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Small pets

Doe stopped cleaning herself :-(

8 replies

Mummabear12345567889 · 17/05/2019 20:07

I have two rabbits, one neutered male and a doe that hasn't been neutered. My doe is a rescue and has never let us pick her up and handle her so we haven't ever forced this on her. She lets us stroke her and has come a long way but she isnt great at cleaning herself!

Last summer we had noticed she had a big clump of poo and dirt stuck in her fur. My husband ended up having to squirt her underneath with a bottle water to soften it and gradually pulled it away.

I've noticed tonight that this has happened again but seems worse. Obviously I'm worried about fly strike but I'm just wondering if anyone else has this with their rabbits? I know not cleaning can be a sign of them not being very happy! However, I would say shes much happier than when we first rescued her.

Thank you!

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DOLLYDAYDREAMER · 17/05/2019 20:16

cant really say why shes not cleaning herself. how old is she. is she overweight. sometimes its a mobility issue. but main problem is if she is not spayed she is at serious risk if gettjng uterine cancer. my rescue doe was 3 and when got her spayed her uterus was huge. she slso more friendly now

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Mummabear12345567889 · 17/05/2019 20:21

She is 4. Not overweight either.

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DOLLYDAYDREAMER · 17/05/2019 20:45

ok. so could be start of arthritis - is she active

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Mummabear12345567889 · 17/05/2019 21:03

Yes shes quite active. She grooms my other rabbit so I'm not concerned about her being a bit sad, it just really bothers me to think shes neglected somewhat. She doesn't run about lots in excitement but she does play a little and hops around.

I feel like I should explain her situation a bit better. Initially I had my male rabbit and he was the happiest thing and was litter trained etc. He did become depressed so I started to look for a female rabbit. I had been advised not to get a baby because he was 2 at this point. I found my doe and contacted their owner online, was given adequate info, went to collect her, it was then I was told that she had been attacked by a dog, sold on and brought back etc.

We spent quite a few weeks doing introductions and eventually it went well. Shes never been comfortable being held and it's almost like she whimpers so we leave her and pet her from a distance. So shes obviously not had the best start.

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birdsdestiny · 17/05/2019 21:10

It's a thing I am afraid. My male rabbit has it. The vet thought it was due to his teeth but said he also could just be lazy. Get her teeth checked. We were worried about fly strike so ours is now a house rabbit. I have to regularly use baby wipes to pull the poo off. Not pleasant for us. He couldn't care less. The vet had no solution for it.

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DOLLYDAYDREAMER · 17/05/2019 21:13

maybe she got an injury when attacked and now its causing her pain when she bends round to clean herself - could try some metacam pain releif from the vets which may help

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TheoriginalLEM · 18/05/2019 04:57

You need to take to the vets. Stoping cleaning is often a sign that their teeth are over-growing. This is very common in bunnies as they don't actually stop growing but grind themselves down when they are chewing. Many rabbits teeth are misaligned and the leads to issues and often shows with a lack of self grooming.

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Decormad38 · 18/05/2019 05:19

Your doe sounds like our adopted doe. She’s obviously been traumatised along the way. Our male bun is a lazy lop and I have to keep cleaning him there too.