Dirty bunny bum

[bobasmomma]

Our little guy is having a little issue with keeping his bum clea ( he's had a little bit of mushy poo from having veggies to early..we're not giving him them any more for obvious reasons) and I'm concerned about 2 things
One is him getting dehydrated, is there anything I can add to his water to help? Or something to bottle feed him if it comes to that.
And two he needs a little bath, I've read that washing him in a very shallow bath with special shampoo is alrigh, is that the agreed upon method here?

 

[LakeCondo]

Unscented wipes should be used unless it's a really big mess, as another recent topic goes into, which you may want to look at.
I'd add a pinch or 2 of sugar to his water for a couple days, to increase the amount he drinks. Unless there's serious dehydration, syringe feeding is too stressful to be worth it. And I'd give benebac or other probiotic.

 

[sos64]

Hi, my bunny often has a dirty bum ... now 7 and a half and quite used to being tipped upside down and washed under the kitchen tap! She can't eat fresh veg without this happening so she is rationed, but she drinks normally. Only problem with the washing is she has to be dry before I can put her back in the hutch to avoid any chance of getting fly strike. She's quite used to the hairdryer too!!

 

[bobasmomma]

Well we have him a nice bum bath by filling the sick with about an inch of warm (not hot) water and holing him so only his rump was in the water them working everything out with my fingers (kinda gross but I do love him so)....worked very well. Then he was dried with a nice soft towl and given a lots of love

 

[tonyshuman]

Lots of good advice here. Depending on the age of your bunny, the severity of this issue is different. An older bunny might be too lazy or unable to reach their cecals, which is normal. Reasons for not being able to reach their bums to eat cecals include obesity and arthritis. Obesity should be addressed, and in some bunnies arthritis can be improved with Metacam and glucosamine/chondroitin.

Young bunnies (under 6 mo) that have messy cecals may also be lazy. If they have messy fecal poops, or the cecals are runny, however, it could be diarrhea which is a very serious issue and common in young bunnies. It can be fatal in 24 hours or less in young bunnies. If he is very young, he needs to be seen by a vet to make sure the diarrhea is under control.

Young bunnies who have normal poops but just aren't eating their cecals might need a reduction in the amount of pellets they're fed.

In all cases, probiotics can help.