So I recently got my boys each a pet rabbit and I have a question. I was holding one this morning and it had a nasty wet poop matted into its fur. How do you go about cleaning their fur for cases like this? I read you aren't really suppose to bathe rabbits.
The new bunnies. Its a new learning experience. Looking into getting them neutered so we can hopefully keep them bonded once they get older. Black and white one is Artemis and the dark brown one is Floofy.
by MissNikolite
16 Comments
Depending on how calm they are, you can either try to cut or comb it out, or give them a half bath. To do so, fill a bowl 3-4 inches deep with warm water, in a warm room. Sit the rabbit in the water for about 5 minutes, and then gently break up the poop. Rinse thoroughly, and then dry with a towel. Keep the rabbit in a warm dry room until its fully dry.
If this is a continuous issue, its probably a fault of diet. How old are your rabbits?
Please more bunnies
IMPORTANT! before even attempting to get any sort of water or wet cloth near them, use some cornstarch to soak up the poops. (avoid baby powder that has talc, plain corn starch is ideal). you can essentially dry the loose stool up with powder and it will crumble off. look up cecotropes and the difference between that and diarrhea. good luck with your new buns!
I have used wipes specific for bunnies/pets to pull it out of their fur and have trimmed fur by the butt to get it out if its that stuck. I’ve also used like clean baby wipes that are unscented and such for them as well
Others have covered using wet rags and avoiding an actual bath as it can lower their body temperature too much. Also… loose stool warrants a vet visit! That can get dangerous very fast.
Happened to both my boys when they were this age, the baby fur is insane! We opted to cut it out. I think we also tried dabbing one with a damp cloth but it didn’t do much, so the fur trim was better. Just be careful if it’s by their bottoms or any other sensitive/dangerous areas, and make sure to hold them safely!
Wet poop – find the cause why it happened? Too many pellets?
beautiful bunny slippers!!! 🥰
Cut out the fruit
I love your Medusa piercing! So cute!
I would suggest taking them to a rabbit specialized vet to get them properly sexed as rabbits sold in pet stores are often missexed and in case they’re not both boys, I don’t think you’d want a litter of baby bunnies! The wet poop might be caused by too much water in their diet or too much pellets honestly. Try giving them more hay (young rabbits eat alfalfa hay) and limiting veggies as others have said,!and see if that helps as it usually helps with our furkids!
Trim the area around the anus and genitals and keep it trimmed. Check the area daily. Sometimes, you may need to wash the area if it gets really nasty, just not the whole rabbit. I’ve done it without issues, but I then trim the area and keep it trimmed.
Notice if it doesn’t go away, and if it doesn’t, take them to the vet. Their poops are supposed to start getting solid, not staying soft.
Their so cute !!!
My doe got a bit incontinent (messy poops and she’d pee all over her feet) before she passed so I’d get the tap running at an agreeable temperature, scoop her up so she’s in a vaguely human sitting pose (spine vertical and back legs forward) and rinse off her bum/feet.
I’d then wrap her in her towel and cuddle her until she dried off.
To be fair she was more or less dying so she wasn’t too reactive to being handled.
Unscented baby wipes can help for basic cleaning, but you’ll likely need to dampen it to get it to soften enough to get it out.
If these are young and unneutered boys, you’ll need to separate soon, as they’ll likely fight as hormones kick in. Neuter both and wait 8 weeks before rebonding do all hormone can subside. Rabbit fights can be crazy dnd they can severely injure each other. They can live near or next to each other in the meantime.
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Soft poos are usually diet related and are often due to a sensitivity to a specific fruit or vegetable, or too many fruits and/or vegetables in their diet.
Bunnies can have, and can develop sensitivities to most anything at all as they age. Our Rosie could no longer have any fruits or vegetables of any kind in her elder years, and we also had to change her pellets to stop it. The only treat she could tolerate was plain oats (not the flavored kind with added sugar).
Too many pellets can also cause this. Bunnies really only need about an 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup or so per day, depending on weight.
I’d stop all fruits/veggies/treats and reduce pellets to 1/8 cup (or up to 1/4 for a larger breed) per day. Still give unlimited hay.
If it continues, I’d consider changing her pellets. If you do change pellets, do it gradually over a week or so, slowly adding a little more of the new kind into the mix.
