How to clean a rabbit's bottom

Hi,

Our rabbit Theodore went to the vets last week because he has a sore bottom and can't sit down proerly. He has been given antibiotics for a urine infection and there is lots of dry urine and poo around his bottom as he has not been cleaning, I would think because it is too sore.

The vet said we should put his bottom under the shower head and using luke warm water massage the hair which my husband tried to do this morning. Theodore under the circumstances was so well behaved as I imagine this would be extremely traumatic for him. However my husband was unable to remove the dried poo and urine as it was stuck like glue. So this evening I am going to help to clean Theo but I wondered if anyone had any advice about how to clean his bottom area and ensure it is clean and free from infection?
If only you could take rabbits to a groomer like you would a dog.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi :wave:

I am sorry you are having problems with your bunny but pleased to hear you have received treatment and advice from the vets.

If you are having real difficulties then usually the veterinary nurses will give them a clean up for you or even clip the fur away to facilitate easier cleaning if necessary.

However, usually it is possible to do the clean-up at home especially if you have a helper I usually prepare a bowl of just warm water (rabbits skin is very decilate remember), and some chunks of cotton wool or a flannel or two, I cradle the rabbit like a baby (they usually settle this way), hold over the bowl and use the cotton wool soaked in the water to wet the area, apply a tiny drop of baby shampoo if necessary (stick to water if the skin is sore), rub and rinse well, repeating if necessary but do work quickly. An alternative is to "sit" the rabbits bottom in to the shallow water and let it "soak" a little. Dry gently with a towel and be sure to keep him warm until he is properly dry - perhaps in his carrier on lots of warm towels in the house.

It may take several goes over a number of days to get him clean as he should be.

Some advocate a thin smear of vaseline or sudocreme to protect the skin from the urine.

I understand how the UTI could cause bunny to have unine on his fur but did the vet explain the poops? Can I ask what his diet is like?

Especially if Theodore lives outside you need to be very careful that he does not suffer fly strike while he is messy.

Hi :wave:
Is Theodore an outdoor or indoor bun?
If he is indoor I think I would be inclined to ask my vet to trim away the matted dirty fur from around his bottom area. I think this would be far easier and less traumatic for Theodore than battling with cleaning the poo off.
You could then keep it clean very easily and apply sudocrem to protect the skin against urine burns until he recovers from his UTI.
Does he have runny poos? Does he eat enough hay? x

lovelea said:

Hi,

Our rabbit Theodore went to the vets last week because he has a sore bottom and can't sit down proerly. He has been given antibiotics for a urine infection and there is lots of dry urine and poo around his bottom as he has not been cleaning, I would think because it is too sore.

The vet said we should put his bottom under the shower head and using luke warm water massage the hair which my husband tried to do this morning. Theodore under the circumstances was so well behaved as I imagine this would be extremely traumatic for him. However my husband was unable to remove the dried poo and urine as it was stuck like glue. So this evening I am going to help to clean Theo but I wondered if anyone had any advice about how to clean his bottom area and ensure it is clean and free from infection?
If only you could take rabbits to a groomer like you would a dog.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Click to expand...

If you ask the vets to clip his fur- they will clean him up. I've just had to do this with another one of my buns who has the runs and is in the vets today.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will have anotehr go at home with warm water and a drop of baby shampoo and see how we go.

He is an indoor rabbit but he is very furry especially around his tail and I think the poo is only there because it has got stuck to his fur and he has been unable to clean that area. He has pellets, fresh veg and hay daily . His brother died a month ago and he hasn't been eating as much hay since but we are hoping to bond him with another rabbit once he is better so maybe his appetite for hay will return then. He is eating brocolli, carrot and pellets every day though so at least that's something. Do you think I should take away the pellets so he is forced to eat hay for a bit, will that help?

Also do you think he understands we are trying to help him because after we have given him his medication he just sits in his cage for ages and doesn't want to come out at all?

They often retreat to the safety of their homes after the indignity of being given their medication - usually with a stamp of disapproval and a killer glare!

A bunny's diet should really be 80/90% hay with just an eggcupful of high fibre pellets (if you wish to give them as they aren't really necessary, many live very healthy lives without), and a little veg.

I would ask what pellets you are giving as some find Excell to cause a problem and what quantity as this may well need reducing.

Vegetables can easily be the problem and I see you mention Brocolli, which can cause gas, and Carrot which is really too sugary to be fed daily - maybe an inch of carrot once or twice a week as a treat.

I assume your bunny has been given antibiotics (Baytril maybe?) for the UTI which unfortunatly is likely to make his poopy problems worse for a while, you can ask the vet for some probiotics to give alongside as this can help which you are giving the antibiotics.

I am sorry to hear about your other rabbit, that's very sad, what was wrong?

I would wait until he is well but then there is quite a lot of veg which is ok to feed daily once bunny's tum is accustomed to it, all new foods need to be introduced in isolation, ie one at a time and stick to that one for a number of days, guaging reaction and gradulally increasing the quantity if no adverse reaction is shown. Mine enjoy Rocket, Coriander, Parsley, Celery, Green Pepper, Lemon Balm, Sage leaves, Dandilions, Grass, Rosemary and Apple tree leaves from the garden for instance.

There is plenty of "wild foods" that your rabbit will enjoy and will be beneficial to his health and wellbeing - take a look at our foraging threads for ideas.

You could try very gradually reducing his pellets to see if that will help him to eat more hay. Also try to buy good quality Timothy hay if you can.

I hope his urine infection clears up soon.

We've had a bunny suffer from urine scald and had to wash him with water on a couple of occasions which is stressful for bunny so we only did it when it was really necessary as wet cotton wool wasnt getting it off. I was so worried about making sure he was dry and warm afterwards. Then we'd use wet cotton wool for the next few days and then apply sudocrem after to help soothe and protect his skin. After a few days of this we would use cornflour and gently put that on to his skin and very gently rubbed through the ends of his fur and tail - this dries out any wetness of the fur and any dampness on his skin and his soothing as well. Since using the cornflour his skin has healed, he is hardly damp at all and his fur has regrown.

Hope your bunny will be ok soon.