Wet poopy bum, no other symptoms

[whiskylollipop]

Rosebun has been having a mildly wet bottom for the past few months. He is 1, so that's pretty much most of his adult life. It's never been soaking wet, just a small spot of constant dampness, and sometimes he would leave wet drops where he sits. No other symptoms. The vet wasn't concerned about it, so we chalked it up to weak bladder control. And probably excess summer drinking, his (and Merlin's) pee is practically water these days because the heat makes them drink so much. No urine scald so far.

In the last week it seems to have gotten worse. We've had to give Ro-ro butt baths a couple times a week because the wetness seeped to his feet. Today there's a coin-sized wet brown matting under his tail, so I suppose he's got himself a case of the poopybums too.

But he's acting normal, always been normal (aside from his popcorn episode a few weeks back), eating his hay, veggies and pellets with gusto and hopping around and licking me raw like it's just another day.

What's going on with my baby? An infection? Parasite? Gut abnormality? Any and all suggestions/speculations/advice about Rosey's bum trouble appreciated. :bunnybutt:

 

[JBun]

Have you ever had any tests done- urinalysis, fecal test, blood test, xrays?

 

[whiskylollipop]

No, what tests do you think I should ask for? All of those?

 

[JBun]

Well, bladder control problems is a possibility, but so is bladder sludge or stones, possible kidney issues, and even e. cuniculi can cause urinary issues. A urinalysis and xrays would be able to determine if the sludge or stones is an issue. A blood test could check kidney function.

Then the poo staining could be from a microflora imbalance in the cecum, causing some mushy poop. You could make some diet adjustments to see if that helps, or if you want to be sure about harmful bacteria and parasites, you could have a fecal test done.

The poop problem may not be too serious since you aren't seeing any evidence of it besides a bit of staining, so you may be able to just get away with fiddling with the diet, but it would be a good idea to get to the bottom of the urine issues, especially since it seems to be worsening. Even if it is just a bladder control issue, I believe there's a med that they can give to buns to help with that. At the least, a urine test may be helpful.

 

[Blue eyes]

What about his diet? What does his daily diet look like?

 

[whiskylollipop]

Rosebun just did a few nice-looking poos, so I'm pretty relieved. I was wondering though, for the last two days we have been giving the bunnies more veggies than usual because we were running low on pellets. Only veggies that they've always had and done well on, but maybe the volume change caused a brief bout of mushy poo..

 

[whiskylollipop]

What about his diet? What does his daily diet look like?

Normally 1/4 cup of Oxbow pellets, unlimited meadow hay and 1 cup of veggies (a mix of cilantro, parsley, mint and basil), but the last couple of days it's been more like half the pellets and almost double the veg... we got a new bag of pellets now though, so it's back to normal from today.

 

[BlueMoods]

That is a lot of fresh greens, cut that to 1/2 a cup loosely packed and, remove the stems of the cilantro and parsley. He will eat hay to fill up on. see if that helps. The stems have a lot of moisture in them, he gets fiber form hay so, less greens with moisture may help regulate his poops to normal and, it won't hurt him to have less fresh greens.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Really? I thought I was being stingy with greens, I've seen people on here give like 2 cups daily. It makes sense to limit them if it will help Rosebun's poopybum though. I will give that a shot.

Anyway, an update: Rosebun's bum is looking much better since I washed it yesterday, so I'm really praying that the brown matting was one-off and not a diarrhea sort of situation as I first thought when I saw it. I'll continue to keep an eye on it and if it returns, it's off to the vet we go.

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm one who gives lots of greens to my rabbits. They get 2-4 cups per day which is the latest recommendation from the House Rabbit Society
(http://rabbit.org/natural-nutrition-part-ii-pellets-and-veggies-2/)

However some buns can be less tolerant of too many greens from what I've read on this forum (all of mine have been fine with greens).

Parsley shouldn't be fed on a daily basis. Like mustard greens and spinach, parsley is high in oxalic acids. It's fine to feed them on occasion, just not daily.

 

[BlueMoods]

I feed a lot of fresh greens as well but, my rabbits started out on only pellets and hay when I got them and, slowly worked into a diet of more fresh greens and, I have one that I can't give but 1/2 cup a day to or he gets a messy butt. He is an older rescue of mine and, just can't adjust to too much fresh food. He was dumped in the wild so, I don't know his history before that but, I estimate he is about 9 years old. I've had him for 2 years and, suspect he was never out of a cage or had anything but pellets before that.

 

[mjpeter]

Bella gets 2 cups per day of greens without any problems, but I can see making a sudden jump to that could probably cause issues.

Hope things keep improving!!