From: njl@drutx.ATT.COM (LaRocheNJ)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: bunny shampoo
Summary: asdf
Date: 22 Aug 92 22:22:45 GMT
Organization: AT&T, Denver, CO

In article <BtAw0y.AAD@world.std.com>, marty@world.std.com (Marty M HaleEvans) writes:
> This brings up a question over which I was musing recently:
> 
> How does one most safely and effectively bathe a bunny?

One doesn't!  (Except when it has become covered with diahrrea-caused
feces.)  If possible, bunnies should never become wet.

Properly cared for, rabbits are very clean animals and don't need baths.
If your rabbit smells, it is either because her litter box is filthy and
the odor is clinging to her or because her/his genital "pockets" need
cleaning.

> My bun doesn't even really like to be picked up...

Almost no bunny likes being picked up, but if you put one hand on the
scruff of the neck and the other under the rump (not the feet, but the rump
so the hind feet hang free), it is easy to pick them up and they can't kick
very well or wiggle away.  Sit down, put it on your lap, and hold it
firmly against your body--the firmer it is held, the more secure it
feels, and the less it will struggle. 

Speak soothingly until it calms down.  With the right hand slipped under
the forequarters and grasping the rib cage, move the rabbit's head away
from you and slip the left hand under the rump.  Then lift the forequarters
and roll the rabbit onto its back into the crook of your left arm--like you
would hold a baby there.  Let your right arm slip to the outside of the
rabbit's hind legs, so they are held between your body and arm BUT
WEAR SOMETHING TO PROTECT YOURSELF (ARM AND BODY) FROM THE DAMAGE THOSE
HIND LEGS CAN INFLICT IF THE BUNNY MANAGES TO KICK YOU!!   Replace the
right hand with the left, and use the right hand to stroke the bunny's nose
and gently tilt the head further back.  Gradually the rabbit should relax
and you can do almost anything with it if you do it gently and keep the bun
feeling secure against you.  I usually put my left arm on the outside of
the bunny's head, leaving both hands free to work--cutting the nails of the
back feet, cleaning the genital folds, etc.

The folds will be found on both males and females on either side of the
genitals, usually hidden by hair.  Gently open them.  A small bump,
usually with a black dot in the middle, will be seen at the edge of the
pocket.  These are the scent glands and they fill the pockets with a most
odiferous secretion that other bunnies find most attractive.

You may find a lot of gunk that stinks badly or just a small bit.  The
gunk may have hardened into a lozenge that is stuck to the tissue-paper
thin skin, in which case, you must VERY SLOWLY and GENTLY ease it loose.
(Soaking actually seems to make matters worse.  You can almost always
ease it loose if you go slowly and watch what is happening to the skin.)
I wipe the fold with baby wipes and, when clean, put a dab of hand lotion
in each.

> even to brush him (we've never been able to brush his tummy).

Bunnies' tummies, like their feet, are often ticklish!

> it will be difficult to get him to sit still for a shampoo. I'd like to...
> because he's recently gotten a little stinky/musky.

Lift him into your lap as described above, only don't turn him on his back.
Be firm and keep him feeling secure.  Hold him against your lap and body
with your left arm (elbow behind the ear, but not the neck, so he can't
turn and bite).  Soothe him by talking and moving gently.  Comb, don't
brush, preferably with a fine-toothed comb.  Flea combs are great for this,
but don't pull on a clump, or you will actually tear the fragile skin.

> Also, I'm interested to see if there will be any answers to the question about
> smelly litterboxes...

I've had as many as 25 rabbits in a single room, all using litter boxes,
without so much as a whiff of odor.  I clean them weekly, dumping the old
litter and using white vinegar to soak out any minerals clinging to the box
from urine.  Halfway through the week, I turn each box around, because
bunnies pick one corner position and by turning the box, they have a whole
new, fresh corner in the same position.  Occasionally, I have to toss some
of the litter from the center of a box over a wet corner--when you can see
the wetness, you know the litter there has had all it can take...

I use several varieties of litter, but mostly an alfalfa-based one and a
plain clay litter.  It is only when the urine remains exposed to the air
instead of soaking in and leaving the surface dry, that odor results.

Hope this helps.

Nancy LaRoche (HRS)
att!drutx!njl