Cleaning off fur!

[Jeff]

So, I got my Peanut a girl bunny (havent named her yet!) to play with, since I didnt want him to feel lonely whenever I'm gone. The new bunny is a female Holland Lop, and is white with gray patches on the tail, nose and ears. When I pick her up to rub her tummy, I notice that the bottom of her feet are clearly dirty, and the fur there isnt white. Is there a way to safely return that fur to the pretty white like the rest of her fur?

Now that Peanut has a girlfriend, I'm gonna have to fix him when hes older. I'm gonna feel so bad .

 

[Spring]

Pebbles came with a yellowish colour to her feet, and once she was in a clean cage for a few weeks, it started to fade. Now it's a light gray colour. Probably she was sitting in damp litter before, so it made her feet a bitmessy. She'll clean it up in a few weeks in a clean cage .

I would keep the both seperated just incase until he's nuetered, then even after you have to wait up to 6weeks after the neuter. Males can impregnat a female up to over a month after the netuer. Just for future referance . Don't feel bad at all, neutered males are actually happier after being fixed, because they don't have the nagging hormones or the urge to breed.

Hmm.. I'm not sure about a name for the holland. Tell us when you do name her though!

 

[naturestee]

Spring gave some great advice. I recommend keeping them separate too, because rabbits can hit puberty and start having babies as early as 3 months of age.

And don't feel bad about neutering him! My neutered boy loves his life. He's able to have a girlfriend, and he does love dances around her. He just can't remember what comesafter the dance.

I'd recommend spaying the girl whenshe's older too. It's more than preventing pregnancy, it's preventinghealth problems like uterine cancer (very common) andterritorial behavior that may make her difficult to bond to yourboy.

 

[Jeff]

Mmm I hear the the fixing procedure for females are much more dangerous than males. Since they have to open her up, rather than just making a cut like for males. Would you say it is safe enough though? I really dont want to take any risks if I bring her in to fix.

 

[Spring]

If the vet you go to is confident with doing female spays, then there shouldn't be a problem. Spays, even if they seem more complexthen males are actually very safe. There's chances in everything, but you have a 85% chance overall of her getting fatal uterine cancer, then the less then 1% of complications during a spay. Here's a good website to explain uterine cancer, they are extremely high risk. Also, spay questions, info, ect.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/1155/UC.html

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I just had my doe spayed and I can ensure you that it's safe as long as you have an experienced rabbit vet. You can always ask for a blood test to find out any potential problems that could cause the gas they use to put them under to be dangerous. A rare few rabbits don't make it but it's worth it, trust me.

 

[AshtonCasey]

Putting new bunny in a shallow tub of warm water won't make her particularly pleased with you, but won't hurt her either. I had to put Casey and Daphne in a bath a few times not too long ago. Eventually the color will turn back, but that might help speed up the process. Also, I had Daphne spayed and, she turned out fine.

 

[NZminilops]

Are you sure they aren't supposed to be a 'dirty' colour like my old Rabbit Ben?

 

[Jeff]

The gray areas are exactly like your Bens, but the bottom of her feet are definetely not the same grey. It is definetely a dirtyish color. Thanks for reassuring about the fixing stuff everyone.

 

[Nadezhda]

My bunny Fred, who was just neutered Thursday, is learning to use his litter tray, but he still sometimes poops'n pee's in other corners. Because of that, His cage is covered in layers of newspaper The black ink from the newspaper turns the bottoms of his feet black. Perhaps your girl bunny was kept in a cage with newspaper?

Zorro, my other bun, was in a newspapered cage too until I got him an NIC cage. It only took a week or two for his feet to turn back to their natural white!

 

[Jeff]

actually yea, I am using newspapers right now since I was told pine shavings coul lead to respiratory problems. What could I use once they are properly litter trained?

 

[AshtonCasey]

They have many types of paper based litter at the pet store. These don't have ink on them so won't discolor bunny's feet.