Essential Oils and House Bunnies

[Bunny Hugger]

We have an essential oil diffuser (which uses water) in our bedroom which we run at night but I was thinking about adding one to our kitchen area. Right now our bun never comes into our room at night and he doesn’t seem to spend too much time running around there during the day either so I haven’t considered our essential oil use too much, but his main eating/drinking/toileting area is in the kitchen. I had looked up some information online before we got Jax and had found a useful note on this Facebook page called Essential Oil Vet – Janet Roark, DVM; unfortunately, Facebook had removed her note about essential oils and rabbits. I sent her a private message and this was her reply: 

rabbits are Hind- gut fermenters.. which means the bacteria in their gut is very important for proper digestion of the forage they eat. This means they are very susceptible to digestive issues if that delicate bacterial balance in their gut is upset with things like antibiotics (kill the good bacteria and the bad), as well as the oils with strong anti-bacterial properties, like cinnamon, oregano, onguard, etc. So Caution should be used when using those oils around bunnies. They love the citrus oils, and some of the more soothing oils like lavender, roman chamomile, balance and serenity are all safe to use. I recommend water diffusing around rabbits, as they are a bit sensitive.

In our bedroom I typically use a blend of Lavender, Ylang Ylang, and Chamomile for sleep, but when we are sick or feeling slightly under the weather I will use a blend with some more anti-bacterial properties. I’m thinking I should maybe restrict access to our bedroom during these times as the scent still lingers during the day even when the diffuser is off.

I am just wondering if anyone is using essential oils around their buns? If so, what do you use? 

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think another caution is the smell. Things that smell are taken into the body and the liver and kidney need to remove them from the blood system. Rabbits are particularly fragile in this regard-this is why the nice smelling cedar wood chips are no-no for them.

It could be fine, but why chance it?

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