# Rabbit help please



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Ive had my rabbit for 9 years,yep he's 9 very old but he's still lively and acts like a kid.
When he was younger i had to pay for him to have his teeth (front teeth) taken out because even tho he was eatting grass and hay it just wasnt enough they kept over growing,so it saved him the stress and me so i had them removed when he was younger.
He eats fine and in the winter i bring him inside in my room in a big cage (ive been doing this for the past 3 years,when it gets really cold)
He's outside in his hutch atm and its a big hutch and he's happy init but where he sits init he sits in one place and tends to get alot of poo around his bum and its from runny poo,problem is i dont give him greens as much as i use to he has spinage/hay/weatabix(which he loves and he's fine on)/some cabbage and parsely he loves he hardly gets this unless i buy it for him or mam tends to go crazy with the shopping and pick it up.
But it was only a week ago i cleaned his bum off poo and had to trim his tail because it dried to it,he doesnt like it eaither when he's sitting for 10mins in my lap while im trying to remove it..

Is there any idea's i can do to prevent this??
Also theres NO chance he'll have a bath i can tell you that straight up,i id it before and he cut himself from struggling to get out ect so i wouldnt do that to him again.


----------



## P.A.D (May 11, 2009)

If your rabbit is producing runny faeces/diarrhoea then it could be that it has a bacterial stomach infection such as enteritis. In which case it would need veterinary treatment asap. It is not a good idea to allow the rabbits rear end to get messed up as this can attract flies which could lead to fly strike and even more problems. 

The first course of action would be to cut out all green food from the diet and give plenty of hay along with his regular cereal mix. If the problem persists then I would advise taking him to a vet to be checked over.

Phil.


----------



## snoopyfrench87 (Apr 27, 2009)

has he been wormed?


----------



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Ive never had him wormed,i dont think it be a stomach infection otherwise he'd be showing pain abit???
But could that be a cause,worms??


----------



## Ozgi (Jun 1, 2008)

You need to get the poo away ASAP. Especially at this time of year. It happened to one of mine once and it got maggots living in it's bum


----------



## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

worming him is a great idea, i do mine twice a year, the easiest way to do bunnies is with liquid panacur for dogs and cats, see if anyone local to you is doing their kittens and borrow some!

the dose is 
0.2ml per kilo of rabbit if your using the 10%
or
0.8ml per kilo if your using the 2.5% 
once a day for three days.

or you can get the paste in a tube but i think its more expensive.

you list all the treat foods he has, the greens and weetabix, but are you feeding him any rabbit food at all? any hay and mix or pellets?

he should not have any veg if he is loose, just loads of hay and water and a small amount of dried food.

a probiotic in his water might be a good idea to balance his stomach a bit, even petsathome sell it, its £5-09 a tub and will last ages.


----------



## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> Ive never had him wormed,i dont think it be a stomach infection otherwise he'd be showing pain abit???


The problem is that rabbits don't show pain in the obvious way that animals like dogs and cats do, so he could be in pain and you just aren't aware of it.

If he was mine I'd have had him to the vets by now to check there isn't an underlying problem, especially given his age.


----------



## zoe6660 (Jun 3, 2007)

pigglywiggly said:


> worming him is a great idea, i do mine twice a year, the easiest way to do bunnies is with liquid panacur for dogs and cats, see if anyone local to you is doing their kittens and borrow some!
> 
> the dose is
> 0.2ml per kilo of rabbit if your using the 10%
> ...


im here sister, he has rabbit mix food he has been on this all his life and so have all the other rabbits we have had, he always got hay in there too no pellets.


