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How do you clean your rabbits feet?

Leannean27

Alpha Buck
Luna had a poop on her back foot which had dried quite close to her skin. After umming and ahhing hubby held her burrito style and I took scissors to it with my heart going 10 to the dozen. Luckily she was totally chilled out whilst I cut it off but is there a better way of doing it and a way to prevent it in the first place?
 
Luna had a poop on her back foot which had dried quite close to her skin. After umming and ahhing hubby held her burrito style and I took scissors to it with my heart going 10 to the dozen. Luckily she was totally chilled out whilst I cut it off but is there a better way of doing it and a way to prevent it in the first place?


Diet will prevent this from happening Leanne. You've got all the info about that, haven't you?

Personally I never cut the fur on rabbits' feet as I like them to keep as much of their fur on as possible. I soak in warm water (just half an inch) and work the poo off with my hand gently. then dry on warm towels.

Glad you sorted it :thumb:
 
I have yes thank you but she still has a few soft poos everyday which I clean away as soon as I see them. I don't give her any forage anymore apart from fresh grass as she gets worse after anything else so I am going to wait a little longer and start introducing bits again. She is now fully on pellets (has been for a few days now) and I haven't seen any today so fingers crossed but I just don't know. Her diet is exactly the same as Ralph's and he's fine. She has a multitude of hays but feel like its really trial and error with her :(

Thanks for the warm water tip, I did wonder that halfway through along with I should have asked the forum before I attempted this!
 
I have yes thank you but she still has a few soft poos everyday which I clean away as soon as I see them. I don't give her any forage anymore apart from fresh grass as she gets worse after anything else so I am going to wait a little longer and start introducing bits again. She is now fully on pellets (has been for a few days now) and I haven't seen any today so fingers crossed but I just don't know. Her diet is exactly the same as Ralph's and he's fine. She has a multitude of hays but feel like its really trial and error with her :(

Thanks for the warm water tip, I did wonder that halfway through along with I should have asked the forum before I attempted this!


That's OK :)

I have your PM and understand the problem.
Let me do some research and get back to you xx
 
Diet will prevent this from happening Leanne. You've got all the info about that, haven't you?

Personally I never cut the fur on rabbits' feet as I like them to keep as much of their fur on as possible. I soak in warm water (just half an inch) and work the poo off with my hand gently. then dry on warm towels.

Glad you sorted it :thumb:

I do actually trim Smudge’s feet but that’s because he has SO much it matts even on his feet. Must be uncomfortable to be standing on lumps.

Is it sticky poop? I always found the best thing with Mini was to remove the majority with toilet roll and then carefully and gently brush out the excess once it had dried. I usually managed to clean her before it smeared into her fur though.
 
I do actually trim Smudge’s feet but that’s because he has SO much it matts even on his feet. Must be uncomfortable to be standing on lumps.

Is it sticky poop? I always found the best thing with Mini was to remove the majority with toilet roll and then carefully and gently brush out the excess once it had dried. I usually managed to clean her before it smeared into her fur though.


Yes I've seen this type of thing. Sometimes the fur even puffs out at the side of the foot, but I can gently pluck it to remove it so rabbit isn't standing on lumps :)
 
Yes I've seen this type of thing. Sometimes the fur even puffs out at the side of the foot, but I can gently pluck it to remove it so rabbit isn't standing on lumps :)

Yeah his does that as well. When he sheds it kind of gets stuck in the ends of the fur.

Anyway, I digress :oops:
 
I have a very small comb which I think is meant for hamsters or mice or similar and I comb the hair out on the underside of my bun's feet just by gently lifting one foot at a time backwards and holding it between finger and thumb. Mine are used to being handled like this when being groomed, but sometimes kick out, but I just keep going and eventually we get it done! Mine are outside and sometimes get mud, etc in the hair so need a bit of a tidy up. I would not cut the hair if you can avoid it, it takes ages to grow back and leaves a bare patch of skin on the sole of the foot
 
Lopsy often has mats on his back feet: if they get too uncomfy, he chews them off himself! We pull out as much as we can but sometimes it's just too matty. And sometimes it's not causing any pain, it just looks unsightly! When he moults he goes back to having pristine white soles for a few months :D
 
I have a very small comb which I think is meant for hamsters or mice or similar and I comb the hair out on the underside of my bun's feet just by gently lifting one foot at a time backwards and holding it between finger and thumb. Mine are used to being handled like this when being groomed, but sometimes kick out, but I just keep going and eventually we get it done! Mine are outside and sometimes get mud, etc in the hair so need a bit of a tidy up. I would not cut the hair if you can avoid it, it takes ages to grow back and leaves a bare patch of skin on the sole of the foot


My Frenchie had sore hocks and when he went out in the mud and wet (which he enjoyed doing, though he lived inside) I put him little boots on. I made them, with little cotton ankle socks to prevent his feet from sweating. He had two pairs and both got washed each day.

The things we do :lol:
 
My Frenchie had sore hocks and when he went out in the mud and wet (which he enjoyed doing, though he lived inside) I put him little boots on. I made them, with little cotton ankle socks to prevent his feet from sweating. He had two pairs and both got washed each day.

The things we do [emoji38]
Amg [emoji38][emoji38] please tell me you have pictures of this! Ima be so disappointed if you don't [emoji38][emoji38] x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
I gently comb their back feet on a weekly basis, usually using a wide tooth comb. The feet need to be as clean and dry as possible for a decent job, so I do it first thing on a morning before they go out in the run. Combing wet or muddy feet tends to cause more damage to the very delicate skin underneath. If they have very fluffy feet, they can get mats down the sides which can be carefully cut back and then teased out with fingers or a comb - but I would not routinely cut anything that they bear weight on, and only as minimally as needed if it was an issue - definitely never down to skin level as it leaves no protection for the foot.
 
Amg [emoji38][emoji38] please tell me you have pictures of this! Ima be so disappointed if you don't [emoji38][emoji38] x

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk


I still have the boots and socks, but when I had bunny I didn't have a camera (digital) ... sorreeee!!
 
My Frenchie had sore hocks and when he went out in the mud and wet (which he enjoyed doing, though he lived inside) I put him little boots on. I made them, with little cotton ankle socks to prevent his feet from sweating. He had two pairs and both got washed each day.

The things we do [emoji38]
That's just too adorable. I now want to do this, just for fun. Aww! Plus u defo should have mentioned that on Joey&Boos confession thread!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 
That's just too adorable. I now want to do this, just for fun. Aww! Plus u defo should have mentioned that on Joey&Boos confession thread!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk


:lol: I've also made a 'shield' for one of my rabbits when he was destroying his own back. It was Max (in my Avatar) and I embroidered his name on it. People thought it very smart too :lol:

The waterproof boots were green as in Kermit. So cute. Other ones were blue padded fleece material. He didn't mind at all so long as he could go out in all weathers!
 
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