Cleaning Bunny’s Bottom

[CFYasutomi]

About a year and a half ago, my bunny came down with an ear infection. Thankfully, we caught it pretty early and got her to the vet in time to get meds. Unfortunately, she didn’t fully recover and walks with a slight limp (the vet warned us this could be a possible side effect), and she’s not as limber as she used to be so she isn’t able to keep her bottom clean. The fur on her bottom and the back of her legs are extremely matted, and she often smells like urine. We give her butt baths using only warm water, but I’m wondering if there’s something more we can do. Is there some kind of rabbit-safe shampoo we can use? Thanks for your advice.

[tobyluv]

Have you had any discussions with your vet about getting a hygiene clip for your rabbit? That can be helpful when a rabbit has a chronic dirty bottom. Is it possible that your rabbit is in pain due to the limp? If so, low doses of a pain reliever, such as Metacam might help her be more limber and more able to keep clean. Sometimes butt baths are necessary, but it would be good if you could address the problem with a hygiene clip and/or some pain meds if warranted, so that you don’t have to bath her so often.

Instead of using some kind of rabbit shampoo when you give butt baths, you could try a small piece of a bar soap, such as Kirk’s Castille. It is hypoallergenic, contains no animal products, is not tested on animals and it comes in an unscented version. I use that soap for myself. I also use Clearly Natural or Clearly Magic glycerin soap, which like Kirk’s, is hypoallergenic, no animal products or testing, and comes in unscented. I have used small pieces of that soap in the water when I had to give a few butt baths to one of my elderly past rabbits who was unable to keep clean.

[JLH]

My bun often gets her cecotropes (vitamin poop I call it) stuck too her bottom, I use unscented delicate skin baby wipes. They work very good and are safe due too not having any perfumes or other chemicals in them. I won’t use the ones with all the junk in them.

[CFYasutomi]

Thanks for the suggestions. We will take her to the vet to discuss our options. Have you ever done a hygiene clip for your bunny? I did a quick google search and found that you can do it for cats and dogs, but maybe not bunnies.

[CFYasutomi]

Good to know those are safe to use. Thanks!

[tobyluv]

Posted By CFYasutomi on 3/17/2019 3:57 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. We will take her to the vet to discuss our options. Have you ever done a hygiene clip for your bunny? I did a quick google search and found that you can do it for cats and dogs, but maybe not bunnies.

None of my bunnies have ever had a hygiene clip, but I have seen posts here where  other bunnies did get one.

[CFYasutomi]

Thanks for the advice. We took her to the vet. They gave her a vey thorough butt bath, clipped her matted fur, and prescribed metcam. She’s officially a senior bunny with arthritis in her lower back.

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