Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Rabbit has a stinky butt/help?

Viewing 8 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • VivatLupus
      Participant
      7 posts Send Private Message

        Hey guys! This is my first post here, so bear with me if i’m breaking any rules/wrong section/ etc..

        I have a 3 year old rabbit, a New Zealand White named Valentino. Valentino is intact. I actually obtained Valentino off the street- word has it he escaped from a backyard where they bred rabbits for food.. I kept him, and today marks two years since.

        A couple nights ago, Valentino had his first case of diarrhea. He had this shortly after a couple of blueberries, so I won’t feed him those anymore. The next day he got a strict feed of Timothy Hay and water- nothing else. The diarrhea cleared up, and he hasn’t changed. His appetite, water, fecal production etc are all normal.. Except it still smells bad! I know what unneutered bunny poop smells like, but this seems much more pungent and well, worse. I went to have a look at his bum, and cleaned what he missed with some baby wipes and the smell was terrible! I noticed somewhat runny brown liquid from his anus. I couldn’t locate his anal glands.. Maybe it’s because there’s so much fur or I didn’t look hard enough, I don’t know.. When he’s tranced, he can so easily snap himself out of it and give me a nice kick to the face.

        Anyone have any clue what this could be? His poop smells a lot stronger also.

        Ps: The only reason why he’s still intact is because the cheapest place around here that neuters rabbits is 560$.. and I don’t have that kind of pocket change. :/

        Extra notes-

        DIET: Oxbow Adult pellets (1/4 a cup)
        Timothy Hay (Always)
        Water (Always, occasionally has supplements.)

        AGE: 3 years

        BREED: New Zealand White (possibly mixed, he’s quite large.)

        NEUTERED: No.

        ACTIVITY: Free run to my room 5 hours (about) of the day/ occasionally goes outside in a bunny pen. Given cardboard tubes filled with pellets, clicker training to sit, come, and stand. Gets along with our cat and dogs.

        LITTER TYPE(TRAINED): Yesterdays’ News mixed with Pine Litter.
        -Cleaned every 2/3 days. Emptied entirely weekly.

        BEDDING: A towel.

        LAST VET VISIT: Never; NY doesn’t require rabbit vaccinations, and he hasn’t had an incident where he’s need to see a vet.

        *I used to give Valentino veggies on a daily basis, but whenever I gave them to him his poop just smelled awful. I just couldn’t handle it, so I stopped.
        Veggies he used to have: Kale, Lettuce, Mint, Parsley, Cilantro.


      • Bam
        Moderator
        16835 posts Send Private Message

          Cecals, the poop that the rabbit is supposed to ingest, not the round, pellet-like droppings, have a pungent smell. Bunnies tend to produce extra cecals when they get more greens than their stomach is used to, or if they are given overly nutritious food, i.e food with a high content of protein and/or fat. The cecals are supposed to look like a cluster of brown, shiny grapes, but if the bacterial balance is off, they can get unformed and stick to the bunny’s butt or the floor etc. Some bunnies are more sensitive than others and don’t need a big change of diet before their tummies get upset. I have one bunny like that.

          The cecal smell is not nice but perfectly normal. The cure is exactly what you’ve done, lots of hay and not much else. It’s not diarrhea if there are normal droppings as well as the sticky poop.

          Check his towel to see if he’s eating it, sometimes they want to eat fabric and that can cause blockages in the intestines. If you see holes in the towel, exchange it for a piece of fleece.

          You can give him a butt-bath in luke-warm water if there’s still poop stuck to his butt. If you could get so else to hold him for you it would be much easier for you to find the anal glands. They can get plugged up and need cleaning. This is a pic of my bunny Yohios private parts (I hope he forgives me for this indiscretion) where the anal glands are seen as slits on both sides of the penis.. Of course anal glands are a lot easier to see on a light-coloured bunny.


        • LittlePuffyTail
          Moderator
          18092 posts Send Private Message

            Welcome to Binky Bunny!

            Bam gave you some excellent advice. I suggest you do your best to get those anal glands cleaned. It’s very unpleasant for you and bunny but that may be where the smell is coming from.

            Here is an excellent article about bunny bum cleaning:

            http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html


          • Beka27
            Participant
            16016 posts Send Private Message

              I do recommend you take him to the vet for an examination. Rabbits should have annual “well-bunny” exams, and the vet would be able to get the anal glands cleaned if that is the culprit (and show you how to do it yourself).

              It’s great that he hasn’t been sick prior to this, but you do want to have an established vet set-up because at some point, something WILL arise that requires vet care. If he is a patient of record, the vet will be familiar with him and know what his “normal” is and will be able to compare that to whatever the current situation is.


            • Sarita
              Participant
              18851 posts Send Private Message

                I agree that seeing a vet would be a wise thing to do. Just because vaccinations aren’t required doesn’t mean that an annual exam is not a good idea and if this is something new then it would be good to go ahead and get established with a vet as Beka recommends.


              • VivatLupus
                Participant
                7 posts Send Private Message

                  Alrighty guys! It’s decided we’ll see a vet for Valentino’s first time! Despite the issue clearing up, it still wouldn’t hurt.
                  What should I expect? I’m a little scared taking my boy to the vet..


                • BinkyBunny
                  Moderator
                  8776 posts Send Private Message

                    A rabbit savvy vet, will check his body for lumps, listen to his stomach and heart, look in his ears, eyes, and will check out his incisors and use a scope to check out his back molars. Good for you for taking him as it is definitely is a good idea to establish with a vet. Within a bunny’s 10 + year lifetime, there is a great possibility of health issues to happen as most everyone here will attest to

                    While you are there you should ask for any “emergency/after hour vets” that they would recommend for rabbits just in case you ever get in bind. Emergencies always seem to happen on weekend and evenings.

                    So glad to find out though that Valentino’s episode of poopy butt improved. Sometimes certain foods can cause a gi upset (an imbalance in the digestive bacteria that can last for a few days. I had a bunny who was very sensitive to blueberries and certain greens.

                    Keep us updated with how the vet visit goes.


                  • LittlePuffyTail
                    Moderator
                    18092 posts Send Private Message

                      Good luck at the vet!


                    • FuzzButtLover
                      Participant
                      9 posts Send Private Message

                        I think everyone has pretty much covered everything, but you could check in to any of your area’s animal shelters and see if they will neuter your boy. Our vet charges over $350 for a spay but the shelter I volunteer at only charges $60 – a LOT more reasonable!!!
                        I hope he’s feeling better!

                    Viewing 8 reply threads
                    • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                    Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Rabbit has a stinky butt/help?