Scent glands

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Spring

Spring

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, British Columbia, Canada
Well, I've read on a few sites that people clean out the rabbits scent glands because they get dirty with gunk. Is this true? I was shocked when I read it! Sometimes Pepsi has this weird rotten coffee smell to her (The reason I now hate the small of coffee brewing) when I'm around her. It's only occasionaly, and her poops are fine. I'm just wondering if it's her scent glands marking her territory? If I only go there for a few minutes to say hi I don't smell anything, but if I stay for 10+ minutes in her cage I'll sometimes start to smell that weird smell.

Thanks!
 
I find that they generally don't need to be regularly cleaned.

However,French Lopswin the award for "stinkiest breed". I think I'm going to have to give our girl a "butt bath" to get all the scent gland exude off.

Older or overweight rabbits may need more attention to the scent gland area if they are not cleaning themselves well.



Pam
 
I clean all my buns' scent glands once in a while with a cotton ball andsome baby oil. It's a pretty simple process.

When I got Misty (female), Cookie (male)was using his scent glands A LOT and was pretty stinky. He had a good amount of build up when we checked to clean him up.

Usually if the bun runs by me and I can smell them the first thing I do is clean the scent glands, but I don't do it too often.

______________
Nadia
 
Ok thanks! Does it have any health risk if there is a bit of build up? I think she does have a bit of build up, but I'm scared to clean them because she doesn't take stress too well.
 
Can you trance her? Once she's tranced, it's easy. I don't think there is any health risk.. or at least none that I have heard of.

___________
Nadia
 
Nope, ever since she was a baby she would freak out when I tried to. As soon as I have her standing up to flip her onto her back, she usually struggles and pees on me :?.
 
You flip them on their backs. I can do it pretty easily with my friends rabbit, but for Pebbles she struggles a bit, thenI have to calm her down and re-positino her before I can trance. For Pepsi, it's impossible, she gets too stressed.

Here's a picture of me craddling/trancing my friends bunny..




 
Neither of our girls will trance for us. And trying to flip them was a def no no. Our one girl doesn't handle that well. What I came across by accident one day while trimming their nails was this...My hubby holds the bunn upright against his chestwith their feet facing towards me,with one hand under their front legs and a hand under their bum. I stroke the bunnfrom theirnose up to their ears while crooning to them. It takes about 2 minutes or so but their breathing slows and their wee heads slowly fall back until they are resting on hubbys shoulder and the nail tirmming continues. Unless we shift them they will stay like that indefinately. But they def will not trance on their backs! If you can even get them there! Even our vet has a difficult time flipping them and they don't trance in the least! :? I think he might still have a bunny foot print from the last stomping he got!! :shock:
 
I just discovered a new, effective way to keep Toby calm while on his back. He doesn't really trance, and I didn't have any help last night, so I cradled him then placed him on my lap with his head sort of under my arm (head close to my body, feet facing out toward my knees).

I had to trim the fur around his bottom and I was able to hold him this way and use both my hands. It was great! I think he was calmer because my arm was covering his eyes. I'll be doing this from now on.


 
Laura wrote:
I just discovered a new, effective way to keep Toby calm while on his back. He doesn't really trance, and I didn't have any help last night, so I cradled him then placed him on my lap with his head sort of under my arm (head close to my body, feet facing out toward my knees).

I had to trim the fur around his bottom and I was able to hold him this way and use both my hands. It was great! I think he was calmer because my arm was covering his eyes. I'll be doing this from now on.
Click to expand...
S'more freaks when I try to hold her on her back, but we have to do it to clip and clean. In the burito she seems to feel more secure and I can pull the towel up close around her head. It keeps her in an a neat controlable "pack" so I can use both hands and not worry about keeping a hold on her. Great for butt trims!!
She still "huffs & squeaks" the whole time, but it's less stressful for both of us.

~Jim
 
Ok, so what does it look like when they need to be cleaned? I hadn't heard of this before, and last night I saw that one of my does has some brown, sorta wet matted looking fur around her little bottom. Could that be what this is?
 
The exude from the scent glands is rather thick and waxy. Generally not an issue in most breeds, but I've seen French Lops that can get rather yucky. Scent glands would not cause the area to be wet. You might be seeing urine.

Pam
 
I don't know... It's just right around the genitals, and a little bit on the tail. Her feet and hinquarters don't seem to be real stained or anything, so I don't think she has been laying in her poo corner or anything like that... I am going to flip her over and give her another exam tonight, I think.
 
After reading this post I went looking for our bunns scent glands! (yeah I know weird!) Anyway I found them!! Yay me! I had to gently move their private area to the side and it was a little slit on either side of the private area. I didn't know they might have to be cleaned! All our bunns except the littlest one needed to have theirs cleaned out! It looked like a brownish, waxy scab inside the slit and when we cleaned it out you could really smell it especially on our one male! But he always smells skunky!:?
 
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