Theodore's first dry butt bath

[AmberNBuns]

Hello RO!

I've been away for quite a while, but Theodore is still with me, lively as ever!

I gave him his first dry butt bath today. I have had him for a long time, and have occasionally had to give him a little soak in the sink to clean his tail.

But it seems lately that his behind is always a little wet. I was about to give him a wash again when it occurred to me to get on the net to see if perhaps something might be wrong. That is where I came across some info about rabbit urinary problems, and the suggestion to use cornstarch baby powder to clean him up.

So firstly, I am writing to report that it worked surprisingly well. I actually used a "small animal dry shampoo" but it appears that it is just a raspberry-scented cornstarch product.

I don't know if his skin was scalded or not - it wasn't bright red or anything - but as far as I can tell, he seemed soothed by it. The directions said to brush it all out of the fur. But since I was cleaning his behind, a brush couldn't quite get in there. Luckily I found a dog toothbrush lying around and that did the job a little better. His fur was a bit gnarly so I could only brush so much out. But I gave him a quick trim and sent him on his way. No more stinky bunny

I just wanted to share that with y'all, since in all the years I have had rabbits, I never tried it until now. I was always doubtful, but came away quite pleased.

But thinking further about this, I have to ask - is urine-soaked fur a definite sign of a health problem? I have read that arthritis can cause pain that would keep him from posturing properly, but I have seen him go and he appears to lift his rear and tail just as well as ever. So I don't think that is it.

I wonder if the bedding in his cage is too deep. Do you think that, all health factors being normal, litter that is too deep and fluffy might cause a wet tail?

I appreciate any thoughts you might share on this.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Is Theodore going in his litterbox? In an elderbun, arthritis can definately be a problem with being able to hop into the litterbox. Sparky's litterbox habits digressed when she got arthritic. A vet can usually feel the joint and feel a thickness to it, which would be confirmed by an x-ray. I saw Sparky's x-ray, and even to an untrained eye I could spot the arthritic joint. A daily dose of metacam does the trick for this.

Other than that I'm not sure. I hope others can chime is with some answers.

 

[AmberNBuns]

I am confident that it is not a problem with arthritis. For what it's worth, here is a picture of his home:

I open the pen door and let him run the living room during the day and he has no problem jumping the threshold into his pen. He also has a cinder block that he jumps up onto, so I think his agility is normal.

But since the picture I have added a plastic barrier around the bottom to keep the bedding from getting kicked out, and now I do tend to fill it a bit deeper.

He doesn't have a litter box. He just goes in one spot in his pen near his feeder.

I like to have more bedding because it absorbs the smell better, and unfortunately, the best place for this pen was right next to our dining room table. I have to keep it clean or we will be eating in the living room. lol

 

[maxysmummy]

AmberNBuns wrote:

I am confident that it is not a problem with arthritis. For what it's worth, here is a picture of his home:

I open the pen door and let him run the living room during the day and he has no problem jumping the threshold into his pen. He also has a cinder block that he jumps up onto, so I think his agility is normal.

But since the picture I have added a plastic barrier around the bottom to keep the bedding from getting kicked out, and now I do tend to fill it a bit deeper.

He doesn't have a litter box. He just goes in one spot in his pen near his feeder.

I like to have more bedding because it absorbs the smell better, and unfortunately, the best place for this pen was right next to our dining room table. I have to keep it clean or we will be eating in the living room. lol

personally i would change around the way you have his cage. bedding isn't neccessary. get a highly absorbant non clumping litter and put it in the place where he pees and just have plastic flooring on the bottom. it will make it far less stress on you and more than likely stop the wet butt from happening. we had no litter in jemimas litter box because she would dig it out and she always had a wet butt because the urine wasnt being drawn away quickly enough. luckily it's all cleared up now by using a good quality litter.

 

[AmberNBuns]

That is a good suggestion. I would like to try that, but I have heard that clumping litter is hazardous to rabbits if they ingest it. Are some safe and some not?

What brand of litter do you use?

 

[rpuckett]

Don't use clumping, those can cause problems if ingested. I like paper litters, personally. Yesterday's News is great I hear, but it is a bit pricey around here, so I go with the offbrand paper litter. Though you can also use wood shavings (Not cedar, though I think pine is okay, but have someone else verify that, I can't remember what woods are acceptable). Some people even shred their newspapers and use that for litter, though newspaper can stain white feet.

But stay away from cat litters or cedar definitely. Overall, I had a pretty easy time litter training my rabbit, and you should too, if your rabbit is already only pottying mostly in one area.

 

[AmberNBuns]

Thanks for that. I thought clumping litter was bad. I never use cedar, and although I have heard mixed opinions on pine, I have used it for a long time and it seems to have caused no issues. For reference's sake, aspen is the preferred wood product for rabbits. Costs twice as much though.

In the past with other rabbits I have used yesterdays mews and I did like it - except for the fact that it goes from masking the odor to really smelling like ammonia very suddenly. Like I said before, being that the pen is in the dining room, I do tend to keep up on it pretty well. But there are occasions where we get busy and I have to let it go a couple days. The pine works very well at keeping the ammonia smell away.

