Ian&Deborah
New Kit
New here so hello to everyone! :wave:
Looking for tips on cleaning a rabbits bum.
Pickles is a 3 year old who was adopted by us when she was around a year old. Her previous owner couldn't look after her so handed her in to Pets At Home, which is where we got her. She has never been socialised with other bunnies and she hates to be handled.
She has always managed to keep herself reasonably clean but occasionally needs a helping hand. We keep an eye on her and only give her a clean when she needs it.
The first time we gave her a clean was during the winter, we used a tiny spot of rabbit shampoo with water in the bath and were able to clean off all traces of poo without any major tantrums. She was then given a towel dry and placed in her indoor cage in front of the radiator.
The second time was about 6 months later, she had been in her outdoor hutch and we noticed she was getting a bit dirty again. So we did the same again: however this time she reacted a lot more frightened than before and we weren't able to get her properly cleaned. For fear of upsetting her further we gave up, dried her then placed her in her cage. We then took her to the vets who helped us get rid of the rest of the poo with scissors and advised that whatever we were doing was working well but to try and avoid using the bath unless absolutely necessary.
She had kept herself very clean since then but recently both of us started new jobs which meant longer time away from home and less time to check in with bunny. We tried to clean her tonight as we spotted quite a bit of build-up on her bum and belly area. After trying to gently work the stuff off with my fingers, we realised we needed to use water again. Instead of using the bath we filled the base of her cage with about a centimetre of warm water and placed her in it. She freaked out. We consoled and placated her and when she had calmed, I tried to work the dried in poo off with my fingers and she freaked out again. We got her dried off a bit and placed her cleaned caged in front of the radiaor but she is still dirty underneath.
What would you recommend for such a situation?
Her diet consists of grass, hay and nuggets, with helpings of mostly green veg as treats. She doesn't drink much water from either bowls or bottles but we always make sure she has fresh water just in case she wants it. She is indoors during the winter and outside in the warmer months, with a thermal hutch cover for at night. When outdoors she has access to a grassy area during the day and is in good general health apart from the poopy bum.
Looking for tips on cleaning a rabbits bum.
Pickles is a 3 year old who was adopted by us when she was around a year old. Her previous owner couldn't look after her so handed her in to Pets At Home, which is where we got her. She has never been socialised with other bunnies and she hates to be handled.
She has always managed to keep herself reasonably clean but occasionally needs a helping hand. We keep an eye on her and only give her a clean when she needs it.
The first time we gave her a clean was during the winter, we used a tiny spot of rabbit shampoo with water in the bath and were able to clean off all traces of poo without any major tantrums. She was then given a towel dry and placed in her indoor cage in front of the radiator.
The second time was about 6 months later, she had been in her outdoor hutch and we noticed she was getting a bit dirty again. So we did the same again: however this time she reacted a lot more frightened than before and we weren't able to get her properly cleaned. For fear of upsetting her further we gave up, dried her then placed her in her cage. We then took her to the vets who helped us get rid of the rest of the poo with scissors and advised that whatever we were doing was working well but to try and avoid using the bath unless absolutely necessary.
She had kept herself very clean since then but recently both of us started new jobs which meant longer time away from home and less time to check in with bunny. We tried to clean her tonight as we spotted quite a bit of build-up on her bum and belly area. After trying to gently work the stuff off with my fingers, we realised we needed to use water again. Instead of using the bath we filled the base of her cage with about a centimetre of warm water and placed her in it. She freaked out. We consoled and placated her and when she had calmed, I tried to work the dried in poo off with my fingers and she freaked out again. We got her dried off a bit and placed her cleaned caged in front of the radiaor but she is still dirty underneath.
What would you recommend for such a situation?
Her diet consists of grass, hay and nuggets, with helpings of mostly green veg as treats. She doesn't drink much water from either bowls or bottles but we always make sure she has fresh water just in case she wants it. She is indoors during the winter and outside in the warmer months, with a thermal hutch cover for at night. When outdoors she has access to a grassy area during the day and is in good general health apart from the poopy bum.