Bleach Fumes

[Bunnisox]

I’ve never used bleach to clean their condos before because I know it could be dangerous with any residue left behind, but the floor had accumulated so much pee build-up/stains that the cleaner I typically use just wasn’t getting rid of. My rabbits can’t use bedding in their homes because they (for some reason beyond me) like to eat it – so I switched to using hay as their bedding – which does not do anything for absorption! So the stains do build up pretty easily/rapidly. I can’t stand the smell of vinegar, to the point of gagging and feeling like I will vomit – which I know is the recommended product for cleaning rabbit enclosures; so I’ve always used the Lysol disinfectant wipes, but am ALWAYS 100% sure to make sure there isn’t anything left behind after using them. I wipe them down with a bunch of wet, then dry, paper towels several times afterward. I’ve never had a problem with using them. I digress.

So I made the mistake of using bleach last night when cleaning the floors of their condos. I ensured to wipe them down afterward with water and paper towels several times, and I’m pretty sure the actual residue is gone – however, the fumes may have still existed within the condos as I put up their blankets over them like I normally do. Now keep in mind that the blankets don’t cover the entire body of the condo – just the front side for when I put them to sleep at night, and partially over the top. One of my rabbits, Muffins, is closer to our front door which lets a draft inside, so I put an additional blanket over the side of his condo to protect him from the cold. This is what I think did it.

After putting them in their condos for the night, I came to check on them before going to sleep (about 3 hours later). They were both a bit unresponsive.. just sitting hunched up in the corner (they each have their own condo), and what really threw me off was that they each had not touched any of the food/greens that I had put in their hutch. Something was wrong. I immediately took off all of the blankets and opened the windows and let them out of their condos. Waffuls came out almost immediately, and after about 15-20 mins she was running around/binkying/eating, acting normal. Muffins, however, would not come out of his condo, and after looking at him I noticed that his eyes kept darting around back and forth really crazy like, which I’d never seen. His head kept going to his left side (not tilted, but moving to the left after each time he’d make an attempt to look elsewhere). This made me lose my $*&!. I picked him up (which he never lets me do but didn’t put up any fight this time) and set him down by the screen door. He stopped doing the eyes and head thing after a few minutes, but was still really unresponsive, not wanting to move or eat or anything. I stayed there with him for about 2 hours. He slowly started eating pieces of hay that I would give him, but didn’t want anything to do with anything else. Needless to say, I closed up their condos and let them stay out the entirety of the night.

He’s moving around today fairly normally, I think he’s just exhausted from his experience last night – and seems to be fine now, all but a little tired. He’s eating, but has tended to stay secluded in the corners of the house, just resting (more than normal). I think I may have been a little overbearing about the whole thing, so I’m trying to leave him be (he’s normally a pretty independent rabbit to begin with, never seeks out pets or attention like the other 2).

I’m just curious at this point if anyone else has had a similar experience? Any further insight to this? Does their pee have ammonia in it? If so, could that have been the cause? I’m never using bleach again, I don’t care how nasty their condo floors get – I’d sooner use vinegar and throw up than go through something like this again. That was terrifying.

[Odette]

Bunny urine has ammonia.

That’s scary what happened with your Muffins. I hope he is completely over the episode.

I would clean out the condos again. Can you tolerate a 50/50 solution of vinegar or does that make you gag too?

Hopefully someone can suggest a non vinegar and non bleach cleanser. I use vinegar, so I don’t know.

[Bunnisox]

Yes, thank you for the reccomendation. I just cleaned it again with a 50/50 vinegar and water solution per your suggestion. It was bad for me and I had to keep stopping, but as long as I know he’ll be safe, it’s something that I’ll continue to do; at least, until I find a better solution. I never want to experience anything like that again.

He has been eating and moving around and appears to be back to (somewhat) normal at this point. I think I’ll have a better gauge on it when I feed them in a few hours @ their dinner time. He’ll probably sleep like a log tonight, if I can stop myself from getting up to check on him every few minutes, haha.

Thank you though, for your reply. I appreciate it.

[Muchelle]

You can try white vinegar (less smelly). I prefer vinegar because it doesn’t require a second washing with water.

Otherwise people also use a mix of bicarbonate (baking soda) and warm water. I’m not keen on the bicarbonate cause I’m afraid it could upset the bun’s stomach if not rinsed off correctly. I mean, I eat a spoon of bicarbonate when I have troubles digesting food, so…

When I have to do heavy duty cleaning (the bottom of my cage has a plastic mesh printed on and it’s HELL to clean), I use watered down Amuchina or Napisan of the kind used to wash food with and then I wash everything again with running water just to be sure.

[tobyluv]

That was a very scary experience with your rabbit. I hope that Muffins will not have any lasting effects from the bleach fumes.

I have never used any of these, but I see 3 different cleaners that can be used for cages at Drs. Foster & Smith:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/small-pet-supplies/cage-cleaning-products-wipes-deodorizer/ps/c/6067/10380

One is from Kaytee, one from Nature’s Miracle and one from Natural Chemistry Healthy Habitat. I saw several reviews where people were using it for their rabbit’s cages.

The Ecos brand (natural products) has a Pet Stain & Odor Remover. It only shows dogs and cats on the label, and isn’t marketed for small animals as the three at Drs. Foster and Smith are, but maybe it could be used for rabbits too.

I don’t know how strongly scented any of those products are, but if you gave the surfaces a good rinse afterwards, there shouldn’t be a lot of scent left. I think that most bunnies wouldn’t like any strong scents.

Or maybe you could use a solution of water and a natural dish detergent, such as Ecos or Seventh Generation, adding a few drops of detergent to a spray bottle of water.

I’m not too keen on vinegar smell either, but I use a vinegar and water solution with a little added Seventh Generation dish detergent to clean out my rabbits’ litter boxes.

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