bunny care and questions

Question
my Norwegian dwarf (all white, and male), he will be 2 in mid November.  I have had him for a year and almost 6 months.  He has a cloud "in" not on one of his eyes.  he is an inside bunny, and a only bunny.  he seems able to see well and fine out of that eye, and he seems like his same old self.  Needless to say i can not afford and "expensive" vet.  Do you know what the cloud could be???  One more question.  How do you keep "poop" clumps from forming on a bunny butt, and what is the best way to get them off?  Okay I lie, one more question.  How do you cut your bunny nails?  Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Kelly,

1. You are asking a non-vet to diagnose something I haven't seen.  It could be a number of things.  I'd have the eye examined, because this is not normal.  Older buns can get cataracts but he is not even two.  It needs to be checked out.  Just use it as his annual exam (all pets need annual exams) and you can have it looked at and he gets a good once-over.  You need to budget for at least one annual exam and one emergency vet visit a year.  Put small amounts aside at regular intervals (ie when paying bills, pay yourself into your bunny medical fund).  Also many vets will work out installment plans for people because they love animals and want to provide care for animals in need.

2.  It is also important to have your rabbit examined by a vet to make sure that he is not overweight.  "Messy butt" is one of the first signs a rabbit is overweight or injured (having difficulty bending to eat their cecal pellets).  Best way to get them off is to use a lightly damp soft cotton washcloth to work the clump areas to slowly, and gently get them moist so they will break down and start to come off.  If you can get most of it off (and he isn't injured) they will be able to finish cleaning the area during their normal grooming.  In the rare cases you can't get the clumps off, use a child's safety scissors (blunt tips) to trim off the clumps.  Put your fingers between their skin and the clump so you have no chance of accidentally cutting their skin.  This is very important.

3.  I usually do it with two people.  On person has a small pillow with a towel on it on their lap, holding the bunny (often partially wrapped in another towel).  The second person uses a special nail trimmer (looks like a dog nail trimmer, just smaller).  Use a flashlight to backlight the nail to see where the quick (blood supply) is in the nail, and leave some length between the quick and the amount you cut off.  I generally take time between eack foot to give them a pet and tell them how good they are doing, in case they get anxious.  Generally indoor house bunnies need nail trims every 8 weeks.

Lee