bunny bath

[Yohan Yohan]

How can we bathe our bunnies without traumatizing them? Were scared that
if we try to bathe our bunnies they might get scared of us to the fact
that they might not trust us being so close or around them. need info
and techniques on how you get your bunnies started bathing.

[JLands9104]

Well, Barett needed a bath, I wrapped him in a towel. Filled the sink with
warm water and a couple of drops of Dr. Bronner's Lavendar soap and kind of
plopped him in... he did the washing and rinsing with all the action that took
place! He was upset, but after it was over I gave him a clover flower and he
forgave me.

[Arlette]

Why do you want to bath your bunnies? Unless they have poopy butt or have
something dirty on them, rabbits don't really need baths. They are quite
clean on their own. I have never bathed mine and they always smell quite
nice. If yours do need to be bathed for some reason, I will leave it to
those who have done it to answer you.

--
God Bless, Arlette, Cocoa Conejo & Brownie

[Rhonda Mattax]

Arlette wrote:
>
> Why do you want to bath your bunnies? Unless they have poopy butt or have
> something dirty on them, rabbits don't really need baths. They are quite
> clean on their own.

I agree with Arlette. Bunnies are like cats -- self-cleaning. You should
only bathe them in unusual circumstances, like if they jump into a vat
of carrot juice.

We gave Buns a bath once, a flea shampoo. We regretted it the next day.
He did not like being wet and even though we tried to dry him, he licked
himself dry all night long.He stopped eating by the next day. He
ingested too much hair. After a panicked trip to the vet, he finally
started eating and we started breathing again.

If your rabbit is dirty, I'd just try to wash off just the dirty area.
--
-Rhonda
(remove "nospam" when replying)

[Arlette]

Oh, reading your post again, I should add that if you do have to bath your
bunny, make sure to dry them well. Rabbit fur is very fine and takes a long
time to dry, so a bunny can catch a bad cold because they are prone to
drafts. A blow dryer is good if your bunny would let you use it. Also, I
think someone on here said to use a mild cat shampoo.

[D. Stussy]

On Fri, 23 Jul 1999, Arlette wrote:
> Oh, reading your post again, I should add that if you do have to bath your
> bunny, make sure to dry them well. Rabbit fur is very fine and takes a long
> time to dry, so a bunny can catch a bad cold because they are prone to
> drafts. A blow dryer is good if your bunny would let you use it. Also, I
> think someone on here said to use a mild cat shampoo.

Just as a note on blow-drying: My rabbits have put up with it, but only seem
to tolerate it on the LOW setting. "High" appears to be awfully hot anyway and
the fan makes too much noise.

[Sheila Inkster]

If in fact you do need to bathe your bunny, here's how I do it. My Howie
gets "peepy butt" sometimes, so I wash her hind end from time to time.

I just get a light stream of warm water going in the tub and place her
bottom end under it. I just let the warm water run over the parts that need
cleaning. I add a tiny drop of something really gentle like baby shampoo or
dish soap, and lather her up. Then I rinse. I dry her with a blowdryer on
the cool setting. She doesn't like it, but I give her a raisin afterwards
and she seems to forgive me.

Kaiser, on the other hand, gives me the silent treatment when I have to
groom him in any way. I offer him a treat, and he refuses to take it.

-sheila

[AMD & AOS Unknown]

If you absolutely need to bathe your bunnies, you should use a shampoo
specifically made for rabbits. Oher shampoos can irritate a rabbit's
delicate skin. You can find rabbit shampoo in most pet stores. A common
one that is used is called "Four Paws Bunny Bath". It is delicate to
their skin and is also tearless. I never bathe my bunnies unless it is
necessary. Rabbits by nature are extraordinarily clean animals,
grooming themselves two or three times more often than a cat does. Do
make sure that if you do bathe your bunny that you dry it off
completely. As others have mentioned, rabbits are very susceptible to
catching colds when they are wet. Furthermore, while you are bathing
your bun, be careful to avoid getting water or shampoo in the eyes and
ears so that an infection does not occur. Your rabbit will not enjoy
it's bath, but it will not turn on you because you gave it a bath. Your
bunny will be fine when the ordeal is over, just try to do it very
quickly so that the rabbit does not become overly stressed. Good luck!

AnnMarie, Andrew, Fritzie & Darwin