----------



## Titch1980 (Mar 6, 2006)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> Ive never had him wormed,i dont think it be a stomach infection otherwise he'd be showing pain abit???
> But could that be a cause,worms??


 as has already been said rabbits dont show when theyre in pain, 
also at this time of year fly strike is a huge possibility if he has poo aorund his bum and it really is an awful thing to see 
i would get him vet checked especially with his age x


----------



## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

try cutting out all the veg and treats and feed him more hay then.

hopefully he should dry up then, if his stuck-on-poos are like cow pats and dark`n`squishy i`d worm him anyway.
i had a sample analysed at the vets a few years ago when one of my rabbits that had never left my shed was like it.
she had roundworms, must of picked them up from the hay.

and you could sprsy him in reargaurd to hopefully keep the flys away

( when rabbits are in a lot of stomach pain they grind their teeth.
and its horrible to listen to. vets give metacam painkiller for it, i know one breeder who uses infant paracetamol! )


----------



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Flies are no problem,he has a big cage and get cleaned regular,i havnt had any problem with flys this year with him at all.
I havnt given him veg for a few weeks because im advoiding the runny poop,he has big looking pellets in his food but he doesnt eat them anyways so that never worried me,he's a waster he'll leave the small crumbs of food sometimes but hes healthy all over.

He's happy enough otherwise his attitude would of changed,im the only one here who knows him better and he's lived in my bedroom afew times so i know him off by heart sorta thing,ive got a vets appointment booked for tomorrow.
My mam have just told me they vets will look at him but they doubt they can do anything because of his age,but im still going to take him.
If they cant do anything i'll go to PAH and look for vitamin juice just so he's gonna be getting everything he needs i guess.


----------



## Joolz1975 (Jul 23, 2009)

pigglywiggly said:


> try cutting out all the veg and treats and feed him more hay then.
> 
> hopefully he should dry up then, if his stuck-on-poos are like cow pats and dark`n`squishy i`d worm him anyway.
> i had a sample analysed at the vets a few years ago when one of my rabbits that had never left my shed was like it.
> ...


I use infant paracetamol for my bunnys if they are ever a bit unwell and showing signs of discomfort, seems to work well on them,also used infant colic medicine (infacol/dentinox) on my frenchie as she suffers from mild bloat occasionally, possibly to do with the fact she has the full run of the house and garden, maybe she eats a bit too much grass, try to limit it by putting her on the decking but she always finds her way back onto garden!!


----------



## Tortilla Chip (May 16, 2009)

I had the same problem. 
My bunny was 12 years old and only died a few months ago. For the last 1-2 years i had to clean his bum at least twice a week, disinfect his cage and surrounding areas once a week.
As they get older they cant clean themselves properly. I had specialist look at him and they confirmed he had arthritis due to old age which was stopping him being able to reach his bum.

Like yours mine was still really active and played in the garden everyday, all year round. He loved the snow! lol

Make sure you keep his bum as clean as possible, check hes not matted on a daily basis, especially while hes outside!
I went on holiday and thought my bunny would be fine being looked after by family. Until i got home and he had maggots living in his bum, it was so bad he couldn't walk so i had to have him put to sleep. If i had have been there to care for him he would still be alive and i hate myself for letting it happen to him! 

Like you i never had problems with flies, or so i thought!

Hope you dont have the problems i had xx


----------



## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Sorry to read that about your bunny - I guess it proves that no-one looks after your animals as well as you do!

Domino, good luck at the vets - at least if he finds nothing wrong you've got peace of mind that you aren't neglecting a problem.

Let us know how you get on and fingers crossed for you!


----------



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Ahh im happy as can be,he's healthy after 8-9 years with my baby he's heathly,his stomach was soft (as it sud be ect) she checked over and everything and cant seem to find a problem,so im just starting to think its his age.
She gave me worming drops and said to try them to be on the safe side sorta thing but she dont even think it would be worms,soo its all good.
Its awesome,after she weighed him (he's a tad over weight but that isit a problem,and like i said to the vets id rather him be over weight a tad than under),but after she put him on the table he hopped over to me and cuddled at my arms lol it was soo cute at least he knows who his mammy is lol..


----------



## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Excellent news! :2thumb:

So you've just got to keep an eye on that bum and put it all down to old age!

