Eep! Oily bunny!

Eep! This morning I woke up to the sight of my neighbour plopping big bunny back into his run (he has a hutch run combo and can come and go as he pleases). The little mischeif had dug himself out and escaped! My lovely lovely neighbour (who I must buy flowers for later) had found him hopping about in the lane behind our house (which thankfully does not come out onto road at front or back - just the "lane").

AAAAANYWAY... Rabbit, formerly white, now with black patches along his back and ear tips - looks like he's been under a car in our car port and it's oil from under a car.

HELP - what do I do? I phoned vet who was useless and has not called back. Will it do him lots of harm if he ingests this oil whilst washing? Should I rush home and clean him? And when I do get to cleaning him later tonight (if it's not urgent urgent), how? He is a big bunny, I can't just run him under a tap, and I'm sure that wouldn't work anyway, yet detergents would possibly also harm him to ingest?

My knickers are firmly in a twist! Any advice would be gratefully recieved!

And twice daily run perimeter inspections will be initiated as a result! So happy he's a lucky rabbit!

Many thanks
Katie

*bump*
Hellllllllp!

I definately wouldn't let him wash it off himself, could make him really poorly.
Try calling a wildlife rescue and ask what they use, as they often have birds/hedgehogs with this stuff on them.
The only no I've got is Vale Wildlife in Evesham 01386882288
Let us know how you get on

i think they usually use washing up liquid type stuff to wash oil off (de greaser) i would try this and rinse him very wel and make sure he is 100% dry before putting him out again. could you put him in the bath/shower? i wouldn't let him clean himself either as i would think it would be quite harmful :?

OK, thanks guys I am over my initial shock and panic. Bunny will be bathed in the very near future (I'll be shooting off home from work early, family emergency - he is my baby), I think I'll try first with some kitten shampoo or something similar, and then move on to fairy liquid if that fails. Obviously I'm going to be as careful to rinse the soapy bits out as the oil. He hates being cleaned, I'm hoping this will teach him a lesson! :roll: And I will be keeping him indoors, albeit in an unsuitabley small cage, until he is dried. I hope he will bear all of this in mind before digging any more tunnels (little mischeif man that he is :angel: ).

I'll take a some photos during the process and post them here. I think his facial expressions and how much he shrinks when wet may be amusing!

Also I'll be running chicken wire under his run to avoid repeats!

Thanks again
Katie :thumb:

Just a thought - start with baby wipes to get the worst off before washing? And presumably with patches of oil you dont need to immerse him - a sponge or a flannel might do the trick?

I would probably use Ecover or something rather than Fairy, as it's gentler - but then that's what I have in the house anyway!

Good luck... :lol:

I'm sure I've read somewhere about using cornflour to "bath" a bun. Maybe that would suck up the bulk of it? Good luck!

I had to bathe Anna recently when she managed to get up a chimney that had been blocked for nearly a century!! Luckily soot is dry and can out easily in the bath without any washing liquid. I think the most important thing is (when i spoke to the rabbit welfare hotline0 was making sure he is completely dry afterwards, Anna was wrapped ina towel and rubbed almost all evening, the fur right at the bottom by the skin took hours to dry.