandorly]

Our bun occasionally gets a poopy butt. She has very long fur and sometimes there is a buildup of poop where I have to trim the hair under her tail.

I've read that a decline in grooming can signify underlying health issues but she has always had this issue where it's just a bit too much to stay on top of, and I attribute it to her very long fur. I've said it to the vet and they also think this is likely.

I have to clean her about every six months. Today was the day I noticed she had a bit of build-up, so I wiped away the poop and cleaned the area thoroughly with warm water, but I noticed that she was a little bit more tender down there. There was no blood or damage to her butt, it was just pinker than usual.

Anyone who has experience with poopybutt, is there a need to go to the vet? She gets very stressed by these visits and I don't want to add to her problems if I can just continue to clean the area. Would it help to apply a cool pack wrapped in a towel to soothe?

Poor little thing. I wish there was a more dignified way of managing for her.

 

[Pandorly]

Just to mention as well, she's pooping and eating normally.

 

[Niomi]

I had one rabbit that had a poopy butt when I got him. I changed his diet to a higher quality pellet food, and threw away all the store bought treats that came with him and the problem went away. I have another rabbit that gets poopy butt when he eats a lot of greens. I now give him the same amount of greens, but I space them out during the day. That works for him. He just can't eat too many greens at once. Good luck with your bunny. I hope you can find something that works.

 

[JBun]

Most often mushy cecotropes getting stuck to the bum fur, is due to a diet too high in carbs and too low in fiber, causing the cecotropes to form improperly and come out mushy, and because of this they get left uneaten by the rabbit. It's called cecal dysbiosis or ISC/ISS. Usually the correction for this is a change of diet, one lower in carbs and higher in hay. In more severe or long term cases, an all hay diet is used to help correct the microbial imbalance in the cecum, before gradually reintroducing other foods back into the diet, but a diet with less pellets and other high carb foods. Like mentioned, a change to a better pellet may also help. When doing an all hay diet, it's important to monitor weight and ensure lots of hay is being consumed. It's also best to do this under the supervision of a knowledgeable rabbit vet.

There are some other health conditions that can cause mushy and uneaten cecotropes to occur, like arthritis and obesity making it hard for the bun to reach down there to eat the cecals(if the come out fully formed and not mushy), dental problems, kidney/liver issues, cancer, etc. But dietary imbalance is the most common cause.

https://rabbit.org/intermittent-soft-cecotropes-in-rabbits/
https://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/