bathing your bunny

i know that giving them the odd bath is fine.

i recently found this on youtube, this cant be right can it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qhhR0tW9p0


im shocked and cant believe people would do something like that.
(for anyone who doesnt want to veiw the video it is a bunny owner, who sat their bunny in the sink and left the water running until it was overflowing. you can clearly see the rabbit is uncomfortable)


that raised a question in my head, i have bathed my guinea pigs before. Is rabbit bathing similar?

I used to have to bath my rabbit most days cos poo got stuck to his bum, and he hated it at first, but after a couple of months he got used to it so he would sit still until I was finished. I think I would go as far as to say that he might have even enjoyed himself!!:roll:

I haven't watched the video, but I never have, and never would, do it like you say they have! I used to put a couple of inches of warm water in the kitchen sink, whack on some rubber gloves,put the bunny in, made sure his bum was clean then dried him with a towel. He was a good little boy . It was only really his feet and bum end that got wet.

He never had any skin/fur problems from being bathed most days, but I just used warm water, I didn't use shampoo or anything else. In answer to your guinea pig quesiton, I never bathed any of my guinea pigs, so I've got no idea!

xxx

I'de be more bothered about the water overflowing :lol:

As long as the rabbits head didn't go under water i'm sure that it would be fine.

A Rabbit should not be bathed unless there is a clinical reason to do so

The bloke on the Youtube video is an idiot.

Jack's-Jane said:

The bloke on the Youtube video is an idiot.

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Most are!!!

xxx

i gave it a negative posting.

while some buns like and need a bath. I think this ones sitting put because he knows theres no escaping, hes defiantly not relaxed. the care of pet rabbits in some other countries is disgusting.

for smelly rabbits dry shampoo is great.

for sticky bum rabbits then the dietary issues should be resolved to prevent the problem.

I personally don't think that any rabbits actively like a bath...I strongly suspect that those who just sit still aren't enjoying it but are too frightened and stressed to move!

As Jane says, I don't think there is any need at all to ever bathe a healthy rabbit. If there are problems with sticky bums or smells, then the reason for this needs to be investigated and resolved (often diet is the cause but it can also be caused by dental problems, arthritis, obesity etc) rather than simply washing the problem away. Obviously if there are ongoing health problems that necessitate washing then it has to be done, but I would want to explore all other avenues first and only wash under the instruction of a vet.

Jack's-Jane said:

A Rabbit should not be bathed unless there is a clinical reason to do so

The bloke on the Youtube video is an idiot.

Click to expand...

Absolutely agree with Jane.

The Duchess said:

Absolutely agree with Jane.

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Me too, total muppet :evil:

i just cant believe no ones done anything, i've been looking on youtube and found tons of videos of people saying "look at my angry rabbit!" and i watch and its like NO WONDER! they are treated horribly.

agree with jane,

buns are pretty clean animal themselves, they dont really like being dirty.

mine even shred there paper and pee outside their trays if its not clean enough,

Reasons for being dirty ill health, overweight, poos can stick to long haired breeds easier to clip that area, that it is to bath, they matt up worse if bathed

a bit of mud never hurts most of the time they are clean the next day or so

skippersmom said:

i just cant believe no ones done anything, i've been looking on youtube and found tons of videos of people saying "look at my angry rabbit!" and i watch and its like NO WONDER! they are treated horribly.

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That's the reason why I don't go on Youtube unless it's to view a "happy" link posted on here. I imagine there are some very nasty videos on there

your right there are loads


why is there no rules for stuff like that? people should not be able to upload videos of them abusing their animals.

I had to bathe my Bridge Bunny Daisy's rear end more or less every day in the summer to try and prevent flystrike. She was a private rescue and had many health problems, including having to have an eye removed and many dentals, and just couldn't seem to clean herself.

I don't think she ever actually enjoyed the bathing but I only put her rear end in shallow warm water in the sink to clean her. Then I wiped her and added sudacrem if she was sore and rearguard. She saw a vet regularly who was happy with the way I was caring for her. Daisy never got flystrike and used to bounce off in her run after she was dry and put back so I hope I didn't traumatise her too much. I thinks she tolerated it as she felt so much better afterwards and I held her firmly so she always felt secure in the water.

I hated doing it but there was no other way to keep her clean and I was paranoid about flystrike.

She had many health problems but was a very special, good natured bun. I hope she is binkying happily at the Bridge with a beautifully clean rear end.

I've got five buns now and never bathe any of them. They all keep themselves clean, even my 'mature' bun, Dylan.

Jack's-Jane said:

A Rabbit should not be bathed unless there is a clinical reason to do so

The bloke on the Youtube video is an idiot.

Click to expand...

Completely agree with Jane.