tips on bathing

[charliesmom]

 Hey all, 

So my rabbit managed to get into something and his back legs are DIRTY!! He doesn’t seem to mind but I don’t want him all dirty, poor guy.

 

Any tips on how to bathe him when I’m the only person here and the last thing I want is for him to get out of my hands and hurt himself. 

Input from the seasoned rabbit bathers out there?

Thanks!

[kralspace]

My lola sometimes gets wads of cecals stuck to her butt and needs a bath.

We started out doing it in the bathtub, with her sitting on a thick towel in a couple of inches of warm water. I just used my fingers (ick) to work the clumps loose and a washcloth to kinda clean her up. The first few times she would try to leap over my shoulder so watch for that.

My knees are kinda bad so now I put a plastic dishtub in the kitchen sink with a small towel and put her in there. I still have to lean way over her and block her from trying to jump out, but she’s gotten pretty used to it and just glares at me and maybe get in a bite when I’m lifting her in and out.

Have a thick towel ready to wrap them in and help hold them (my rex is suprisingly slick when she’s wet)

and be prepared to grovel and beg forgiveness for a few days…..

[Beka27]

If it’s dry, can you try to brush the fur out first and let him clean himself up? Or is it wet and sticky?

[KatnipCrzy]

When I got my bunnies they usually had urine stained feet from being house in a cage filled with bedding (pet store style).  And as long as the fur is dry- you can really only wait for it to grow out.  Now instead of yellow, urine stained feet my bunnies tend to have green, hay stained feet.  But I don’t mind as it looks much better and is much healthier.

So it depends on what caused the mess in the fur as to how you should proceed.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I would not actually bathe him unless it was absolutely necessary. Like a butt bath. I would get a warm wash cloth and try to get it off that way. That is what I do. If you use soap (I wouldn’t unless you have to) make sure you get it all off of his fur so that he doesn’t ingest any of it when he grooms himself. I would use the wash cloth with just warm water and towel dry it when your done. If that doesn’t get the stain out, like Katnip said, wait for it to grow out. Bunnies don’t usually like baths and it can be very stressful on a bunny.

[Beka27]

Katnip made a good point about fur being stained. It’ll usually take a few months for all the stained fur to grow out, but it’s really not going to hurt the bunny. Max had very dirty brown feet from playing outside when we got him. Now his feet are either pure white or sometimes green from hay.

[RabbitPam]

You can also give a dry bath, by sprinkling corn starch on the dirty areas, then brushing or combing it out.

If you give a bath with water, try doing just a half bath or a wash with a wet washcloth without bathing the area at all first, just to see if you can get it off. Otherwise, I find setting the back half of the bunny, supporting their chest while the bottom half is lowered into about an inch of water, will be better than any submersion. You cannot get the head and ears wet at all. And feet can be cleaned pretty easily in a sink or tub with little water. A mild soap like baby unscented natural soap, or even just a damp cloth, should wash it out. The bunny will try to wash it all after you’ve done, even if you are able to dry the area, so he will finish the job.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Rabbit Pam: What do you mean by you can’t get the head and Ears wet at all? I wet my rabbits ears all of the time to cool them off when it’s hot. I got that tip from this site. It is on “Beat the Heat”.

[Beka27]

I am also wondering what you mean by that Pam? I know during bonding sessions, it’s recommended you spray a rabbit in the face to stop a fight from breaking out…

[ILoveLucy]

Funny I should see this post! Similar thing happened to me on Monday.
I was taking Lucy to the vet, and I don’t know if she was scared..or if the car ride home was too long or what…but she peed in her carrier. When we got her home her whole underside and all four legs were SOAKED in pee.
I just filled my bathtub with about two inches of water and placed her in it.
She actually didn’t seem to mind it! I’ve heard that bunnies usually hate baths/water but she actually just seemed pretty amused and curious about it (she’s a very brave lady!)
She wadded around a little and explored, and then we picked her up in a towel and gave her a quick little rub to dry off.

Any one have a bunny that likes to play in water?
I’m by no means an expert on rabbit language, but she really seemed comfortable…ears up…exploring…smelling around…

I was particulary surprised because she had just come from the vet (getting her blood work done for the upcoming spay) and so I felt awful subjecting her to two scary experience right in a row, but she really actually seemed in better spirits AFTER the bath.

[Andi]

My Dog hates a bath but LOVES after a bath LOL…
I had a bunny I had to bum bath pretty much everyday, she didn’t mind. I thik I am an expert bum bather now as I get sent home with shelter bunnies who need their rears cleaned up. (Lucky me lol)
I actually do it a few different ways, 1) a smaller bucket with warm soapy water and place the behind in, or which i perfer, 2) i cradle them in one arm on theri back, and run the warm tap water over the area, while cleaning with my fingers. The second way they don’t usually fuss and then their feet stay dry as well as other areas that didn’t need a cleaning.
if you are going to use soap, remember to rinse it all off, and to use a very delicate soap intended for bunnies (or baby animals).

[RabbitPam]

Sorry guys, I probably should have said submerge your bunny, as in pouring water on their heads and ears. Spraying water on their faces is a spray, not a soaking. And as for cooling their ears, I have used washclothes that were soaked in very cold water, wring them out thoroughly so they are still cold and damp but not watery, and then wrap the ears in the turban.

I just was always told not to wash the bunny’s head completely if you can avoid it. As in running water or dunking. I’m sure it’s OK to take a damp washcloth and run it over bunny’s face, but only if you have to help in the cleaning. That’s what I meant. Once their paws are clean, they do a good job in washing their own faces and ears.

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