# Need some advice on how to clean my rabbits bum...



## sarah92lynn (Apr 29, 2013)

Lilly has started to get a bit of buildup on her bum, but she has never had any problems with that before so I'm not really sure how to clean that area..
How do you guys keep your rabbits bums clean?


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## JBun (Apr 29, 2013)

Do you mean poop sticking in her fur? That isn't really something that should normally be happening. It usually indicates a problem with a rabbits diet. Either a new food or too many carbs and sugars in the diet. Parasites/bacteria can also cause poopy bum problems, especially if you are seeing any mucous in the poop, then you will want to get in to the vet right away as it may be coccidiosis. But if you just think it's due to her diet, then you can try making a few changes to try and clear up the soft poop. It would be good to start giving her some probiotics like Bene bac. Some pet stores carry it, Then you will want to try and figure out which part of her diet is causing the problem. If the soft poop started recently, and you also just started giving her a new food, that could be the cause. If not, then it is probably too many sugars and carbs. If you feed sugary treats, try stopping those. If that doesn't stop the soft poop in the next day or two, then try reducing her pellets a little bit every few days until the soft poop stops. Veggies could be a possible cause, but if the soft poop just started and you've been feeding the same veggies for a while, then it's not as likely they are the problem. 

To clean off the dried poop, you can try getting the dried in poop moist to soften it up, then either use a wet washcloth to work it out of the fur, or you can give a butt bath to work the poop out of there. If you do the butt bath, you will want to towel dry as much as possible, and make sure to keep her warm until she is completely dry. If she isn't afraid of the hair drier, you can use it on the low or cool setting, to dry her. Just make sure it doesn't scare her, and also make sure she doesn't get too hot. You can even cut some of it out, but just need to be really careful to not cut too close to her skin, and also make sure she doesn't wiggle around while you are cutting.


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## existenziell (Apr 30, 2013)

My bf's rabbit, Lily, has the same problem and we usually just try to clean her off with a paper towel (have someone hold Lilly and then you can try and clean her off down there either with a dry or slightly wet paper towel). My bf has also taken to sticking her butt in some water, but that usually makes a big mess and neither he nor Lily like it.


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## Dahlia-Romeo (Apr 30, 2013)

My sister's bun, Milo, used to have this issue every once in a while. We'd fill a sink with warm water and let him sit his bum in it and hold the top part of his body for support. Eventually he'd just sit upright like that to avoid getting his front paws wet and we'd just supervise him for a few minutes. The warm water loosens anything stuck and makes it easier to get off. Hope that helps!


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## sarah92lynn (May 2, 2013)

Thanks guys!!
It's not bad at all, she just has a little stuck around her actual area and all of her poos seem normal so I'm not too worried about it. I will be keeping a closer eye on her though!
I might try some baby cornstarch powder, I read that is safe to use and helps loosen the stuff up. I'm gonna try to avoid a wet bath if possible! She gets pretty stressed out just from being held so I don't wanna put her through too much.
Thanks for all the info guys!


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