Sudden Stink

[Otti]

 So, Sammy has always smelled like flowers and soap (sort of), even pre-neuter. He’s always been the freshest of the fresh, even though yes his pee always smelled bad, but his actual body never smelled at all. 

As of today, he’s letting off this wonderful skunky smell from his posterior area, which seems to have permeated the air in my living room. I sprayed some air freshener in the living room while he was in his pen, but his pen still has that scent to it. 

The only thing that’s changed in his diet is his hay. I used to mix oxbow timothy hay and kaytee orchard grass that I bought in a pet store, but I recently switched to the three grass hay mix mini bale (timothy, orchard and I think blue grass) that I bought on binkybunny. I switched him to the new hay about a week ago. He loves it – gobbles it down twice as fast as his previous hay. 

It’s definitely not just his anal glands needing to be cleaned because I brought him to a shelter for a grooming session just last weekend, and if he had needed it, they would have cleaned his glands at the time. Even though my vet told me when I brought him in a few months ago that he might never need his glands cleaned.

If they cleaned his glands for the first time during the grooming session, could that have caused him to smell for the first time today? Or could it be affected by the change in hay? Or is he just deciding to do some territorial marking out of the blue?

I just realized I’ve sprayed perfume a little more than usual recently to keep him from under the couch and away from certain spots of the carpet he likes to chew on. Could he be trying to combat the perfume with his own smell?

He was neutered a couple months ago, so I was hoping the un-smelliness would continue lol 

[RabbitPam]

Well, I’m not sure what’s going on, but my first thought was that he stepped or sat in his own smelly pee by accident, so what you’re smelling is his fur on his backside. He may need to be cleaned. (Not fun after a recent grooming session.) I would pick him up if you can, or make him stand up by holding a treat up that he needs to reach for and see if he is stained. If so, get some plain corn starch from the kitchen and dust him up with it, then comb it out. That will absorb any moisture, stop it smelling, dry it and come off easily. If there are stuck cecals (often a cause of stink) then you may need to wash him first with a damp cloth. Only use mild soap if necessary.

I am not crazy about too much perfume as a deterant. I would recommend a white vinegar and water 1/2 & 1/2 solution instead of perfume to spray around. It will repel him, but he won’t be inhaling perfume and neither will you. It is more repellent than perfume to a bunny, the smell disappears almost immediately but it cuts odors too.

You can get rid of much of the smell in your home by lighting a couple of matches. Big kitchen matches are best. The sulfer in a match stops odors immediately. I am allergic to perfumes and sprays so I have it in my bathroom with much success.

I doubt it’s his glands, more likely his food, an accidental soiling of his fur or feet, or marking. He has “normal” smelly pee, which surprises me but your vet said is fine, so this may be part of that. Change his litter pan, clean his habitat thoroughly this morning, put a bit of soiled litter in his clean box just to let him know that’s where to go still, and kind of start over. See if he and your home all freshen up.

[MimzMum]

I’ve been having this problem lately too with my female bun. I wonder if it’s related to bluegrass hay in general? She had some this last few weeks (not BB.com hay-another supplier) and I wondered also if her glands needed cleaning, but they were fine. 0_o

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aff/1/aft/112986/afv/topic/afpgj/1/Default.aspx#207633

[Otti]

Hmmm that’s interesting about the blue grass MimzMum. Sammy seems to smell better today and I cleaned out his litter box and pen area so hopefully the smell will subside completely. His litter box gets cleaned out every other day, so I don’t think sitting in there could have made him smelly. However, he has been sitting in there for longer than usual since I got him the new hay blend, so that might also be why. I hope it’s not the blue grass, since he loves the new hay blend so much, but I might just have to switch back to just Timothy and orchard if so.

I have a feeling he might just have been marking against the perfume, so I’ll also switch to a vinegar solution as suggested by RabbitPam, to keep him from places he chews etc.

[Otti]

Oh, to answer RabbitPam as well, his fur and backsid are clean but he still smells slightly. Much less than a few days ago (he was also clean then). He washes a lot and seems very particular about his hygiene, and I’m obsessive about keeping his space clean, so I think he was just exuding the odour aside from cleanliness issues.

[RabbitPam]

That’s good. I think the bluegrass hay, and maybe intentional marking, may be the culprit.

[Elrohwen]

I don’t have any good answers for you, but Hannah gets stinky too sometimes. I think it’s either bunny gas, or a smell excreted from the anal glands (that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re dirty, because Hannah’s are fine). I’ve also smelled this coming from Otto on the day they fought and he was super angry, which makes me think they can emit smells at different times.

[BunnymomKS]

My Clover, age 8-1/2, has had stinky anal discharge, brownish in color, for a few months now, mainly when I pick her up. I think it’s an excitement thing. Like when I put her back down, there’ll be a drop of stinky on my shirt. Just a drop. I will clean her glands and see if that helps. Today I did notice there was a little brownish stuff right in her anus itself . . . but if they use that to create special-purpose poops as “territory marking” devices, that’d be normal, I hope ? ?

[Dee]

I think it may have something to do with them getting excited or aggressive- that rang a bell when Elrohwen said his Otto was smelly when he fought with Hannah. When Bunbun was a “teenager” and used to tear apart the couch, he would create that lovely strong skunky scent. The more I tried to discourage him from attacking the couch, the more he would stink. And I recall another member saying that their male bunny used to emit an odor when getting romantic with his wifey bun. Interesting, these bunnies…

[Elrohwen]

Dee, I definitely think there’s a correlation, since that’s the only time Otto has ever smelled (and it was bad! I had to wipe down the cage before it went away).

When Hannah is stinky though, she’s usually just chilling out with her feet kicked out behind her, which makes me wonder if it’s gas or something since she’s obviously not stressed.

[Otti]

Dee, the thing you said about Bun Bun DEFINITELY rings a bell. Sammy is a ‘teenager’ still, though neutered, and he’s getting ‘told off’ recently pretty frequently for trying to get behind or under the entertainment unit, or tearing up my couch! Maybe the stink then is him reacting to the ‘disciplining’. To be clear all I do is say “no” and sometimes move him from the area he’s not supposed to be.

I hope it’s not the new hay mix that i got from binkbunny with the blue grass because he LOVES it. He’s eating at least twice as much hay as before, if not more. When I’m done with the new mix, I’ll buy a different kind and see if it affects the aroma lol He’s still stinky off and on these days, so still not sure exactly what is causing it.

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