The thing with his potty habits is this - he goes MOSTLY in one spot, but a little bit everywhere. I waited until he was very mature to neuter him, and I think because of that some territorial habits might have set in.

Also, there have been pets in this house in the past, and I just know that one corner in the living room has been the potty spot for something. When I let him roam, he does still want to go in that spot. We are working on it though.

I am considering starting from scratch on litter training him and maybe using clicker training in conjunction. While I have him restricted to the smaller area I plan on dousing the living room carpet with enzyme cleaners. Then maybe I can start to expand his range again. A rabbit is never too old to learn, right?

I just hope it doesn't take too long because I hate the idea of him not getting as much exercise as he is used to.

 

[maxysmummy]

AmberNBuns wrote:

Thanks for that. I thought clumping litter was bad. I never use cedar, and although I have heard mixed opinions on pine, I have used it for a long time and it seems to have caused no issues. For reference's sake, aspen is the preferred wood product for rabbits. Costs twice as much though.

In the past with other rabbits I have used yesterdays mews and I did like it - except for the fact that it goes from masking the odor to really smelling like ammonia very suddenly. Like I said before, being that the pen is in the dining room, I do tend to keep up on it pretty well. But there are occasions where we get busy and I have to let it go a couple days. The pine works very well at keeping the ammonia smell away.

The thing with his potty habits is this - he goes MOSTLY in one spot, but a little bit everywhere. I waited until he was very mature to neuter him, and I think because of that some territorial habits might have set in.

Also, there have been pets in this house in the past, and I just know that one corner in the living room has been the potty spot for something. When I let him roam, he does still want to go in that spot. We are working on it though.

I am considering starting from scratch on litter training him and maybe using clicker training in conjunction. While I have him restricted to the smaller area I plan on dousing the living room carpet with enzyme cleaners. Then maybe I can start to expand his range again. A rabbit is never too old to learn, right?

I just hope it doesn't take too long because I hate the idea of him not getting as much exercise as he is used to.

if you re-read my post i actually said "non clumping" lol. we use an aussie brand of "yesterdays news" which is just recycled paper made into little pellets.

also i'd seriously reccomend litter training. probably the reason he goes "mainly" in one spot and has little whoopsies, is because the bedding is everywhere... so he gets confused. if you keep litter in one separate area and not all over the place he will probably learn quicker that that's his potty place

 

[AmberNBuns]

maxysmummy wrote:

if you re-read my post i actually said "non clumping" lol. we use an aussie brand of "yesterdays news" which is just recycled paper made into little pellets.

Oh geez. I owe you an apology. I can be a doofus sometimes

lol we recently switched from day shift to graveyard, so my eyes have been a little glazed lately. But I am not making excuses because I probably would have made that mistake regardless

 

[maxysmummy]

AmberNBuns wrote:

maxysmummy wrote:

if you re-read my post i actually said "non clumping" lol. we use an aussie brand of "yesterdays news" which is just recycled paper made into little pellets.

Oh geez. I owe you an apology. I can be a doofus sometimes

lol we recently switched from day shift to graveyard, so my eyes have been a little glazed lately. But I am not making excuses because I probably would have made that mistake regardless

hahaha it's fine im guilty of such many a time over. i probably hsould have used a hyphen... lol

 

[Anaira]

Oooh, the dry bath sounds good. I also use baby wipes for my boy, since he hates the water so much. Much easier.

 

[AmberNBuns]

Baby wipes... Why haven't I ever thought of that? Brilliant! Thank you! :biggrin:

 

[maxysmummy]

but baths are hell on earth.

jemima goes crazy and kicks and flips everywhere, then she looks like a freakin drowned rat when we bring her out.

so scary i always worry she will break her back

 

[AmberNBuns]

maxysmummy wrote:

..then she looks like a freakin drowned rat when we bring her out...

I thought for sure I had a picture of wet Theodore, but I can't find it now. Here is a good one though:

Theodore has done the same thing. The first time I put him in the sink, he took a flying leap of faith and sprung off my shoulder right into the wall. If he were a cartoon he would have splatted and slid down to the floor.

Amazingly he didn't get hurt.

 

[maxysmummy]

AmberNBuns wrote:

maxysmummy wrote:

..then she looks like a freakin drowned rat when we bring her out...

I thought for sure I had a picture of wet Theodore, but I can't find it now. Here is a good one though:

Theodore has done the same thing. The first time I put him in the sink, he took a flying leap of faith and sprung off my shoulder right into the wall. If he were a cartoon he would have splatted and slid down to the floor.

Amazingly he didn't get hurt.

hahahaha that picture is so good. wet rabbits are freaky

 

[Anaira]

Haha Amber, that reminds me of the time I was bathing a rabbit, and he leapt right out of the sink, onto my shoulders! I walked out to my brother, and asked him to get the camera, because he was sitting on my neck, with his paws on my head, with his indignant little face staring over my head! Dallas just cracked up.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find the camera.


and as a dedicated rat lover, it is my duty to point out that rats are cute, wet or otherwise!lol

 

[AmberNBuns]

We went to the vet today. I posted about it in the bunny blog section, but also wanted to update this topic.

To spare the redundancy, I will just link to that post instead.