# Bathing rabbits??



## norcal (Jun 20, 2010)

What is the best way to give a rabbit a bath?


----------



## RabbitMage (Jun 20, 2010)

To not to.

Rabbits are very good at cleaning themselves, and don't need baths. If one gets into something you HAVE to get off, try a waterless shampoo or a wet washcloth and some pet-safe shampoo.


----------



## okiron (Jun 20, 2010)

Yeah, try wiping them off and if you really, really need to, just an inch of water. Never submerge a rabbit in water.


----------



## savingdogs (Jun 20, 2010)

They can break their backs fighting you if you freak them out. How about dampening a towel with a little waterless shampoo and gently stroking away the dirty matter or whatever you want to wash off?


----------



## Bossroo (Jun 21, 2010)

Trying to give a rabbit a bath will, more likely than not, result in your arms looking  like raw ground meat.


----------



## AllTheAnimals1315 (Jun 26, 2010)

I guss Cookie dough is special. He loves baths, looks the most happy then. But, then again, his back legs are.... not working quite right. It probably relives stress on them.he poops on himself, and most of it lands on his legs. So I use rabbit shampoo from the store. I fill the bath tub about 2 inches tall with warm water.
I don't recomend this for anyother rabbit though. Olivia would probably kill me if I tried to give her a bath.


----------



## The Chicken Lady (Jul 14, 2010)

We bathe our rabbit regularly.  She is used to it;  she has long fur and sometimes gets a bit of poo stuck on her behind, so she needs a soak in warm water to help us clean her up.  Her previous owners bathed her because of this problem, so she has grown up used to having baths;  I'm not sure I would try it with an adult rabbit who was never bathed.

What we do is put about 2" of lukewarm water in the bathtub with some very gentle kitten shampoo.  Then we put an old towel on the tub bottom and put our rabbit on the towel (to make for easier gripping since the tub is slippery).  We use another old rag to gently clean her.  We don't get her entire body wet;  just the parts that need cleaned.  She basically just sits there and lets us bathe her.

When she is done being bathed, we wrap her in a warm towel and gently dry her fur with a hair dryer (on a cool setting;  test the air from the dryer with your own skin first).  We make sure she is completely dry and warm before putting her back in her hutch.

To avoid having to bathe her too often, we've decided to have our vet shave her fur shorter where the poo was getting stuck.  This has helped out a lot with her hygiene.  The vet also trims her nails.


----------



## ChickenPotPie (Aug 18, 2010)

If the rabbit _really_ needs it, you spot clean and then dry completely (I'm talkin' bone dry to the skin) with a professional warn air dryer (like Metro) or high powered hair dryer set on "cool") before your put them back in their cage.  The whole process can take a few hours.

Or you can give them a dry bath (you'd be amazed at how much mess it can get out!) with plain ol' corn starch from the grocery store.  It's has no perfume, no talc, and it's edible so it won't hurt your rabbit.  For wet messes...liberally sprinkle the area with corn starch and work it into the fur.  Add more.  Work it in well until the corn starch is well integrated into the mess.  Comb it out.  The corn starch will help the wet mess slide off the hair shaft. If it doesn't, add more corn starch and work it in until it does.  Blow out the excess corn start with a professional warm air dryer (like Metro) or high powered hair dryer set on "cool". 

For dry messes, mist with plain water to moisten and then proceed as above.  Note: Do all the blowing outside for obvious reasons.  lol

For small, dry messes, use a short, closely tined comb like Lil'Pals shedding comb http://www.amazon.com/Lil-Pals-Shedding-Purple-Green/dp/B000O3EJNW  to comb it out.  Don't be alarmed if some of the fur comes along with it.  Be careful when combing around the genital areas.

If we're talking yellow feet, don't bother.  Really.  Clean your cage more often or switch to a grid bottom cage.  Your rabbit will not love getting it's feet wet just to make you feel better.  Just clean it's cage better.


----------



## shelly_tn (Feb 16, 2011)

ChickenPotPie  - so the corn starch really works???

