How do I get pee off my bunny?

[lilsw]

Hey!
This is my first post here, hope this is the right discussion

So one of my bunnies, Luise, has been peeing on the other, Charlie, a lot. Like, all over her. She sometimes jumps over Charlie and leaves a trail of pee on her coat. It's disgusting and cleaning it up with a washcloth hasn't worked so far. I think that by trying to clean it off herself she has spread it even more and deeper into the fur.
The pee problem will pretty much be solved soon, because we'll have to give poor Luise away. For other reasons, not just the peeing, of course, but Charlie is still very smelly and her (normally very white) fur is pee-colored and damp in several spots. Aside from the smell I'm also concerned about her health, maybe licking up the other bunny's pee while bathing herself or her wet-ish coat is bad for her. She's very old and weak, so I'm just kind of worried about all that.
So I was thinking about giving her a bath. I know it's bad for bunnies, but I've had to watch her being peed upon for weeks now and she doesn't seem to be able to get it off herself. She doesn't get stressed easily and likes water (she loves sitting in the rain, I always feel bad for making her go inside then) so maybe it won't traumatize her eternally?
Of course I'd do everything I can to make it as quick and harmless as possible.
If a bath is not the way to go, are there other things I can try? If it is, do I need any products? Is there any way to make it easier for her?

Thank you for your time and answers!
Lilly

 

[Bonnie96]

Hi Lilly

From what I've read online I would strongly reccomend not bathing a rabbit they can go into shock from being submerged in water and that can be fatal.

With my rabbits what I've done previously is mix a little bit of baby shampoo in a bowl of warm water and use cotton wool pads soaked in this and then rung out (so they've damp not dripping wet) and dabbed at my rabbits fur. It may take a few times of doing this to help if the furs really soiled. I also have some special rabbit wipes I've used on mine before. Hope this helps x

 

[Clover the Bunny]

Another solution would be to ask a veterinarian or animal doctor who specializes in rabbit care.
Hope that helps because giving up a rabbit is a sad solution, especially since most end up in shelters anyway. You could also look online using a google search to see if anybody else knows what to do.

 

[Catlyn]

I also have a similar problem. My bun is single, so nobody pees on him, but his butt is always scraggily messy with his own urine since he likes to lay on the grids right after he's done in the toilet. It seems that for some reason, he's not keeping himself clean from there, although i have seen him reaching into that area many times(mainly eating his cecos) and that makes me question: Is the problem in his laziness, long-ish fur in and near bum/private areas or is he just generally messy?
And he HAS to have white fur almost everywhere that's not visible unless he flops or stands up, like all his neck, chest, belly, bum and balls.... Any idea how i could clean him without butt baths or baby powder?

 

[lilsw]

Hey!
Yeah, I heard that too. Though I've also read about buns who seem to be absolutely loving baths, but that's probably rare...or they're just so deeply shocked by it, who knows.
I'll definitly be trying out your method, thank you so much!

 

[lilsw]

Another solution would be to ask a veterinarian or animal doctor who specializes in rabbit care.
Hope that helps because giving up a rabbit is a sad solution, especially since most end up in shelters anyway. You could also look online using a google search to see if anybody else knows what to do.

Hey!
Yes, I know. But as I said there are more reasons. For one she's not really welcome in my bunny group, I don't know why. She's pretty much completely isolated from the other buns, they just don't seem to like her and constantly bite her off, try and keep her from the food and are generally mean to her. I've given them almost four months now. At this point I think keeping her would be abuse. She's stressed out constantly, seems to never be able to sleep and it's impossible she gets all the food she needs. I think the peeing is due to the stress of being bullied by the others, but I've told the new owner to keep an eye on it. She's not going to a shelter, but to a person I know very well who'll hopefully be giving her the happy life she deserves!
Thank you for caring, though

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm a little confused as to why the rabbit that is peeing on the other is being allowed to continue to do so? Why aren't they separated so that Charlie doesn't get peed on?

Keep them separate and then he can finally clean himself (and new fur will emerge with the next shed).

 

[Blue eyes]

I also have a similar problem. My bun is single, so nobody pees on him, but his butt is always scraggily messy with his own urine since he likes to lay on the grids right after he's done in the toilet. It seems that for some reason, he's not keeping himself clean from there, although i have seen him reaching into that area many times(mainly eating his cecos) and that makes me question: Is the problem in his laziness, long-ish fur in and near bum/private areas or is he just generally messy?
And he HAS to have white fur almost everywhere that's not visible unless he flops or stands up, like all his neck, chest, belly, bum and balls.... Any idea how i could clean him without butt baths or baby powder?

If the grids aren't allowing the pee to seep down below, then they aren't serving their purpose. Either they aren't the right grids or something else is amiss. My rabbits have all lain directly in their litter box (no grids) and don't get messy. Sounds like you may just need to alter how the litter area is set up.

