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- This topic has 8sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 2 months ago by
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For some reason people think they should bathe their bunny because people bathe a dog or cat.
Do I need to bathe my house bunny? NO – NO BATHS!Why not? A bath can throw your bunny into shock, or the bunny may thrash around and injure himself, fracturing a bone or his spine.Bunnies are meticulous little self-grooming machines. What you need to do is brush them once or twice a week. If you have certain breeds that have more hair, they will need daily grooming (like a lionhead or an angora).They do need regular mani-pedis so their nails do not get too long such that they hurt themselves.Baths? NO. Okay, in very limited special circumstances, a bath or partial bath may be needed. For example, if your rabbit has “poopy butt”, you may need to wash their little hineys – but that’s a special purpose need.Here are some links for more reading on the subject (with a few excerpts):Bathing a Bunny “Poopy” Butt – What to do if this is the situation (both a dry and a wet procedure are explained).Bathing Bunnies – Rabbits also tend to panic when in water, and can easily fracture their spine or a limb if they thrash around whilst in water. On top of this, when wet rabbit hair clumps together, making getting them completely dry a very difficult task, and rabbits who are left damp are potentially prone to respiratory infections and hypothermia …Routine bathing – This is totally unnecessary and potentially very harmful to rabbits …Rabbits are clean animals and will groom and wash themselves. Companion rabbits will wash and groom each other too.The Well Groomed Rabbit – We do not advise flea baths or baths of any sort for rabbits. Bathing a bunny can often cause her to become quite upset, sometimes causing her to go into shock; plus it is the nature of bunny fur to take a long time to get wet, and an even longer time to get dry.
Cute? NOT!!
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I know! Rabbits can swim, but shouldn’t. Their back legs aren’t designed for swimming. Only a type of wild rabbit, sometimes called swamp hares, can and WILL swim in water. I think these guys are found in Florida, but not entirely sure. Might be Kentucky. Anyways – The only reason they swim is to get away from predators.But pet bunnies should not be placed in a pool of water of any kind.
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