Cleaning Pee off Rabbit’s Bottom

[abbyhazel]

My rabbit Hazel is litter trained and often pees in the litter box, however I’ve noticed that the bottom of her feet and the majority of her bottom is very yellow and the fur is not soft from all the pee. I don’t want her to get scalded so I need some way to get it off before it gets too bad. Should I fill a tub with an inch of water, use a spray bottle, wet washcloth, wet wipe, or brush it? I’ve tried using a spray bottle and a comb to get the clumps of fur that have pee on them out, but it doesn’t seem to work for her feet and bottom. I’m open to any suggestions! Thank you  

[tobyluv]

Here are the instructions for a dry and a wet bunny butt bath: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

You could try using a wet washcloth. If you use any soap, make sure that it is mild and hypoallergenic. Two bar soaps that are mild and hypoallergenic and come in unscented varieties are Kirk’s Castille and Clearly Natural. I use both of those soaps on myself, and cut off a tiny piece if I have to give a bunny a butt bath. I haven’t had to do it in a while. I did it a few years ago for a couple of elderly bunnies on occasion, since they couldn’t keep themselves clean. I used a plastic dish tub, and set it on the floor, not up on a counter, to prevent any any rabbit from getting hurt in case they jumped out. You just use an inch of water, and can have the little piece of soap in the water. It’s very helpful if you have someone with you. One person to hold the rabbit in the tub, while the other splashes water on the dirty area, massaging it to get it clean. If you use soap, pour out the first tub of water and put an inch of clean water to rinse. Thoroughly dry your rabbit. You can even use a hair dryer on low if you don’t think it would scare your bunny.

[abbyhazel]

Posted By tobyluv on 7/01/2016 2:21 PM

Here are the instructions for a dry and a wet bunny butt bath: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

You could try using a wet washcloth. If you use any soap, make sure that it is mild and hypoallergenic. Two bar soaps that are mild and hypoallergenic and come in unscented varieties are Kirk’s Castille and Clearly Natural. I use both of those soaps on myself, and cut off a tiny piece if I have to give a bunny a butt bath. I haven’t had to do it in a while. I did it a few years ago for a couple of elderly bunnies on occasion, since they couldn’t keep themselves clean. I used a plastic dish tub, and set it on the floor, not up on a counter, to prevent any any rabbit from getting hurt in case they jumped out. You just use an inch of water, and can have the little piece of soap in the water. It’s very helpful if you have someone with you. One person to hold the rabbit in the tub, while the other splashes water on the dirty area, massaging it to get it clean. If you use soap, pour out the first tub of water and put an inch of clean water to rinse. Thoroughly dry your rabbit. You can even use a hair dryer on low if you don’t think it would scare your bunny.

Thank you for the great advice! Do you think it would be ok to do it in a bathtub instead of a plastic tub? Same water amount, just a larger area.

[tobyluv]

I think it would be a lot easier to access, hold and clean the rabbit in a small plastic dish tub. I think those would be less slippery too. It seems like it might be less scary for the rabbit too, to be in a small tub that is just their size instead of in a larger, sort of scary bathtub. To put a bunny in a dish tub on the floor, you would only have to lift it a few inches in and out of the tub. You would have a lot more control with a dish tub. You could do it in a bath tub, I just don’t think it would be as easy and might be more frightening to the rabbit.

Dollar stores have the plastic dish tubs for just a few dollars. The Sterlite brand is a good one. It doesn’t contain antibacterial agents built into the plastic like Rubbermaid does. I don’t trust those chemicals not to leach out into the water. It’s been shown that a lot of those antibacterial products aren’t so safe.

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