What does poopy butt in rabbits mean exactly? This is a common condition where fecal remains are visibly stuck to the butts of rabbits even when they are not pooping. It is also not a very pleasant sight especially since your pet rabbit will be running around the house a lot of the time.
Poopy butt is a huge source of concern for many pet handlers because of the obvious hygienic issues involved. A rabbit with a poopy butt can leave fecal droppings all over the place. They can also soil sofas, carpets, and furniture as they play and jump around inside the house.
But most importantly, poopy butts can pose a major health challenge for the rabbit themselves. So this condition must be handled with urgency to prevent further complications.
In this article, the following topics will be discussed as they relate to poopy butts in rabbits:
- Why does my rabbit have a poopy bum?
- How do you clean a rabbit’s poopy butt?
- Why is my bunny producing so many Cecotropes?
Follow along now to learn all there is to know about handling poopy butt in rabbits.
Why Does My Rabbit Have a Poopy Bum?
As stated earlier, poopy butt is a condition where fecal droppings remain stuck to the butts of rabbits even when these rabbits are not pooping. You may be wondering what could be the cause of poppy butt in rabbits. This condition can result from any number of digestive issues in the gut of a rabbit. But the most common of these issues is uningested cecotropes.
Bunnies are known to excrete two kinds of fecal matter. The first is the normal dry pellets that we see rabbits excreting in a potty. The second one which is not so common is known as cecotropes. Cecotropes are soft, moist feces which they reingest straight from their butts. Rabbits eat cecotropes because it helps maintain a healthy balance in their digestive tracts. Cecotropes are also known to hold an optimum amount of nutrients which is equally great for rabbits.
Consequently, the digestive processes of a rabbit system can get disrupted leading to poopy butt. One of the major causes of this disruption is a poor or unbalanced diet. For rabbits to have a rich, balanced diet, you must provide them with a large amount of fresh timothy hay and fibrous-filled greens.
Foods heavy in carbohydrates and starch are not very good for young and adult rabbits. This is why it is advised that certain foods such as bread and wheat, or even certain fruits should be avoided completely. They are known to disrupt the normal digestive patterns in a rabbit.
Exercise and Diet
Another major cause of poopy butt in rabbits is lack of proper movement. This is most common in old bunnies especially those with obesity or arthritis and may have a hard time getting to their butts to eat their cecotropes. These cecotropes then accumulate and result in poopy butts. Whenever you have an old obese rabbit, it is best to remove pellets completely from its daily diet and instead supplement with a rich meal of fresh greens and timothy hay.
Rabbits suffering from arthritis should also be given an anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by a highly-trained vet to help relieve the condition.
Lastly, the molar spur is a condition that can also cause poopy butt in rabbits. Rabbit teeth are prone to wear out because of their delicate nature. Where this happens, teeth may become sharp and uneven which ultimately can rupture their cheeks. Molar spurs are usually very painful and can disrupt digestion in rabbits. To help alleviate the situation, it is advised that you visit a trained vet who can file down these sharp and uneven edges using specialized medical equipment.
If poopy butts persist even after you have made a change to diets rich in fiber, then it may be time to visit your vet doctor for further examination. There may be some underlying health challenges that need to be addressed urgently.
How Do You Clean a Rabbit’s Poopy Butt?
Having fecal matter stuck to the butts of rabbits can be a very unpleasant experience. This condition must be handled properly to prevent the outbreak of infection in your rabbits. But how do you get to the point of having your pet cleaned up without much fuss?
We will be sharing a few tips on how you can go about this. But first, it is worth noting here that attempting to give your pet bunny a warm bath as a solution is wrong. Rabbits do not react well to getting bathed. It can be a very traumatic experience for them so it is best to leave off a full-body bath in the event of a poopy butt.
There are usually two best ways of handling a rabbit with a poopy butt. You will be acting purely on discretion to see which one fits based on the extent of the situation. Now, you have the option of a dry cleaning or a wet cleaning.
Dry cleaning is best suited for a mild situation with very little mess. Wet cleaning on the other hand is required when the situation is a lot complicated and usually with a huge mess.
We will discuss each more succinctly to give you an idea of how you can approach cleaning your rabbit’s poopy butt.
Dry Cleaning a Pet Rabbit
Items Needed
- A lice comb
- Baby Cornstarch Powder (Unscented). Avoid those with talc
- Antibacterial Hand Soap
Steps to Dry Cleaning:
- Get your bunny on its back and wait till it’s relaxed.
- Try some comforting tricks like a belly rub to make it comfortable.
- Now apply the cornstarch powder to the messy region.
- The powder will loosen the hardness of the poop making it easier to get off.
- Comb your bunny’s fur gently with the lice comb to remove the stuck fecal remains.
- Apply and pat down some more of the cornstarch powder to soothe the area.
Wet Cleaning
- Warm water
- A small sink
- Shampoo (Without organic properties or additives)
- Blow dryer (optional)
- Towels
Steps to Wet Cleaning:
- Put some warm water into the sink
- Add a tiny quantity of shampoo (one tablespoonful) into the water.
- Fill the sink with 2-3 inches of lukewarm water. You will want this to be as neutral as possible as your rabbit’s skin is very sensitive and they’ll already not like this ordeal.
- Mix about a tablespoon of shampoo with the water.
- Now, holding the rabbit firmly, dip its butt into this shampoo water.
- Wobble the rabbit a bit to shake off stubborn poop.
- When the water gets dirty, change it and repeat the whole process.
- As soon as the rabbit butt and fur are clean enough, pat it down with a dry towel.
- Use the blow dryer at the warm temperature on the rabbit’s behind. Ensure it doesn’t get too hot so it does not burn the rabbit’s skin.
Now that your rabbit’s butt is clean, you can apply some kind of balm or ointment on the inflamed area around the butt to bring soothing relief. You find anti-biotic ointment such as Neosporin or Calendura at any pharmacy near you.
Why Is My Bunny Producing So Many Cecotropes?
Sometimes, a rabbit may start producing cecotropes in very large amounts which may become a source of worry for its handlers. These cecotropes may gather and get stuck around the butt and genital regions of your pet bunny. The irony with cecotropes is that your rabbit may still appear healthy and will not lose any appetite. He may not be overweight or show any bloating signs. The same thing with his teeth—he may have normal healthy teeth and may still poop normally and regularly without any complications.
This condition can persist for months if not properly handled with the rabbit going about its business. Rabbits usually eat a large portion of their cecotropes to stay healthy. When you start noticing a large number of cecotropes in the butts and cages of your pet bunny, it becomes obvious that your rabbit is not eating enough of its cecotropes.
This would imply that there is something wrong with its digestive tracts. Sometimes, the cecotropes may even be abnormal and appear darker, loose, and a lot stickier. You must note that digestive tract infections are contagious. Other rabbits are at risk of contracting the infection when exposed to infected cecotropes.
Seek Medical Advice
In any case, the best thing to do is to contact your vet doctor immediately on the next line of action. Your vet doctor will most likely conduct a test on the cecotropes to find out the underlying cause of the problem. He may offer medical advice on how to prevent pathogens from getting into the gut of your pet bunny.
Typically, a diet rich in hay and fiber helps a long way to prevent gut infections. Where there is an overproduction of cecotropes in your rabbit, it is advisable to remove pellets completely from its diet until the condition is handled.
Within a matter of days or weeks, your rabbit cecotrope production should be back to normal.