If you get this under control, you can reintroduce treats in small amounts 1 at a time to see how she reacts. If one causes a soft poo, don’t give that anymore.
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You may already know some of this, but here’s a few quick first time bunny owner tips, in case you need it. 🙂
Hay is the most important aspect of their diet (80%) and they need unlimited access to it 24/7.
This not only allows them the fiber their gut continuously needs, but the constant chewing and breaking down of the hay also keeps their teeth healthy and in check, as their teeth grow constantly throughout their lives. 👍
Rabbits only need about 1/8 cup of pellets per day, or up to 1/4 cup for larger rabbits. Feeding more than this may make them overweight and may cause them to not be eating enough hay.
Oxbow, Sherwood Forest, and Science Selective are good quality pellets.
They are very fragile. Much more so than a cat or a dog.
They need space to play. A small cage and no playtime outside of it will make them miserable.
Be aware that most bunnies actually don’t like being picked up. They are a prey animal so to them, being picked up means something “bad” is happening so they instinctively fear this..
Obviously sometimes you still have to, but when you can, it’s better to lure them onto the couch or back to their pens or whatever (snacks or pellets help).
We feed ours dinner in their pen after playtime, so we just open up their area and they are usually excited to go back home.
Don’t take advice from pet stores. They are NOT knowledgeable on rabbits, and many things they sell are actually NOT suitable for them either, such as any “cage,” or treats/food containing seeds or corn.
A dog exercise pen (xpen) from Amazon is a much more suitable and cheaper housing option. (around $35, often cheaper)
Get him a regular size cat litter box and use Tractor Supply “Equine Pelleted Bedding” for litter ($6.50 for 40lbs). Dust from regular clay cat litter is bad for their respiratory systems and can cause blockage if they eat it. Put a layer of hay over the litter and a big pile of hay (or a hay rack or bag) in the far end of it so he has to be in it to eat it. They like to munch while they poo, so this will help him pick up his litterbox habits.
Find a rabbit savvy vet now so you know where to take him if you need to. Not all vets are rabbit savvy. Just because one is willing to see a rabbit, doesn’t necessarily make them knowledgeable on them. They are usually classified as “exotic” vets in the US.
If they ever stop eating and/or pooing, it is a rabbit emergency and they need to see a vet immediately, even in the middle of the night. They go downhill quickly and waiting to see how they are in the morning can often be too late. 😥
If they refuse their favorite treat and don’t want to get up, this is a bad sign.
We keep pain meds (meloxicam) on hand for emergencies. It can help in situations where your vet may be unavailable, and is helpful for GI stasis. It is definitely something worth discussing with your vet. Ordering a 10ml vial from Chewy ($14) is significantly cheaper than buying direct from your vet, and Chewy will reach out to your vet after ordering, making the authorization process very easy. Just be sure to discuss with your vet first and discuss the dose ranges that are acceptable for your bun’s weight. 👍
At some point you will need to get them spayed/neutered as this keeps behaviors such as litter box use, being territorial, and being able to bond them with a buddy, in check. This is also NECESSARY because unfixed rabbits have a very high cancer development rate. 🙁
Rabbit.org or HouseRabbit.org are the House Rabbit Society websites you can utilize for general bunny info including bunny safe foods, veggies, and treats.
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Edit to add:
Oh, and I should have noted this list is geared towards adult rabbits.
Give babies “young rabbit” pellets that are alfalfa based, but switch to an adult pellet at about 6 months. Babies can also have unlimited pellets up to about that time, since they are still growing, then gradually reduce at around 6 months.
You can also give babies alfalfa hay since they are growing, but it has way too much protein and calcium for adult rabbits, so switch to Timothy at about the six month mark, too, if you choose to give that.
The calcium content in both alfalfa and alfalfa based pellets together may make the pee leave a lot of white crusty stuff when it dries. It is the excess calcium. I personally stick with just the pellets if that gets excessive with the babies I’ve had. 🐰🐰👍
First do not trust anything the person who sold them to you said about genders. Please go to an exotics vet or rabbit specific rescue and have them look at the rabbits.
2nd if there is mushy poops and it continues there is a GI problem including being separated from mom too early
OR
theres been a change in diet that is upsetting the stomach. They can get alfalfa pellets and a mix of alfalfa and timothy hay. Their pellets should be plain. No colored bits in it. Stick with oxbow pellets. Go easy on the greens