Poop stuck on my rabbits bum.

Question
Hi,
My rabbit Lilly-Arthur has had poop stuck on her bottom for quite a while now. I wash her bottom every weekend and pull the poop off every second day. Just lately the area is getting little bits where it is raw and it looks very sore. I am very worried about her. One time I have noticed a little bit of mucas in the poop on her bottom and i wondered if it was something to do with the night poop thing. We have tried giving her silverbeat and spinach for fibre but not much has happened. She doesn't use a toilet bowl even though i have tried to get her to.
If you could help me it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Raven.

Answer
Dear Raven,

This is a very common problem, and you can read more about its causes, diagnosis, and treatment here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

The most common causes are poor diet and dental problems, so you might want to read these two articles to know if your situation might be related to these:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/feeding.html

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

While you and your vet are working on getting to the root of the problem, you can keep her comfortable with a safe, dry "butt bath" like this:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

...which also explains what type of salves are safe and effective for helping raw, sore areas heal.

and if you don't already have a good rabbit vet who is familiar with the special nature of rabbit health problems, you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope that helps get you started. Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana