Poopy butt

[chibibun]

As you can tell by the title, one of rabbits is suffering from a poopy butt. I tried wiping it off with warm paper towels but its stuck right under his tail and hardened into his fur. He doesnt even sit still during nail clippings, which isnt painful so I cant imagine how I could take off this hardered poop near a very sensitive area without causing pain. Any suggestions for this?

His usual diet is kale and nuggets.

 

[candi9]

His diet is kale and nuggets only? If so, I recommend changing his diet so it is more appropriate - here is a link: What to Feed Your Rabbit Changing his diet might help to avoid poopy butt in the future.

As for the immediate poopy butt, you might have to soak that part in some lukewarm water until it softens. I had to do this with my bun back in the day and it can get messy as you can imagine that they do not like this .... maybe someone else on here has a better suggestion.

 

[chibibun]

His diet is kale and nuggets only? If so, I recommend changing his diet so it is more appropriate - here is a link: What to Feed Your Rabbit Changing his diet might help to avoid poopy butt in the future.

As for the immediate poopy butt, you might have to soak that part in some lukewarm water until it softens. I had to do this with my bun back in the day and it can get messy as you can imagine that they do not like this .... maybe someone else on here has a better suggestion.

Oh and also hay of course with occasional fruits. But thankyou I will take a look at the link to prevent this in the future.

Yes, mine hated when I tried taking it off with the paper towel. I will try the water idea if nothing else occurs, thankyou so much!

 

[JBun]

I will usually just try and gently tease out small clumps. But if this won't work for you and you don't feel you can leave it or safely trim it out, a butt bath can be tried in some circumstances, though the clump would need to be given time to soften up in the water. It's also very important everything is done safely and as low stress as possible. And just be aware that in sensitive rabbits or ones with preexisting heart problems, any type of bathing could pose a possible risk of cardiac arrest occurring. So if in doubt at all, consult with a knowledgeable rabbit vet first. It's also very important to thoroughly and safely dry(at low temps), to not leave wet fur and risk possible flystrike.

Bathing rabbits

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Is he still producing normal round fecal balls as well? If he is, and this is a reoccurring issue and not just a one off occurrence, this is likely intermittent soft cecotropes. Which if it is reoccurring, wet poop stuck in the fur can also be a risk for flystrike.

Mushy cecotropes can have a variety of causes, but the most common one would be an imbalance in the diet. It can be from not enough fiber from hay being consumed, and/or too many sugars/carbs in the diet. It can also be from a new food introduced into the diet too quickly or a sensitivity to a particular food.

If this is a reoccurring issue, I would suggest removing all fruit from the diet to see if that corrects the problem. If not, other diet changes may be needed, such as reducing nugget amounts. Though if diet changes don't correct the issue or you suspect it's a medical problem and not diet, I would suggest having your rabbit checked by an experienced rabbit vet.

Intermittent Soft Cecotropes in Rabbits

*Please note that it will be helpful to the understanding of this disease if you first read the Care of Rabbits handout [...]

rabbit.org

Disorders of the Cecum

The healthy functioning of the cecum is critical to the overall health of a rabbit. Gaining an understanding of how [...]

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