 

[Catlyn]

No, i am certain that the grids are large enough to allow all pees and poops through. He somehow just has a messy bum issue, and he despises when anyone tries to flip him on his side to check for signs that are amiss. He oddly has very much long hairs in his hidden parts, and he's unneutered(parents don't think messy bum is an issue, nor that neutering can halt hormones, or that our vet is experienced enough) and he's been having spraying issues recently, so he stinks of male. I haven't found his scent glands anywhere to clean them either. He sometimes even misplaces his poops, although he poos in the right place like 90% of the time.
I will try and see if i can grab a pic of his bum.

 

[Catlyn]

His fur is normally white-white, but his bum is mostly yellowish-white, altjough the biggest clusters have molted away in big chunks.

 

[Catlyn]

He has been active all day, not staying still on my bed at all, trying to dig into it. He's also been grunting, which he normally doesn't do. Are they signs of sexual activity?

 

[Blue eyes]

He has been active all day, not staying still on my bed at all, trying to dig into it. He's also been grunting, which he normally doesn't do. Are they signs of sexual activity?

Excessive digging, chewing, grunting, lunging, spraying urine, strong urine odor... these are all some of the potential signs of hormones.

 

[Catlyn]

Aah, he's so annoying right now, scraping his cage, grunting, hopping around left and right, tossing around hay, clittering at the watter nozzle and clanging his food cup around.... He won't lef me sleep at all! Yesterday i tried removinf everything except hay and ge was STILL unbearable, clattering and colliding with absolutely everyhhing... And it's 4 30 am right now... urgh.
What should i do to stop him from being rowdy?

How sjould i clear his bum issue?

 

[Catlyn]

Any idea? My parents are still skeptical of a neuter and he hasn't been made privvy to butt baths-even when i held him to get the bum pics, he nearly bit me twice...

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Don't use baby shampoo. Rabbit's ph of their skin is extremely different from humans and even dogs and cats. I have had some luck using hydrogen peroxide with fresh stains. Just make sure you dry it all off so they aren't ingesting much when they bathe themselves. The neuter will DEFINITELY help with the spraying/grunting/digging/ and litterbox habits. And the being loud at 4:30 is just something you will have to live with because rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk. Maybe put some soft blankets in the bottom so it muffles the sound but some rabbits like to pee on soft things so you will have to see.

 

[Catlyn]

Yeah, he will pee and dig and chew soft blankets that i have tried wrappong around his flooring. He has also made a big puddle on our couch, which we cleaned off quickly, sister's bed, which was luckily covered w a raincoat, and today, my blanket. I saw he started to squat and i lifted him off asal but he still soiled MY bedding...
We live in the middle of nowhere so we don't have baby shampoo or powder, we do have hydrogen peroxide but the stains are just stuck to his fur and i feel sorry wasting 20€ on hair clippers when i know he won't stay still long enough for me to trim it. And he WILL, despite that, get it soiled again.

Would neutering be the only way to suppress these behaviours?

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Yes, neutering will definitely suppress these behaviors. I have only heard of 2 times out of all the many many other stories that it didn't stop, but these were with older rabbits (3+ years) that had already had these behaviors instilled in them.

 

[Catlyn]

Okay, now i just need to find a way to convince my parents to have my bun an appointment for a neuter, but i believe we need to find another vet. That vet has worked with rabbits, but none so big as mine, so i'm not sure if i can trust that vet just yet.

How would i convince them though?
They don't understand the language, so i can't just show them the posts, and mom doesn't believe that neuter helps at all.....

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Does this work? I used google translate so I'm not sure if it translated correctly and in the right language.
Augustus- Karvakell aitab lõplikult kaitsta pritsimis- / hakkimis- / kaevamis- ja prügikastiharjumusi.
Catlyn- Kas neutraliseerimine oleks ainus viis sellist käitumist maha suruda?
Augustus- Jah, neutraliseerimine pärsib seda käitumist kindlasti. Olen paljudest paljudest teistest lugudest vaid 2 korda kuulnud, et see ei peatunud, kuid need olid vanemate küülikutega (3+ aastat), kellele selline käitumine oli neile juba sisendatud.Küülikutele säästva loomaarsti leidmine on samuti oluline, kuna küülikud on nii habras olend ja isegi väike valeannustamine võib saatuslikuks saada, seetõttu pole tavalised koera- ja kassi loomaarstid nende vastuvõtmiseks kõige parem. Eksootilised loomaarstid on parim, kui nad sinna suunata saavad, kuna nad saavad erialast koolitust kolledžis

 

[Catlyn]

That is actually pretty accurate. To the point that they will surely come to understand it. Thanks a lot!