Help! My bunny smells!

[bunnyluv96]

I don't know what to do. My bun seems otherwise healthy but I'd say a couple times a week, he has a problem. I wouldn't say it's quite diarrehea, but it's very soft stool stuck to his bottom. It is about the size of a quarter and (sorry to be gross..) all squished up against his back side. Last week it had gotten on his cage and on his paw somehow and when he went to wash his face he smeared poo above his eye..he was covered with poo and I spent about an hour in the bathroom trying to clean him up. I just don't understand why so many problems! I know buns have soft stool, but I don't think this is normal. It's becoming almost more than I can take. I can't leave him like that of course, but last night I was cleaning him up. I went to his cage and it smelled like a skunk sprayed inside his cage! I scooped him up and figured out it was him, and I won't go into the details..but I almost got sick to my stomach cleaning him up.:yuck It was bad..He gets all the hay he can eat, and I feed him 2 times a day about a half of a cup total of pellets daily. The treats I don't give very much at all, maybe two bunny treats a day. Lately, I haven't even given him fresh fruit or veggies, I've been out for a week or so and haven't been to the store. Please help! I'm sure bun doesn't like being this way, with poo stuck to him, and I almost can't stomach cleaning it up anymore. Is there anything I can do?? Thanks for any help.

 

[tonyshuman]

Sounds like he's not eating his cecals. How old is he? It may be time to start cutting back on the pellets.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

we have the same problem with Peter and Charlene. Cut way down on pellets and fresh vegetable--now have less cleanup work to do.

 

[missyscove]

It sounds to me like he needs more fiber and less protein. What kind of hay is he eating? If he's on alfalfa I'd switch him over to a grass hay like timothy and for now I'd cut out all treats and fruits and cut back on the pellets.

 

[bunnyluv96]

He will be six months old next month. He is a pellet monster! He loves his pellets. He goes nuts whenever he even hears the bag open! I have cut way back on the fresh veg, I haven't given him any in about two weeks or so. He used to eat timothy months ago, but I switched it up b/c I read buns get bored and variet is good. Now he's hooked on orchard grass. In fact he will barely touch anything unless it's orchard. You know, come to think of it, he always eats every pellet in his bowl and doesn't eat a ton of hay, he'll eat some but not as much as maybe he should? So I should cut back on the pellets? How much should I give him daily so he won't make a mess but still be healthy? Thank you all so much for replying and trying to help me solve this!

 

[Sweetie]

I would cut back the pellets to only 1/4 cup a day and give him lots of hay, because as you probably already know hay has a lot of fiber in it. Also I would get rid of the alfalfa hay because it has a lot of calcium.

Fiber will help your buns GI tract and regulate his output.

Hope this helps

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Feeding about 1/4 cups sounds good. Giving him a variety of hay is good. But I would feed the 2 hays together.

I would also check his sent glands. They are the slits on either sides of his genitals.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Scent glands are cleaned using a q-tip dipped in mineral oil. Beware, it reeks!

Don't do it without the mineral oil - that will chafe like crazy.

I agree - more hay is needed. Kind of like when people don't get enough fibre in their diet

 

[Nela]

LOL I remember the first time I realized they had scent glands :expressionless Welcome to the lil (to outsiders at least) known world of rabbit ownership You'll never believe how bad they can smell if it is their scent glands and if it is your first time cleaning them. Best of luck with your bun!

Oh and if it is a cecal issue (which others have addressed) well at least you will be prepared for the future :wink

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

Scent glands are cleaned using a q-tip dipped in mineral oil. Beware, it reeks!

Don't do it without the mineral oil - that will chafe like crazy.

I agree - more hay is needed. Kind of like when people don't get enough fibre in their diet

I was gonna say this if no one else did, but, then I was unsure of age and this issue being possible. But, yeah, I've heard it's pretty gross, never done it though. Possibility.

 

[ninetoes01]

unless he's a very large rabbit, (like a flemish giant) he should be getting an 8th of a cup a day. more than 80% of his diet should be hay. (this is as a rabbit savvy vet has recently told me). This should keep his weight reasonable, and hopefully will help with his stool!

 

[bunnyluv96]

Come to find out I was overdoing it on the fresh treats. I cut them out completely, stuck to just rabbit food and hay, and haven't had a problem since. Just thought I'd update in case anyone was having a similar problem.

 

[tonyshuman]

Interesting. Thanks!