Bunny has dirty feet?

[Mr. Marvin]

 

 Hi, sorry if I’m ignorant, I’m a relatively new rabbit owner.

 

 I’ve had my rabbit for about a year now, and everything has been fine. But recently, I’ve noticed his feet are changing colors. They went from light brown gray to a darker brown. He sometimes sits in his cage where he does his business, is this why his feet look that way? Should I try to clean his feet off somehow, or is it ok to let them stay how they are?

 

Any response is appreciated! Thanks.

[tobyluv]

It’s possible that your rabbit’s feet aren’t stained at all. Their fur can change colors after a heavy shedding or molt. That may be what has happened in your rabbit’s case.

To see if it is really a stain and not a change from molting, take a white wash cloth and dampen it, then rub it over your rabbit’s feet where there is color change. If nothing comes off, then the color change is from shedding not from staining. If you do see stains, you should try to figure out why he has them. Is there newspaper in his cage? Than can cause staining. Could his feet be stained from urine or poop? Do they feel wet to you or have any odor? What kind of litter are you using and how often do you change it?

If you do determine that the color is from some staining and not shedding, you may not have to do anything to him if it’s light staining, but you should figure out the cause and see if you can eliminate it.

It’s always best to avoid wetting or bathing a rabbit, but here are some instructions about cleaning a rabbit’s messy bottom. You aren’t faced with that, but it may be helpful.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

[Little Lion Head]

I’m not sure if this accurate or not…but when we had Boston (years ago), I was concerned about her white feet being “stained” yellow on the bottom. Someone told me that bunnies sweat out of their feet and that’s why they stain and that there wasn’t really anything we could do about it. It’s a been a long time since I’ve researched the subject though!

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