Chapped/Dry/Redness on Pumpkin’s Lady Parts

[Little Lion Head]

When we took Pumpkin to initial vet visit a couple weeks ago the vet noticed that her lady parts were pretty chapped. She wasn’t super concerned, just told us to keep an eye on it, pay attention to if she is licking it a lot, and if it doesn’t get better to put vaseline or coconut oil on it. We’ve been trying to avoid putting anything on it so that she doesn’t mess with it more.

I’ve noticed today that she just doesn’t really get comfy. No flops or meatloafs, just kind of sitting upright. Today when doing her nail trim we noticed that its still chapped/dry and now its red and kind of inflamed. So I’m assuming she’s in some pain/discomfort. (Still eating and drinking and pooping fine). What do you guys recommend putting on it? Is coconut oil or vaseline safe if she licks it? How often should we apply?

[Roberta]

I know that olive oil is sometimes used to clear away dead skin from ears when a rabbit has had severe mite infestations. Possibly try some of that. I think you need to get to the source of the problem though.. What are you using for litter ?

[Little Lion Head]

We are using compressed paper. She’s in a plastic-bottomed cage when she’s in there, otherwise she has rugs in her room.

[Little Lion Head]

Roberta-do you think it could be related to her holding in her pee? She refuses to pee in the litter box in her cage and runs straight for the one in her room when we open her cage.

[Roberta]

I wouldn’t think holding it in would do that, my Starsky did the same thing before and he never had problems. It would be very uncommon but I am thinking a reaction to the litter. All compressed products require some form of binding agent, is it a litter specific for animals ? Woodchips and sawdust can also cause a reaction in some cases.

[LBJ10]

Sometimes a UTI can cause irritation down there. Is she displaying any other symptoms?

[Little Lion Head]

LBJ–what kind of symptoms would I look for in a UTI?

[Little Lion Head]

Hmmm..so Mocha wrote this on a different thread where I was asking about Pumpkin pooping everywhere. Last night, Pumpkin jumped up on the couch, left about 5 poops and just a little bit of pee…i didn’t think anything of it at the time…but…

“If she’s dribbling urine around, she probably has a urinary infection which requirs a vet visit for future reference”

[LBJ10]

Peeing in places that are “out of character” (missing the litter box when they are normally really good at using it), frequently peeing small amounts, and sometimes yucky looking brown-ish pee (but this isn’t always true since bunny pee comes in a rainbow of colors anyway), etc.

When they have a UTI, the irritation comes from bacterial getting on the skin when they go to the bathroom.

[Little Lion Head]

http://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/litter/all-living-things-premium-rabbit-litter-zid36-23802/cat-36-catid-600026

Here’s a link to what litter we’ve been using–All Living Things Premium Rabbit Litter…made with post-consumer recycled paper. I picked up some Wood Stove Pellets b/c I’ve been wanting to get something cheaper anyway (40 pounds for $5!!!) and am going to try a tiny bit of vaseline to see to see if that helps. 

She’s been eating and pooping like normal and is munching on some kale right now. I haven’t been able to look at her lady parts yet today–waiting for hubby to get home so we can do it together (he can hold while I look). I noticed some pee under her litter box in her cage, but I’m not sure if that’s b/c of possible UTI or if it’s because she refuses to pee in the litter box INSIDE her cage (she only pees in the one outside of her cage).

I appreciate all of the advice/input I can get. I’ll try to get a pic of it later and post that too. Thank you!

[Little Lion Head]

Taking Pumpkin to the vet in about an hour!

[LBJ10]

Great! Let us know what they say.

[Little Lion Head]

I’ll post this here too, I kind of ended up w/ 2 threads about the same issue. Spent 2 hours at the Vet and they did a blood cell count, full chemistry, fungal culture, and xrays. Basically narrowed it down to three things: Pox Virus (myxmatosis), papilloma virus, or ringworm. They called around to a few labs and nowhere can test for pox or papaloma b/c it’s so rare; the only way to really tell is a biopsy. The vet doesn’t want to do that unless we absolutely HAVE to. Since Pumpkin ate a couple large handfuls of high, was not dehydrated, and the vet could see poops in her digestive track (through xray), we are going to wait it out. She did say if it’s pox, it should take care of itself and Pumpkin appears to have pretty strong immune system to do so. We won’t have a definite negative on the ringworm for up to a month, but could have a positive as soon as a week. Vet is leaning toward pox. I don’t think it’s ringworm, b/c I would have thought it would have been passed to me or Jared after a month of us petting her all over and letting her roam our house! In the meantime the vet wants her confined to just her room and wants us to take out the rugs so that if it is ringworm the spores don’t spread.

I picked up some critical care to have on hand just in case. She’s also concerned about a back tooth that is pretty pointy/sharp and digging into Pumpkin’s tongue. She thinks she might not be eating enough hay in general and wants us to cut back the pellets AFTER she gets to feeling better.

In the meantime we wait. And make sure eating and pooping is happening.

Also got eye drops as the vet noticed a little discharge from eyes.

It was a little traumatizing being back at that vet where we lost Boston But I felt comfortable and like Pumpkin was in good hands!

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