That;s what my doctor's been telling me for years - that all my aches and pains and problems are due to old age!! :lol2:


----------



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Tortilla Chip said:


> I had the same problem.
> My bunny was 12 years old and only died a few months ago. For the last 1-2 years i had to clean his bum at least twice a week, disinfect his cage and surrounding areas once a week.
> As they get older they cant clean themselves properly. I had specialist look at him and they confirmed he had arthritis due to old age which was stopping him being able to reach his bum.
> 
> ...


Yea i noticed the picture of your cute bunnie.
Yea thumper hasnt got front teeth but he's capable of doing everything himself,he can touch his bum so thats a good thing the only thing he cant do is clean the mess away because he dont have the teeth,so everytime he moults im grooming him extra,as the weather gets cold he'll be coming back in my room,i like it when he's in my room because we become more closer and i can see everything he does daily more than him being outside.

Im just dreading the day he does pass away its going to kill me.
I think he's happy he's always acted the same way since ive had him no different temperment or anything so fingers crossed he's going to be fine.
Its just soo hard to belive we have had/looked after them for so long with such a short life span,i gotta hand it to you,youve done well for 12 years.:gasp:


----------



## batman (Oct 5, 2008)

Hi sorry to hear about your problem with your bunny. As already advised it is important that you get him to a vets asap. I have just had the same problem. My bunny is a house rabbit and I am at home all day so I am aware of her habbits and routines etc. I noticed that her poos were soft and sticking to her and I was having to clean her daily. I thought it was because she had started eating my wallpaper but when it persisted I went to the vets and was told off quite sharply for not going straight away as I could have lost her. The vet explained that rabbits are experts at disguising when they are ill because in the wild it would make them more vulnerable to predators. Thankfully I got there quick enough and was given antibiotics and a strong probiotic.

One thing to note regarding the food, I know you said that your rabbit has a rabbit mix and hay. Unfortunately the rabbit mixes are not sufficient for their digestive system and they tend to eat only the bits they like (the vet likened it to eating a MacDonalds), if you can try and ween them off and on to the pellets. Mine is the same she was on the mixes when I got her and I never managed successfully to ween her off as she refused to eat anything else and would pee and poo infront of her food dishes (a dirty protest ha ha!) I had to try a number of different pellets and then a friend of mine suggested adding a half teaspoon of fenugreek seeds (available for ebay or aisan food stores) in the dish. I was totally amazed it works wonders, she doesn't eat the seeds but I think the smell of them made the pellets more appealing. It was gradual but she has sucessfully changed over.


----------



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Well rabbits eat constant just like guinea pigs and horses ect,so if he's not in the mood to eat the hay he will eat the crumbs/seeds outta his dish,ive got no problem what so ever with his food,and like i found out he's healthy because he's slightly over weight which is no problem to me because its better news than him no eatting and being under weight lol.

All i can say im glad he's still alive and strong.


----------



## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

At our sanctuary a couple of our older resident rabbits get a similar thing. Our bunny vet advised us to use a probiotic and since we have been doing we have had no further problems








Enlarge image
Send to a friend

*ProC Probiotic 100gm for Small Pets by Vetark*

*ProC Probiotic Supplement
2 for £9
Online Only*

View offer 

ProC Probiotic contains friendly bacteria and soluble fibre to provide your pet with digestive support. Containing Vitamin C and glucose to aid your pets immune system and provide extra energy for your pet. Simply add ProC Probiotic to your pet's water.


----------



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Shell195 said:


> At our sanctuary a couple of our older resident rabbits get a similar thing. Our bunny vet advised us to use a probiotic and since we have been doing we have had no further problems
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
That sounds good,i'll buy some and start using it once he's finished these worming drops,i dont wanna go putting to much fine stuff into his little tummy ect,ive seen that somewhere before,well the tub looks familiar so i'll check in stores if not i'll buy online.

Also ive started givin him a drop of his worming stuff today but instead of stressing him and shoving it into his mouth,i decided to squrit some onto his choco drop treat and gave it to him,and he ate it no problem..(Ps the choco drops he's had for years and they are aloud up to 3 a day but he only gets 1 once a week hardly that,but atm ill be using them for the next 9 days to feed him this worming stuff,but its my way of doing it without him getting p*ssy with me ect)


----------

