My Little Smelly BumBum

[Mylin]

Hello. 

I’ve been browsing through a couple of sites trying to figure out what I should do to care for the lingering smell of poop to my bunny. Unlike what I’ve been reading where other rabbits smell due to poop clinging to their fur due to diarrhea, my little Pistachio is healthy as far as I can tell. She’s regular with her droppings and has a clean bum. . . Only it smells. I only notice it when she sits on my chest or shoulder (something she likes to do when I’m leaning against a wall or something of the sort). It’s not majorily disruptive but I would rather she did not smell. Would I still give her a shallow warm bath to clear the smell up? 

Any additional tips on mastering the smell would be helpful as well. I’m a working college who is renting a room we both share and I want to keep the animal smell to a minimum. Also what are some safe deodorants that I can use in my room. I regularly clean the cage both morning and night but I can’t help but notice the smell sneaking in. 

Many thanks!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Her droppings are hard and normal? Is she spayed?

My guess is the smell is coming from her anal glands. Is it a musky, skunky type of odour? Some buns needs their anal glands cleaned regularly. Females, especially unspayed, tend to have the worse smell. You can do this yourself. It’s a messy, stinky job but will help alleviate the smell. Or you can have your vet do it for you. You can read how to clean anal gland in the BB Bunny Info/ Monthly Maintenance section.

[LBJ10]

I think LPT is right, it is probably stinky anal glands.

[Mylin]

Yes her droppings are normal. Hard and dry except for those grape ones she eats. (Forgot what those were called.) She isn’t yet spayed. She’s about two months now and I was told to wait until approximately six months of age because that would be when she had matured.

The glands would make sense but it isn’t really musky. More like poopie (for lack of a better term). I will still look into cleaning the gland though to see how that works. Both my bunny and I are comfortable with each other but we are still in our second week so I’m still taking baby steps. She lets me pet her and when needed she’ll let me pick her up to return her to the cage. She isn’t keen on being held however and I preform her bum checks by little her climb on my shelf so I can peek or just catching glimpses as she hops around.

I don’t know if this is anything pertaining to this but I just wanna make sure I keep her in good health. But could the smell have anyhthing to do with her constant want to pee on my bed? I don’t know how it would relate but thought I’d throw it out there just in case.

[bunnluff]

At that young I wouldn’t think it’s her glands just yet. I never even noticed a funky smell coming from either of my buns until they were a bit older and I didn’t even know they had anal glands that needed to be cleaned until about 4 years after having them. After my rabbits poop, their bums smell like onions almost. Kind of that poopy, onion-ish scent. It’s kind of gross but goes away soon after they poop. Is that the type of smell you’re getting?

[Mylin]

To be honest, I didn’t know that she had anal glands that needed cleaning either haha. But then again there are several things I don’t quite know yet.

The scent isn’t what I would call onionish but it smells of something. Vague yes, but I don’t know how to describe it. Out of curiosity, I allowed her to sit on my chest again and the smell wasn’t there. Or at least I wasn’t able to catch a whiff of anything before she hopped away. Maybe it was just that I happened to smell her bum after she had pooped so that could possibly be it. I’m going to make sure I monitor her just in case, but maybe there was nothing to be worried about after all. If it is just her bum after she poops then that’s fine. I just wanted to make sure she was well.

[bunnluff]

My bunny pen is right near my desk and after one of the bunnies drops a pile in the litter box, the whole area stinks for a few minutes and I have to walk away. haha

[BerrySoda]

I hear litter can really limit or worsen the smell. What are you currently using? and how often do you change it? I recently switched to Carefresh from plain old shredded news paper and that seems to keep the smells down a bit. I wouldn’t use any chemical deodorant products or or near the bun…perhaps you could try rubbing mint leaves on the litter tray area? in a confined space I would say its a good idea to get some ventilation, and to clean the hutch weekly and the litter every day or second day. You can also buy some natural litter tray cleaners to remove the wee smells.

[Author]

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