My smelly bunny

Question
Hi, my rabbit has a basket he likes to sit and sleep in but he will also do his smelly poop in it and just sit on it which makes him smelly too! Is this normal for him to do? He still uses his litter tray for doing hard pellets and that. I always somehow thought rabbits were clean creatures.

Answer
They are, usually. If your bunny is creating an excessive amount of smelly, soft poos, then it may be time to consider changing his diet. Does he get a lot of snacks or sweet foods? (remember, carrots and fruit contain a lot of sugar) Does he have unlimited access to pellets?

Try limiting his pellets to one or two meals a day (look at the bag of food to determine the correct amount to serve), and make sure he has as much hay as he can eat (NOT alfalfa hay) and lots of water.

If that doesn't clear things up, he could have a parasitic infestation like coccidia, and he'll need to see a vet. You can find a rabbit savvy veterinarian from the House Rabbit Society's list:

http://rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

And, if finances are an issue, some vets will offer payment plans. CareCredit is also a way to get the extra funds you need for vet bills:

http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/whycc.html