Diarrhea/poopy butt - help!

[forBonnie]

Late last night, we noticed that my girl had a poopy butt. Brown poop all over her back legs, butt, and tail. We're not sure what's wrong. Earlier that night, we gave my girl and my boy some red leaf lettuce which is not uncommon and something they enjoy frequently. My boy has had absolutely no problem, but my girl even this morning has a little of poopy butt left. I've washed her off last night and today. I'm hoping this goes away soon, but I'd like to know what's causing it or if there's something she needs to see the vet for.

Her diet consists of unlimited orchard grass hay, water, a scoop of oxbow pellets everyday, and occasional greens.

please help!

 

[JBun]

If it was profuse watery diarrhea, and she still has it, you need to get her to a vet immediately. If it was just mushy poop, is this a one time thing or ongoing problem? If it only occurred last night and is starting to clear up, I would suspect it was from something she ate, possibly the lettuce. If the lettuce was spoiled at all, or if she hadn't had it for a while and was given quite a bit, both could have been a cause for the mushy poop. It's also possible she can no longer tolerate this veg. This can sometimes occur with rabbits. If you want to try the lettuce again, best to wait several days when her poop is completely normal again, then just try her on a very tiny piece each day, to see if there is a negative reaction to it. If not, you can try gradually increasing the amount.

If you are in a warm climate with flies, you will need to make sure she is dried off completely or there is a risk of fly strike occurring, which can be fatal if not caught immediately.