Urine scald -

[MomOfBuns]

One of my rabbits, Dustee, she seems to not be cleaning herself well enough or something. She is not over-weight - actually she lost 8 ounces between vet visits and the vet suggested that I increase pellet consumption.
Dustee also gets her scent glands clogged sometimes - waxy substance builds up and causes her fur to stick to that then the pee might stay on her fur or skin too long as she eats hay in the litter box.

I clean the litter box out every 2 days and they get fresh hay every day.

My question is, what shampoo or mixture can I use that will be soothing to her bottom without irritating the spot too much?

She is a very dainty bunny, I might add, and she hates being wet. If her paw gets in her water dish, she flicks and flicks and then cleans it like it's the only thing to do.

Any suggestions on how to go about cleaning her bottom without hurting her?
Thanks

 

[Maureen Las]

if your girl prefers to be dry (which is preferred)thereis away to clean her with cornstarch. I had a rabbit with urine scald and I did do cornstarch baths myself but because this rabbit also had issues with loose cecals I usually ended up giving a wetbutt bath every few days. The cornstarch should be plain ; I used the type used for baking rather than the type with talc made for babies.
First of all I would be a bit concerned as to why she has it in the first place
If she is not overweight and has adequate room to move around (is she caged? )then urine scald usually points to a health issue unless she is in a dirty box (doesn't sound like it !)

I would get her checked out by a vet ..possibly have her blood drawn, a urine sample for bacteria done and rule out anything related to kidney/bladder issues .

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12052&forum_id=10

If urine scald is really severe sometimes a systemic antibiotic is also needed.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html



http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12067&forum_id=17



you can apply neosporin ..you can also use diaper rash ointment but I would be concerned ifshe ingested the zinc oxide ointment

 

[naturestee]

I agree with Angieluv- there has to be something more going on here. Did the vet check for a urinary tract infection? Bladder stone? Arthritis? How old is she?

Ditto on the cornstarch butt bath, also if her scent glands are clogged you can clean them gently with a cotton ball or qtip and some baby or mineral oil. Be prepared for stink.

What are you using in her litterbox? Most litter types work well enough that they shouldn't make her wet as long as you clean the box regularly. Hence the thought that this is caused by a health problem.

 

[MomOfBuns]

She is caged, but it's a big 2 storey cage for her and her bunmate.

She've had this issue before and nothing came of it. Before it was due to her being overweight. She is a small Netherland Dwarf. At her heaviest she was 5 pounds. Now she is just 3. But she isn't boney. Just good for her size now.

Dustee will be 3 in July. I haven't taken her to the vet yet. I'm hoping that cleaning her up will help this issue.

I use Yesterday's News as their litter and keep fresh hay on top daily. Their litter is never wet through the top. Her feet and the rest of her bum or her tail are never wet, so it might have something to so with her scent glands needing to be cleaned.

Vet appointment is next.

Thank you guys for all the info and suggestions. I'll keep you posted. Otherwise, all other suggestions welcome.

 

[tonyshuman]

Some good stuff here already. I agree that something is probably underlying this. Most bunnies won't pee on themselves unless there's a problem. Another option is to put a grid of some kind in the litterbox to make sure that standing or sitting on wet litter isn't the problem, although from what you've said it doesn't sound like it is. Some litterboxes are sold with wire gratings in them, and some members have used plastic gratings and light fixture covers for this. However, you should absolutly make sure that there's no underlying UTI or something causing it.

 

[MomOfBuns]

Thanks,
I'm noticing that some of her poop pellets are white from where she've peed - so that would be an indication of sludge or stones. I have a vet apointment booked for before noon on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.

 

[MomOfBuns]

Update:
They gave Dustee subcutaneous fluids to help make her pee to be able to do a urinalysis to see if she had any sludge/ infections. So Dunkyn had to stay with her too, in his travel case, because they are bonded.

Anyway... she peed a little bit the next morning ( I have stubborn bunnies by the way) and they did the test and it came back clean. She did gain extra weight and she probably couldn't clean herself properly.

Recap:
In January she had dropped 9 ounces and weighed only 3 pounds - so, at the vets insistance, I increased her pellets. When she got weighed this time, she is after gaining 11 ounces. She is a little hog for the food apparantly. So now I have to decrease the amount of pellets they get.

