How to clean stubborn poop stick on bunny

[Antony]

My wife used to take care of our bunny, but she has been away for a long time for some reason so I take care of him. Recently he stepped on the wet poops which is too thick that I don't know how to handle. It happened before but it wasn't too many I let them dry and soon they will fall off, but it isn't so easy when it is thick. The dried poops still there and his hair starts to grow on top on them.

Today I see some wet poops stick on his ass, I tried to use tissues to take a little off, but even if it is wet it is so hard to take the poops off. Anybody has got tips on how to tackle this issue? Thanks.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

A picture would be nice to help us know how bad it is. Rabbits should not be bathed unless it is really needed. Here is a link on how to give a rabbit a butt bath: Rabbit Butt Bath: Caring for a Bunny's Messy Bottom.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

A warm, damp rag, should work. Wipe it gently and slowly, bare in mind that it might catch some fur and get caught. A healthy bunny shouldn’t be getting poop stuck on them.

 

[Blue eyes]

As mentioned, a rabbit shouldn't normally have poo getting stuck to him. It could be an indication of something wrong in the diet. You'll need to figure out what is causing the mushy poos to begin with. If you could describe his normal diet, then we could help figure out what might be amiss.

Here is a link that shows photos of healthy vs unhealthy poos:
MediRabbit

 

[Antony]

Thank you all your replies. My bunny is quite old now and one of his leg is very weak, so I think he has no digestion problem, he just happened to have those grape-like poop and stepped on it. And I remember it happened to him when he was younger too. I contacted the rabbit association in my city (a charitable organization in my city) and that staff also told me to clean with a warm damp cloth, I tried but it seems to have very slow progress. I guess that is what I should keep doing instead of expecting it to work at once.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, those grape-like poos are cecals and he suppose to eat them normally so you shouldn't see them around at all, if he doesn't eat them it can indicate some health problems but most often it can happen because he is too fat and can't reach them to eat straight from his bum or if his diet is too rich (he gets too much rabbit food or vegetables/fruit and eats less hay). In both cases this problem can be fixed if you could tell us what he eats and how big are his portions we can advise. We need to know what brand pellets you feed him (Name, ingredients, how much protein and fibre in %) and see his bowl size and how much he gets daily.

For cleaning his existing stuck cecals from his fur you can let them dry and try removing with baby comb or plucking with your nails, they will come off with some fur, you can also cut them off very carefully, placing baby comb between his skin and blunt scissors to avoid cutting on his skin. It would be easier to advise if you could take some pics.

How old is he?

 

[Antony]

We only give him timothy hay and about 3 spoons of Oxbow Adult Rabbit Food (essential or organic, depend on the availability), 1.5 morning and 1.5 evening. He will have a piece of heart-shaped biscuit also from Oxfow. We did not give him fruits or vegetable because my wife think he is okay with just these food.

Thank you for your advice, I will try it tomorrow

He is now 9 years old.

Here's a photo I just take:

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

I don’t think that he’s just stepping on his cecals (the grape like poop). Is he litter trained? I’m not sure why he’s gotten this much poop on him and it might be because he is older and less mobile. I think that you might be best doing something like a bum bath but I’m not all too sure.

 

[Antony]

He is litter trained. He was excellent using the toilet when he was younger but not so when older. When I took over the task from my wife (about one year ago), he was able to jump to the toilet easily (to escape me taking him off the cage for cleaning). But recently I hardly see him over the toilet, I think his leg has gotten too weak (and I think even painful) to do it. I also want to mention that even before his leg makes him unable to jump to the toilet, he already uses the toilet less often, the whole cage is his toilet.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Aw, poor bunny. He’s getting old. I’ve found this link: Steps to Clean a Rabbit With Poopy Butt

But I would also consult a rabbit savvy vet and tell them what’s going on. It may be that you can’t physically get to one for an appointment but a phone call or email should give a little help.

 

[Antony]

Thank you Appollo's Slave for the link, I would try to see if it works
Actually I go to see the vet every month because he had to inject medicine to strength his leg, so I make an appointment monthly. The vet would say his leg reaction is okay, I don't know why he says so because I feel his leg actually is not so good.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, thanks for the pic. Since he's 9 year old now and his health problems I think you could rearrange his cage just remove his toilet as it is too high for him to jump in anyway and would make soft bedding all over his floor. I would put a thin layer of wood pellets first, adding more in places where he pees usually, like corners and where his toilet was, on wood pellets I would sprinkle a little wood shavings and then some shredded barley straw. that would make nice soft and absorbent floor for him so he won't sit in his urine/poop and will stay dry. Then I would try giving him a sitting bath just warm water and dry very well after that, rub with damp cloth and try to remove with a comb or brush, be careful not to damage his skin.

Can you also post a pic of his cage, toilet? His diet sounds good only I didn't get what 1.5 means and if you can check how much protein 13% or 16% stated on package of his pellets? What you use for his litter box?

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

His diet sounds good only I didn't get what 1.5 means and if you can check how much protein 13% or 16% stated on package of his pellets?

It says minimum 14% crude protein for oxbow pellets. And I’m guessing the 1.5 meant 1.5 cups, once in the morning and again in the evening.

 

[Antony]

Here's my bunny's cage. The toilet actually is newly bought yesterday, the old one is rectangular, I did not bought this one for its shape, just I find it is the most shallow one I can find. But turn out it is a good thing because even if he still don't use it (and it is true as far as I can see), it occupies less space than the rectangular one.

Actually I mean 3 spoon of pellets each day but split into morning and evening (sorry for my bad English).

I was not comfortable using bedding as we have never used it. My wife is a very worrying person, and she think she would eat the bedding (whatever material it is). When our bunny is young we used boards with holes which come from the cage originally, when he gets old my wife used towels to cover the cage floor to avoid sore hocks, with pads placed under the towels. the towels would get wet and dirty, my wife would clean them in laundry (she's lucky to find a laundry that don't mind it).

When I take over her task, I bought boards with holes, and place them over pads. So it would be no problem keeping his feet dry.

 

[zuppa]

This is a very small cage and with this flooring cecals will stay on those plastic grids so he has no escape from them. This toilet is also too small for an adult and he might be able to use it for urination if he's good with his toilet but it is too small. But I understand that it's only toilet that would fit into this cage.

The only way I see in your situation would be to remove all boards and pads and fill his floor with soft bedding with wood pellets as absorbent underneath and in corners more, as I described in my previous post. Generally this cage is very small and if he is in it all the time he needs more room to exercise hope you let him out as well.

 

[Antony]

Thanks Zuppa I would consider again about using bedding. About exercise in fact his leg has got worse recently and can only continuously walk a few steps at most, sometimes he tried to run fast and fall.

 

[Hazel 1]

Thank you Appollo's Slave for the link, I would try to see if it works
Actually I go to see the vet every month because he had to inject medicine to strength his leg, so I make an appointment monthly. The vet would say his leg reaction is okay, I don't know why he says so because I feel his leg actually is not so good.

Antony, I hope you have a good bunny vet who specialize in exotics. As my bunnies get older, they need more monitoring by a rabbit savvy vet. Mine is excellent and she caught things that the previous vet missed. I do have a very old rabbit, a rescue, and she must be at least 16 years old. She's partially disabled, still gets around, but her toilet habits just aren't there anymore. I put a sheet of clear marine vinyl on the floor under her pen, then soft blankets and towels and a washable pet bed. Sometimes I use disposable bed protection sheets. and leave some of that available to Buttercup, but the rest of the pen is covered with soft material that I can launder. Litter boxes (2) are filled with alfalfa hay. The vet recommended that because geriatric bunnies experience loss of muscle mass and alfalfa supplies extra protein.