(Just a little disclaimer because I asked this elsewhere and was bombarded by hate. I am absolutely aware that under normal circumstances rabbits do not need to be bathed. I’m only considering it because it was suggested by our very rabbit savvy vet, who we have seen for years, and is probably the only other person I trust with my buns. I promise they are very well loved and cared for.)

A little background info: We have two buns Felix and Oscar, about 4.5 years old, both boys from the same litter. We work from home so they are free roam most of the day (indoors only). We do put them in their houses while we sleep and on the rare occasion we leave the house. They are kept seperate. We are originally from Chicago, but moved to Wisconsin about 3 years ago. Oscar doesn’t have any issues with allergies, and Felix didn’t seem to have any issues until we moved.

Shortly after we moved we noticed Felix licking and chewing at his chest and belly and he had several scabs. After ruling out any major issues the vet assumed it was stress related and gave us ssd cream and a medical shirt to keep him from licking. We eventually decided to do a biopsy to be 100% sure there wasn’t anything else going on. The results came back as a bacterial infection due to an allergic reaction. By this time it had been going on for over a year so we realized it was occurring around the same time, usually in the spring and fall when he’s shedding. The vet who did the biopsy (not our regular) advised us to continue with the shirt and ssd cream as needed. She also suggested giving a quarter of a 25mg Benadryl tablet, which I haven’t done.

We saw our regular vet a few days ago for their annual check up and brought it up again. We’ve ruled out other possible allergens, (hay, laundry detergent, etc) and the fact that it occurs at the same time every year makes us think it’s some kind of seasonal allergy. So along with daily vacuuming and washing his blankets she recommended giving him a bath with an anti itch shampoo and then the cream and shirt when he’s dry. The shampoo she gave us is Phyto P (Pramoxine HCI 1%, phytosphingosine salicyloyl 0.05%)

I am terrified to give him a bath. He’s a big bun, about 7 lbs, very strong, and even stronger willed, I’m so scared he’s going to find a way to hurt himself. While the shirt and ssd cream work, I’m not sure it gives him much relief and he is absolutely miserable with the shirt on. I think he feels very vulnerable with it on and won’t lay down unless someone is sitting with him. He also has a bit of trouble getting all of his cecotropes. So, if bathing him will offer him some relief and minimize the time he needs to wear his shirt I am willing to give it a try.

The vet suggested doing it in the kitchen sink, but that’s a long way down if he manages to get away. I was thinking of getting one of those little inflatable tubs for babies and putting it in the bathtub with a bunch of towels and just enough water to be able to work the shampoo into a lather. I was also thinking of getting some of those absorbent microfiber towels to help dry him off with. Any recommendations or tips on bathing a bunny would be greatly appreciated. Aside from a brief obsession with throwing his toys in his water dish he really doesn’t have experience with water, so he may end up loving  it, I just want to go into it as prepared as possible.

Also, I’ve seen some very mixed things about giving benadryl to a bunny so if anyone has any experience with it, or any other type of allergy relief I would love to know. I don’t really feel comfortable with it, but I don’t want to deny him of something that could help.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all this! I know allergies in rabbits is rare but any advice would be greatly appreciated!