Rabbit feces sticking to the tail and under where she urinates.

[Hare comes Trouble]

If anyone has any idea why only one of my 3rabbits has this problem with her feces sticking to her tail.The other rabbits and Hare Comes Trouble (deceased) never had this problem. I am continually having to clean the tail by using a paper towel to pull the feces off. It becomes hard or it maybe runny and is difficult to get off. I had taken her to the vet before, and he cleaned her off and gave a antibiotic to take care of where she was red and swollen. I hate to have to keep taken her back to the doctor, but I may have to if she gets red and swollen (infection). Floppsy gets all the hay she wants, and at night gets fed a carrol and some parsley. She has pellets available all day. We also give them a treat every other day which consists of sunflower seeds, calf manna, cracked corn, oats,barley. This was a treat that I was told about at the breed show in Columbus, OH last spring. We also give them a half a slice of wheat bread every once in a while (not the same night as the seed mixture). If anyone, has any idea why the one rabbit(mini lop) has this problem, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[ani-lover]

what kind of pellets are you feeding?

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Is the one with the problem an adult?Try limiting the pellets and "carb" treats, like bread, or anything sweet.

How much does she weigh? My three range from 3-6 pounds and they each get one quarter cup of pellets per day. This encourages them to eat more hay, which is so vital to their health.

I have a Fuzzy Lop with a VERY sensitive tummy. I can't give him any fruit, carbs, or lettuce of any kind or he get really smushy poop. I have to give him occasional "butt baths".If you don't want to get her wet, you can put some cornstarch (not baby powder) on the affected area to coat the stuck on poo, then it comes off easier.

Keeping the area trimmed helps a lot, too.

 

[JimD]

Hello HcT!

Welcome to the forum!!

I have a couple of buns that have similar problems.
In both cases it's due to excess cecals that they end up sitting in.
Adjusting protein and carbs in their diets helped a lot.
I still check them often and usually have to clip out some small cecal matts.
Sometimes I need to use baby oil to loosen the matts up.
Cornstarch works really well as a dry bath and helps keep their tushies dry.
If it gets a little red & swollen I'll apply some Neosporin after cleaning.

~Jim

 

[Hare comes Trouble]

First I want to thank all of you that responded. The rabbit is an adult, she is going to be 3 this year. I will try your great suggestions. I use Manna Pro Premium Show quality pellets. I will let you know how things are going. I have already reduced the amount of treats she gets. She seems to have been keeping her tail a little bit better so far. I will try the cornstarch. I will let you know how things how going.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

How high is the pellet in protein?Ithough Manna Pro was a fairly high protein pellet (and last I checkedit was high in fat as well)and that could be the problem.It's not just coincidental that 3 rabbits have had this problem, it issomething in the environment or feed. I'd lean towards the pellets,sometimes a certain ingredient can do it or as I already said, too highof protein levels and too much fat can do it too.

Ideally, a pellet should have less then 2% fat and no more than 16%protein for pet rabbits. Some wooled breeds need more protein though.

 

[naturestee]

Try limiting her pellets and cutting way back on the treats for starters. Also, bring a fecal sample in to the vet and have it checked for parasites or infections.Sometimes this is caused by coccidia, although it's usually diet related.

If she doesn't have a parasite problem and limiting the pellets and treats doesn't help enough, switch to a lower protein/higher fiber pellet. There are some 15% protein pellets available, I know Heinhold makes one. Going even lower may help more.Oxbow Bunny Basics/T and Kaytee Timothy Complete are good choices.

Also make sure she eats lots of grass hay.

I have a pair of dwarf hot ot sisters who are very sensitive to protein. Runny cecals, large mushy fecals, etc.What works best for them is lots of grass hay, lots of green leafy veggies, and only 1/8 cup of Oxbow BB/T per day. More pellets than that and they sometimes get problems.

 

[Hare comes Trouble]

I have cut down Floppsy's parsley/cilantro, carrots and treats. I haven't decrease her food per say, since she is outside rabbit and I am at work. I don't want her to get too hungry. Anyways,I have been using the corn startch to help remove the poop off her tail so I don't have to pull.We usually give her grassy hay, everyday, but when I gave her the Kaytee Timothy Grass Hay, it gave her and the others the runs. Probably since it was richer and they were not use to it. For some reason, she is the only rabbit with the problem and they all get fed the same (except they get a little more treats). I feed them Manna Pro Show Fomula in which the breakdown is as follows:

Crude Protein16%

Crude Fat3.5%

Crude Fiber18%

Crude Fiber23% (I don't know why they list it twice or separate).

Calcium.75%

Calcium1.25%(again, they listed them separate)

Phosphorus.55%

Salt.55%

Salt.75%

Vitamin A3,000UL/LB (I am not sure I read that correctly).

Anyways, someone had asked me about protein and carbohydrate balance. I am not sure what it should be. I have taken her to the doctor once before. I have to take one of my new bucks to the vet for a check up and to make sure he is healthy to be neutered. I will ask him again. If you or any one else has any ideas, please let me know. Floppsy, is getting tired of us trying to pull the fecal matter from her private area and I feel that we are stressing her out too often.

 

[naturestee]

How old is she? If she's full grown,you should probably switch her to pellets that are less rich.Those pellets, and most other alfalfa pellets, are made for rabbits that are growing or breeding and need lots of energy.Sometimes they're too rich for adults' stomachs and cause cecal problems like the ones you're having.

What you should look for mainly is a quality pellet with less protein. There are some maintenance diets that can sometimes be found in feed stores. Heinold is one that is sold near me,you may have different ones available. Although what would be better is a timothy pellet such as Oxbow Bunny Basics/T or Kaytee Timothy Complete. You don't have to switch all your rabbits to this, just Flopsy (unless she lives with the other rabbits). You'll also need to limit the amount of pellets she gets. Start with about 1/4 cup per 5 lbs body weight of the rabbit, then decrease if you still see problems after several weeks.

It's not unusual for some rabbits to have more sensitive stomachs than others. I have two rabbits that can eat just about anything,one that needs low-protein pellets, and two that can only have a small amount of low-protein pellets and get poop problems from too many or just a touch of alfalfa. They're really sensitive.

Oh, and do you know what the vet said the problem was? Did he do a fecal test? You can have a fecal test done with out bringing the rabbit back, just bring a fresh sample in. The test itself should be pretty cheap. My vet charges $15 for one.

 

[Andrea]

I just wanted to mention I have the same problem with my Mini Lop as Jim posted.

It seems my boy is a bit big and low to the ground, so causing the cecals to get stuck to his bottom. If i'm not able to whipe them off gently, I cradle him in my arm, and run warm water over the area and wash the mess away (just a bum bath).

A lot of rabbits are not happy about water, as it can stress them, but my little guy does binkies as soon as he's done. he loves to be clean.

 

[Hare comes Trouble]

Thank you for your information.Floppsy is going to be 3 in April. The other rabbits are 3(May) and 2 (July). I will check with the vet and I will see if my husband can buy a smaller bag of less protein and see if that helps. I will let you know if it makes a difference.