dwarf rabbit/4 1/2 yrs. old

Question
She doesn't seem to be able to pass her stools firmly enough to drop off.  It gets matted to her and I have to bath her twice a week. I have tried modifying her diet - don't give her lettuce - she gets pellets, dried fruits & nuts, fresh green beans, carrots, hay, grass, water w/vitamins. The vet said to buy an electric razor and keep her underside shaved because she would continue to have this simply because of her age.  Any other ideas?  Thank you.

Answer
Dear Lesley,

Your bunny may be suffering from cecal dysbiosis, which is explained here:

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

I think a *BIG* clue is in the list of foods you give her.  The two things that should be completely off that list are:

1.  dried fruits and nuts
2.  fresh green beans

I also wouldn't put vitamins in her water.  They make it taste terrible, and it's *very* important for a bunny to drink a lot of water for good intestinal health.  She gets all the necessary vitamins from her food, so you don't need to supplement.  Please see:

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

for more clues about whether her present diet is the source of her cecal dysbiosis.

A word of caution about your vet.  If s/he thinks that mushy poop is just a side effect of age, please note that (1) 4.5 years is not old at all for a rabbit.  In fact, it's YOUNG for a dwarf.  My own Obie is 12, and he doesn't have mushy cecotropes.  Mushy cecotropes are a sign of a cryptic health problem, and you need a vet who is more familiar with modern rabbit medicine who can help you track down the cause of the problem if it's not her diet.  You can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Shaving her is treating the symptom, not the problem. But you can help keep her comfortable while your new vet helps you figure out what's going on and how to treat it (if changing her diet doesn't do the trick) by giving her dry buttbaths, as explained here:

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

Also note that dwarf bunnies, with their short faces, are very prone to molar problems, and she's at the age where they generally first start to show up. For complete information on this very common, often overlooked problem, please see:

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

Hope that helps. Please write back if you have more questions.

Dana