Matted fur

[benny_08]

Hi,

My dwarf lop appears to have matted fur on her bottom.

Should I go about cleaning it for her or will she do it herself?
If I should do it, she's not keen on being picked up so any tips would be great...
What can I do to prevent this happening in the future?

Thanks

 

[squidpop]

What do the matts look like? Does it seem to be poo or wee? Really your rabbits should always have a clean butt and if it doesn't its a sign that something might not be right with her health. It could be that she has sticky poo because her diet needs more hay and fiber. Or it could be something more serious like a urinary tract infection, or coccidiosis—a bug that can give rabbits mushy poos that stick. Do her poos look normal round and firm? Does she get plenty of hay? If her poos are sticking to her butt, first thing to try is less pellets and more hay.

 

[benny_08]

Ok thank you. Her poos are normal but I have noticed a few cecotrophes lately. It is poo matted in her fur though. Will cut down on pellets and see what happens. Hopefully nothing too serious 😕

Should I clean it for her? Or will she do it herself?

 

[squidpop]

If there are a few poos stuck I usually put on a strong pair of reading glasses so I can see up close and then I get out my small grooming scissors for cats that have a ball tip and I trim the fur away that has the poo stuck to it. With yours is sounds like if she doesn't like being picked up it might be hard to for you to do the same. You could just try to get it off with a wet/damp wash cloth.

If she just has cecotrophes/night time poos sticking to her butt, a lot of times that is because diet is too rich, so yes cutting back on pellets could help and more hay. I think I forgot to mention to that if the rabbit is fat or older sometimes they just have a hard time reaching their bottoms to clean.