Made a newbie mistake, need expert help

Hello all,
We got our first rabbits about two months ago. They had changed hands several times in a short period of time, so the seller didn't know much about them. She had other rabbits, and seemed pretty knowledgeable. We were brand new to rabbits, and I hadn't found RT yet, so I was relying on info gleaned from a Mother Earth News article and some pet sites. Our buck, Oakey, seemed to have a small matted area on his hind end, with fecal matter and hair matted together. The seller said it wasn't that big of a deal, this rabbit just wouldn't eat his cecal poops and they were matting up. We took him home, and cleaned him up a little bit, and everything seemed fine. Both rabbits were very wild, and had obviously not been handled before. It was very difficult to pick them up, and caused them to have hysterics, so we tried not to handle them too much. Oakey seemed like a stinky, dirty, but friendly individual. Lately I had been noticing that his hind end seemed really messy and might be matting up again, so I took him out this morning for an inspection. The matting was much worse that I thought. His poor little tail was solidly matted in poop, pee, and hair. His whole hind end was a mess. I cleaned him up as best I could, and removed most of the mats. Underneath where the mats were, he has some bald, red patches where there is new or irritated skin. Here are some pics:



What can I do to keep this area clean and help it heal up? When I started, I was on the pet sites, so the rabbits both had litter boxes. Later I learned that they aren't necessary, but the rabbits liked hanging out in them, so I left them in. Would removing them help? That way he couldn't sit in his own refuse?
I feel so lousy, poor guy. When we first got him, he thought everything that came into his cage was food and tried to eat it. After several nasty bites, we were afraid to touch him. I started trying to pet him more and give him small treats when I cleaned his cage. Today, even after being carried around, being bathed, and just messed with for 30 mins or so, no biting. In fact, he gave me a nudge with his nose, like "Hey, where are the treats? Where are the head rubs?"

I would guess the stress and probably various diet changes of all the moving has upset his digestive tract and/or made him not eat his cecal poops correctly. The redness is probably just irritation by the gunk getting stuck back there. You might want to just clip the fur down for now so things stay cleaner and the irritated skin is exposed to the air. Feeding him old fashioned oatmeal or rolled oats and hay (preferably grass hay) instead of pellets for awhile might clear things up.

:yeahthat: I'd do exactly the same as Akane in this instance. Please do keep us updated on his progress so that if a different treatment is needed later on -- or if circumstances change -- we can advise you.

He doesn't actually look that bad, considering how badly soiled he sounded.

Still, in addition to the recommendations above, I would apply some Blu-Kote spray to the area in case he has a secondary bacterial or fungal infection. I would also give him some probiotic paste to help balance his gut flora. I use Bene-Bac by Manna Pro for livestock (horses, goats, etc.).

Both the Blu-Kote and the Bene-Bac are available at Tractor Supply Company and other feed stores.

Oakey is a handsome little fellow. I am glad he is warming up to you.

How would I clip his fur? I have an electronic Wahl clipper I use on my boyfriend, or some scissors that have a blunt point. The scissors don't seem like the right tool for the job. On a side note, he's inside till his fur dries, and I think he likes being an inside rabbit. He's being so sweet, too bad he sprays like crazy.

You can use the clippers- just don't tell your boyfriend!

I would just clip the fur until you start seeing normal skin and fur- anything that has that crusty looking stuff needs to go.

I don't have anything to add that would help - but I wanted to say that I agree, that is one handsome rabbit! Love his rich color, and I'm glad that he's getting friendlier!

sarah8001":h7tmc5xj said:

Hello all,
When I started, I was on the pet sites, so the rabbits both had litter boxes. Later I learned that they aren't necessary, but the rabbits liked hanging out in them, so I left them in. Would removing them help? That way he couldn't sit in his own refuse?
"

Click to expand...

For litter boxes bunny can be kept high and dry if you use a box with 8 inch sides and get some of those compressed wood pellets that are sold as horse bedding, then get straw to put on top. Put an inch or two of pellets (depending on how often you change the litter box) and layer of straw on top and a bit of hay to nibble on at one end- the poo and pee all goes down through the straw and is absorbed by pellets- so bunny is kept high and dry.

Thanks everyone for your help and your compliments on our buck! I keep thinking I should attempt to pose him and our doe and see if some rabbit experts can tell me if they're well put together. I've been looking at rabbits for a couple weeks now, trying to tell the difference between good type and not so good, but they still all look like rabbits to me After getting him cleaned up yesterday, my bf and I went to give him a hair cut today. His skin already looked much, much better, but we buzzed him anyways. He looks a little funny with a bald rump. I'm a little worried about his tail, because we couldn't figure out how to clip it (the fur, not the tail), so I'll just keep an eye on it. It was surprisingly drama free, the most exciting moment was when our three week old kits woke up and stole their mom's treat (watermelon rind) and we had to jump up and take it way from them because they haven't eaten anything but pellets and hay so far. I'm going to the feed store tomorrow, I'll try to find some Bene-bac for him and Blu Kote in case it doesn't clear up or gets infected. He gets daily hay, and a light allotment of pellets, with a salt lick. On a side note, when I got him the owner said that in addition to not eating his cecal poops (he seems to be eating more of them now, I'm not finding them in the tray as often), he also had dandruff. Has anyone ever seen dandruff on a rabbit? The owner said she'd never seen it before. It's gone now, and his fur looks great where it's not matted or shaved.

Dandruff sounds like a terrible diet thing too. I think your nice and stable feed regimen is the best thing for him, I'd just avoid feeding him anything too exciting and then introduce treats again in small doses. He doesn't have gunky ears or dirty brown dandruff, right? Brown or rusty flakes or dust are blood sucker bug poops, but I think you'd have noticed something like that now that you've gotten so very up close and personal with him.

He's a very handsome rabbit to still look so calm and composed while you're taking such undignified pictures of his parts!

There is a common fur mite called walking dandruff that eats the fur but doesn't really cause much irritation to the skin- http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/rabb ... ons142.htm
so you might want to do a routine flea mite wormer medication like Revolution. Couldn't hurt. This is a really good dosage chart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyqNwCCRSq8

Well, the dandruff went away soon after we got him home, it just made me curious because the person who sold him breeds pet rabbits, but said she had never seen it before and didn't think rabbits could have dandruff. His coat is black, soft, and healthy everywhere except his rump, which continues to look better. It's weird, I'm feeding the exact same feed the other lady did, although they get more hay now from me, and a mineral block, and I couldn't resist a few treats - mostly radish greens, dandelions, and part of a flat of wheatgrass I got for my cats. I guess I better cut back on the treats a little. Thanks for all your help guys. There is definitely a learning curve with rabbits!