I just bought two Giant Angoras - the Doe's wool/fur is 1-2 inches long and the Buck sprayed pee on her and it was just awful.  I tried a damp wash cloth and that just did not really seem to help.  she still had yellow stains on her fur.   I keep wondering how others with really furry bunnies like the Angoras clean the fur when things like that happen?

And I let them out of the cage to exercise on the tile floor and they pee like crazy and step in it , so they do have yellow paws too.  Will they eventually clean their yellow paws - because it just doesn't look right a white rabbit with pee paws and pee'd on fur.  Yikes!


----------



## MiniRexGirl (Feb 21, 2011)

I bath my rabbits in the sink. I get some warm water in there (normally just enough to cover their feet) and then use the sink sprayer with not a lot of pressure and wet them. Then I use our dog shampoo an d wash them. They don't mind it one bit, I think they like it. We have washed them often and I think the breeder did to. After their bath we towel dry them as best we can and then let put them down so that they can finish the job. Sometimes we will provide a little space heater if we need to speed up the process. But I also wouldn't recommend bathing an adult rabbit that is not used to it. Also I will probably not do it with any other Mini Rexes I get so that I don't mess up their fur. My girls aren't show-able so it isn't a problem with them.


----------



## ChickenPotPie (Feb 21, 2011)

Corn starch works great for cleaning messy wool.  I'm sure you'll use is a lot if you show.  lol

For stains?  Well, get as much of the dirty mess out as you can.  You might need to try something different to get the stains out.  I wash the feet, and sometimes - heads, of my Woolies to get stains out.  I use Absorbine horse mane and tail whitening shampoo.  But for Angoras whose wool is very important......?  Their wool is different so I'd be afraid getting their body wool wet would mess up their wool.

So, sorry, not sure what to recommend for stain removal for your breed.  :/


----------



## tortoise (Feb 21, 2011)

shelly_tn said:
			
		

> ChickenPotPie  - so the corn starch really works???
> 
> I just bought two Giant Angoras - the Doe's wool/fur is 1-2 inches long and the Buck sprayed pee on her and it was just awful.  I tried a damp wash cloth and that just did not really seem to help.  she still had yellow stains on her fur.   I keep wondering how others with really furry bunnies like the Angoras clean the fur when things like that happen?
> 
> And I let them out of the cage to exercise on the tile floor and they pee like crazy and step in it , so they do have yellow paws too.  Will they eventually clean their yellow paws - because it just doesn't look right a white rabbit with pee paws and pee'd on fur.  Yikes!


Angora wool is SOOOO easy to clean.  Wait 3 months and it fall out!


----------



## dbunni (Feb 21, 2011)

Just an FYI ... Giant Angoras are the non shedders as a general rule.  Unless they have been mixed with one of the other breeds to create a color.  They were created to be a non molting, cut style animal.  They do shed a little, but not like English or some French.  Trim the dirty off, and if in a private area, keep it short.


----------



## tortoise (Feb 21, 2011)

dbunni said:
			
		

> Just an FYI ... Giant Angoras are the non shedders as a general rule.  Unless they have been mixed with one of the other breeds to create a color.  They were created to be a non molting, cut style animal.  They do shed a little, but not like English or some French.  Trim the dirty off, and if in a private area, keep it short.


Thanks - did not know!  I don't have any interest in the other angora breeds,  I did know there was non-molting but I thought that was only German.  My aunt had German angoras - that is the only way I knew!


----------



## mkearsley (Jun 12, 2011)

I just got some young rabbits & their previous living conditions were horrid.  They reek of urine.  Is it best to let them clean themselves up or should I bathe them?  Today is Day 2 of Rabbit Ownership


----------



## hollandloplover (Jul 18, 2011)

don't give rabbits baths it washes off good oils on them! They are very good at cleaning themselfs.


----------



## crazyturkeydesigns (Jul 19, 2011)

I agree with what's been said here; rabbits are general very good at keeping themselves clean, especially if their living conditions are kept clean. 
Cornstarch works wonders and so does Clear Eyes for horses. My sister showed a charity meat pen last year with new zealands and the day of the show one of them got peed on and it stained. Luckily another showman had both the cs and clear eyes on hand and we spot cleaned.


----------

