Volume 3, Issue 2 - May 2003

Dear Auntie Bea

Dear Auntie Bea:
When I need to relax I look at the pictures on your web site and on the House Rabbit Society’s National web site. I wonder why almost none of the pictures have any poops in the background. I don't have any pictures of my bunns that are poop free. Do I have litter box issues or house keeping issues? Should I sign up for a remedial tune-up class? I am fostering bunnies also, is this part of the problem? --Poopy Pictures

Dear Poopy:
First, purchase a digital camera with software that lets you erase the poops in the pictures (that's what I do!!!). Bringing foster rabbits into your home does create some territory issues for your own bunnies. At first, they may be unhappy about the presence of new bunnies and leave some territorial poops around. This will subside when they are used to sharing their home with other rabbits. Try keeping hay very near or in the litterbox, this helps tremendously too.

Dear Auntie Bea:
My bunnies spend quite a bit of time in my sunroom. It has tile floors. I don't know what type of products to use to clean the floors. Some of the "damp mop" type items have a terrible odor. I'm afraid that they will be harmful to my bunnies. What should I use?
Signed: A Clean Freak.

Dear Freak:
Tile floors are best cleaned with white vinegar and water. This will eliminate rabbit urine pronto and is not harmful to your bunnies in any way.

Dear Auntie Bea:
My three year old bunny is starting to have large lumps of poop stuck to his bottom in the morning when I go in his room to feed him. He is quite messy. The floor is also a mess. I have been feeding him vegetables, hay and pellets. What could be causing this? Signed: Laurie K.

Dear Laurie:
It sounds like your bunny might be overproducing cecals. You should evaluate the quantity of his food intake and adjust accordingly. As rabbits get older, their dietary needs change. Hay is the most important component of his diet. Don’t give him too many pellets or vegetables. If you do this, he will fill up on these items and he won’t eat enough hay. I would suggest lowering his daily ration of pellets to a couple of teaspoons or totally eliminating them for a few days to see if this resolves the problem. You may want to switch to a high fiber pellet such Oxbow’s Bunny Basics T. This is a timothy hay pellet designed for adult rabbits. Most often this is a diet issue. Please feel free to call me. We can discuss the quantities/types of veggies and pellets he is eating so that we can clear up his messy bottom.

If you have a question for Auntie Bea, you may write to her at:

Auntie Bea
Colorado House Rabbit Society
P.O. Box 238
Broomfield, CO 80038-0238