Good lord, what is that smell?!

[MazzyStar]

I have two bunnies and I just got them aged at the vets: Cinnamon is about 12 weeks old and Basil is about 10 weeks old.
About two weeks ago I noticed that the room I have them in smells really strong like urine. I switched litter and it’s helped but within 4 hours of changing their litter box it smells rank. Nobody will admit to smelling it, but I can and their cage area smells like pee and by the next morning it smells like B.O.!
I change their litter box daily and spray it with Lysol and rinse it out thoroughly. I also wipe down their cage daily with Lysol wipes but the smell returns in no time.
Also, Cinnamon chins everything when he’s out of his cage and he really loves rubbing the couch in here. When I lay down on this side of the room it smells like pepper!
I’m positive there’s no urine on the floor that hasn’t been cleaned and I haven’t seen my bunnies spray or noticed any.
Has anyone else noticed really stinky urine that smells like this? Also, is he leaving behind a pepper smell with his scent glands when he chins things or am I just hyper sensitive to the smells?

[jerseygirl]

At this age it would be the new hormones in their system causing the odours.

The BO smell is probably territorial poops. Are they leaving some scattered around? These are the normal fecal droppings (not cecatrophes) and they get a bit of a sheen on them. That’s what is smelly. I always think it smells a bit like corn chips. And when scent glands open, it smells a bit like burnt coffee to me. Not sure about the pepper smell. Lol

Anyway, welcome to bunny puberty.

[MazzyStar]

It never occurred to me that it was the poop. I couldn’t imagine digested hay and pellets could smell like onions and pepper!
I vacuum the floors after play time because although they are surprisingly good about their litter habits, they do leave some droppings here and there.
I’m gonna go on a hunt like a crazy lady looking for droppings now! I clean so thoroughly I can’t imagine where these droppings could be hiding unless they got pushed under the rugs. I guess if my bunny managed to find a wheat thin under the rug and eat it he could have left something there in exchange…

[jerseygirl]

They might be leaving those ones in the litterbox too.

[MazzyStar]

I’m sure they are, but the couch is way on the other side of the room and that’s where I smell the strange pepper smell.

[tobyluv]

One of my bunnies has poop that smells like onions on occasion. It can be quite pungent. She is spayed, so it’s not due to hormones.

You didn’t say if your bunnies are the same gender or not. Even if they are (and sometimes even vets can get that wrong – which leads to surprise litters) at 10 and 12 weeks of age, they should be kept separately. After their surgeries and recuperation, they can be re-bonded a few weeks later. With puberty, and the hormones that brings, there can be aggression and fighting, which of course can lead to injuries.

[Vienna Blue in France]

I know exactly when a bun has pooped or peed…..
I’ll try and analyse what kind of smell next time… Lol
It really does give off a whiff and both of mine are neuteured adults…

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