New bunny owner

[jackjack12]

Hey there, my family and I just welcomed a beautiful 5 month old tort holland lop to our family and we already love him so much. I’ve been reading and watching videos on bunnies. I know about butt baths and that you’re not supposed to give the bunny an actual bath. But our little bunny is pretty stinky. He was kept in a crate with other bunnies and the breeder mentioned one of the bunnies liked to spray our little bunny. I’ve seen everywhere that bunnies shouldn’t have odor and if they do then that means they were poorly kept. So I was just trying to get some advice on how to get our bunny clean and odorless. Also his hair is all matted around his bottom and my husband and i aren’t sure how to get rid of the matts. He’s going through a moult so we’ve been brushing him but brushing the Matt out hurts him and I’m trying to bond with him. I’m desperate for advice! Is it okay to give the bunny a quick bath in a really warm environment to get him started out fresh, if not what can we do? What are people’s advice on getting rid of the matted areas?

[sarahthegemini]

I would take him to a vet and get them to do a sanitary shave (shave the bum area) To clean his whole body I would just a damp wash cloth and wipe him over.

[jackjack12]

Is it true that they should be odorless though? Because if that’s the case he is not odorless at all lol

[Luna]

I’ve never heard before that buns should be odorless. Sometimes matted areas are so bad that the only way to get rid of them is to shave them, but it can be painful if it isn’t done right. If he smells as bad as you say he does, and has bad matting, then I agree with STG that you take him to the vet so they can properly wash his bum and take care of the matted fur for you. The vet would also be able to check his anal glands to see if they need to be cleaned as that could be the source of the odor too.

[ThorBunny]

I think most healthy, fixed buns are odorless. My bun smells faintly of hay. I know that intact rabbit’s urine can stink though, it sounds like he has had experience with that Once he goes to the vet to get those mats shaved off I’m sure he will be smelling much better!

Congratulations on your new bun, I’m sure he is happy to be home with you

[Azerane]

If he smells that bad, I suspect he has been peed on by another rabbit or has been sitting in urine. When I adopted my current pair, my boy had urine stains in his fur (either from lounging in his litter tray) or perhaps the girl peed on him, but after a few weeks as he shed his fur it went away and so did the awful smell

The mats around the bum are trickier to deal with, it can be helpful to have a vet trim down the area. You can do it with scissors but you have to be extremely careful not to nick the skin as rabbit skin is very thin and delicate..

[GeorgieTheBunny]

My bunny smelt wonderful.

One of my favourite parts of snuggles was breathing in and having her smell like orchard grass and fluffy baby bunny.

So ya, like everybody else said, not normal.
The (rabbit savvy) vet techs are the safest option for a trim and possibly a “bath”. Whether it’s the damp cloth method they use or if they give a bum bath it would be done by a trained individual that could give advice based on your situation

This would give (what’s his name?) a fresh start.
Rabbits can be fastidious self cleaners, little guy just needs a chance.

When you guys are better acquainted you can do all the care giver stuff at home – see this vet visit as a way to not interrupt the bonding ;P

[Author]

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