Cleaning a bunny

Hiya, not sure if this is the right section of the forum to add this to, but wondered if anyone knew how to 'clean' a rabbit? Just adopted a new bun and he has pee'd all over the hutch and been laying in it and not smelling too pleasant! Read that rabbit fur takes a while to dry so was relluctant to put him in the bath without other ideas first. Many thanks.

You'll need a lot of patience! Is the fur matted? If so you can cut off some of the matts with round-ended scissors, but be very careful not to nick the skin. It's safer to just brush it out, with a firm bunny brush and a comb, starting with wide teeth then working smaller as you get the tangles out. Unless he's a very severe case, water will make it worse.

You don't want to put him in the bath at all, washing is a last resort and he should never be submerged in water. I put the plug in the bath with a towel on the bottom to stop them slipping and add a couple of cm of water - just enough to cover the feet and underside - and use jugs of lukewarm water for the top.

Personally I've found human conditioner to be helpful on very tangled buns as it makes the fur slippy and easier to tease out - although you will have to wash bunny well afterwards.

Use towels to get the worst of the wet off, you will need several. I have a dedicated box of 'bunny towels' which were own-brand cheap ones from Asda. You can dry them with a hairdryer on a low setting held well away from the skin, but will need to keep him inside until he's fully dry. Fluffing up the hair with your hands whilst he's under the hot air can speed things up.

The problem is why he's lying in his own wee in the first place - rabbits are generally very clean animals and like to have a dedicated toilet spot. You can easily train him to use a litter tray which makes your life easier too. Has he been neutered as males are especially bad for urine spraying when hormones kick in. Also what kind of bedding do you use as some are more absorbent than others.

Welcome to the forums by the way :wave:

If it is minor you could use baby wipes.

For dirty bum, I use a tiny squirt of small animal shampoo (johnsons) and put in a jug of water. I then use cotton wool pads, dip it in and squeeze it out so it is only damp and wipe the area. I then try off by rubbing gently with a "dry" cotton wool pad. Seems to work well if I ever need to do this.

Evieandfrankle said:

Hiya, not sure if this is the right section of the forum to add this to, but wondered if anyone knew how to 'clean' a rabbit? Just adopted a new bun and he has pee'd all over the hutch and been laying in it and not smelling too pleasant! Read that rabbit fur takes a while to dry so was relluctant to put him in the bath without other ideas first. Many thanks.

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Is he otherwise bright and well in himself and eating and pooping ok? It is unusual for a bun to lie in their urine unless they are feeling a bit poorly sometimes.

I agree, no baths. Just a damp flannel or baby wipe, or if necessary a bottom bath only (can be done over a shallow basin) but if bun is poorly I would avoid getting him wet altogether.

prettylupin said:

Is he otherwise bright and well in himself and eating and pooping ok? It is unusual for a bun to lie in their urine unless they are feeling a bit poorly sometimes.

I agree, no baths. Just a damp flannel or baby wipe, or if necessary a bottom bath only (can be done over a shallow basin) but if bun is poorly I would avoid getting him wet altogether.

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He's very well in himself. I think what the problem was, was because
I'm trying to bond them, on the advice of the people I adopted him from kept him locked in hutch with my other bun overnight, and because they were both peeing in there it got wet. But for some reason my other bun isn't too bad?! She's litter trained though, so maybe that has something to do with it?!

Thanks for advice everyone!

Hello

I am having a similar issue with Leo, he's weeing on the kitchen floor by his food & water bowls and then sitting in it - silly little bunny! His fur has got a bit wet and smelly so we put a small amount of water & Johnsons shampoo in a washing up bowl and I washed his gently whilst my OH held him. Then I wrapped him up in a towel (he looked adorable ) and gave him a very light blow dry until he was all fluffy again.

He didn't seem too put out by this so I'm guessing I didn't do anything wrong - which is lucky as I have to bath him again tonight:roll:

Little Leo said:

Hello

I am having a similar issue with Leo, he's weeing on the kitchen floor by his food & water bowls and then sitting in it - silly little bunny! His fur has got a bit wet and smelly so we put a small amount of water & Johnsons shampoo in a washing up bowl and I washed his gently whilst my OH held him. Then I wrapped him up in a towel (he looked adorable ) and gave him a very light blow dry until he was all fluffy again.

He didn't seem too put out by this so I'm guessing I didn't do anything wrong - which is lucky as I have to bath him again tonight:roll:

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Ah might give this a go then. It's literaly his hops that seem to be dirty, so could just shallow-fill kitchen bowl up with a bit of baby shampoo and give that a try.
Many thanks!