I hope you can help me. I've a dwarf rabbit (kept outside) that is frequently covered in it's own feaces. I've tried everything to solve the problem but as yet, had little success. I've washed him a few times but he doesn't like it (nor do I) and he's had his teeth looked at by a vet, so no problems there. I don't think he's overweight. his hutch is cleaned as often as I can manage. He's fed on pellets recommended by the vet. I'm fearful of the warmer weather coming. What else should I try?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, Steve,
Rabbits pass their faeces twice - a soft form first, usually at night, which they eat and pass through again as firm pellets. If you are finding firm pellets in the cage, the soiling is coming from the nocturnal defaecation. Make sure that the bedding is clean and dry, and changed regularly.
Ask your vet about a change of diet, and to check the teeth again, especially the back teeth.
As the weather gets warmer check his back end every single day - fly strike is a real risk when the fur is contaminated with faeces.
Walter

Hiya Steve,

I don't know if your rabbit is male or female but my rabbit is kept inside and i have experienced the same. I had his teeth clipped but it didn't do much good for long. This went on for months.

Anyway, earleir this year my boy and i both agreed that we thought one of his testicles shrunk and we took him to the vet. She insisted that not one testicle shrunk, but the other must have swelled up. To this day I know i was right with what i saw. Anyhow, to be safe we had him castrated....and funnily enough,...his poo-bottom has basically vanished. Sometimes it may be obvious things like diet and teeth but just maybe there can be other underlying causes!

regards
vic

Hello Steve

I have three female bunnies and one of them has extremely soft faeces. As of yet i do not know which one it is but i need to know if it is serious or not...it is not runny (like that of diarrhoea) but is something different to what i have seen. this is being produced by them during the day. please help!

something else that has been bothering me is that one of my other rabbits died about 3 weeks ago.we had decided to have him neutered and the vet told us this...he came out of anaesthetic and was perfectly fine, (eating and walking around) then all of a sudden he fell on his side and started panting heavily.the vet administered adrenaline and oxygen and said that she felt his heart slow down and then he died. i do not understand how he died. he was about 8 months old and ate pellets and veggies and was very healthy. she never told us more than that and i am devastated by his death. i would like to know whether or not you (after having looked at this information) can speculate as to why he died?

many thanks
Kalyn

Hi, Kalyn,

Whetever the cause of your rabbit's faeces problem, you must keep its backend clean and dry so as to avoid fly-strike. Check it at least twice a day. If you check all three you should soon find out which it is. It would also be wise to separate them in case she has an infection which may be passed on. In the first place, try a change of diet to a pelleted rabbit mixture.

Post-anaesthetic death, sadly, can occur in any species, and it is often difficult to be absolutely precise about the cause. In this case it sounds like the heart muscle was affected by the anaesthetic agent.

Walter