The last time she gained a bit of weight, we had the same issue. She can't get down far enough to clean herself properly and then her skin gets irritated from the pee and then I start to worry all over again.

So now, I have to keep close watch on her weight and her cleanliness and adjust her pellets accordingly. She is the only one out of the six that I have a weight problem with. Again, I'm contributing it to her being weaned too early from her Mother.

So after all that worry and money and time spent at the vets, she is a healthy, little-bit-overweight, bunny.

 

[Maureen Las]

Yeh but think of it this way ...
she isn't sick
and you can do something about the weight
so that's good

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12058&forum_id=17


possibly you may want to start diet changes

 

[tonyshuman]

It can be very hard to keep a bunny's weight right. It's hard to tell whether they're fat or just fluffy! I got a cheap kitchen scale at Wal-Mart and I weigh my guys with it occasionally.

I would still try something like a grate in the litterbox to keep the urine off of her fur, at least until you have her weight under better control.

I'm glad it's not some underlying problem, though!

 

[ra7751]

Umm....couple of things. First, I might would have another discussion with your vet. If she is having urinary issues, the last thing you want to add is more protein....pellets. As others have said, there is an underlying cause here...it needs to be found quickly. The weight concerns me greatly....if she is a ND, isn't 5 pounds a bit much? And losing weight that fast is really stressful on the liver.....and because of a concern known as hepatic lipidosis, I would suggest having a rabbit savvy vet perform a blood panel...and just because I have seen this before, have a panel sent out for EC titer. Have you noticed any, maybe very slight, neurological issues like maybe a light stumble or possibly a stretched out leg? NDs are also quite prone to dental concerns. It could be just a UTI.

Here is what I would suggest:

>Perform a CBC w/EC titer.

>Perform a cytology or C&Son a urine sample. What is in there?

>Get an abdominal radiograph looking for sludge or stones especially in the bladder.

>If nothing is found, an x-ray of the skull looking carefully at the jaw and teeth.

>Start supplemental hydration via sub-q fluids....preferably with Sodium Chloride.

>If you can maintain hydration, maybe a NSAID for pain and/or inflammation.

>Pure corn starch (no talc) is best OTC treatment for scald. There is a prescription powder called Neo-Predef that is also effective but it does contain a steroid.

>Bathe her with an oatmeal based shampoo.

>In this case, I would not suggest starting an antibiotic unless we get a confirmation that it really is a bacterial UTI.

>There is the possibility that this could be a parasitic issue.

Randy

 

[MomOfBuns]

Let me clear up a few details ra7751:
Dustee was at 5 pounds when she was probably 1-1.5 years of age. I left her for a week with my boyfriend and he misunderstood my directions for feeding. I put her on a pellet decrease - it wasn't drastic and she went down to about 4 pounds and I kept watching her weight. Then she was bonded with Dunkyn and I couldn't monitor her eating as much and he had to gain weight due to his having pneumonia for the first year of his life, so he ate more pellets than Dustee, and she lost a bit more weight, but their diet was always supplemented with unlimited hay - which they both prefer now to pellets.

There have been no signs of any or slight neurological issues.

She is on a week's worth of Baytril to offset any infection that may be there due to her skin being irritated and because they had to shave her quite close down there to get rid of the pee stained and clumped fur.

She is still eating regularly and exercising normally and drinking normally.

Her teeth are perfect. They get checked whenever I take them in for a nail trim every 6 weeks or so. She has no bumps under her skin, around her eyes or jaw region. No mucous coming from the nose or eyes or ears. No limping - no crystalized urine.


It's a Dustee thing!

 

[PixieStixxxx]

You're in Canada! My Muffy (9 years old at the time) had serious issues with urine scalding because she had arthritis in her right knee. She could not raise her butt, as it was too painful. So she would pee on herself instead.

I was given something called "Hexadene". There's a shampoo version, and then a liquid version I would give her after a rinse. It cleared it right up.

[I almost moved to Truro to attend the N.S. Agricultural College for Pre-Vet School. But I ended up staying in Vancouver instead]