DogCatMom
Well-known member
If a rabbit gets truly filthy (e.g., doe is sprayed repeatedly by buck, rabbit of either sex decides to "play" with poo in a litter box--eats, smears on its shoulders, belly, etc.), the advice I've seen so far says: "Don't bathe a rabbit!"
But there are videos showing seemingly happy, or at least cooperative, lagomorphs undergoing "water therapy":
-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... tAU#at=140 Rabbit being bathed in a small dishpan (?) in the bathtub; owner also towel- and blow-dries her (for an hour); rabbit's body language is alert, relaxed.
-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuX7C4yflhQ A Lop being bathed with a personalized showerhead-hose (not sure what to call them); the color of the water coming off of the Lop tells me that this bath was needed. The drying "technique" at the end, though, is awful....
-- This Spanish-language site provides a checklist telling an owner the circumstances under which it's permissible to bathe a rabbit and the supplies, methods, etc., for doing so: http://www.conejitosenanos.com/index.ph ... ne-conejo/ (e.g., no more than twice a year, only during temperate or even warm weather, pH-neutral shampoo made specifically for rabbits or, if such isn't available, a baby shampoo, towel or blow rabbit completely dry).
Some pet- and rescue-rabbit sites lay down a dictum that one should "never" bathe a rabbit, since they clean themselves "like cats, and no one bathes cats." Well...uh...I bathed my own cats for years when my flea-combing just couldn't keep up with the fleas (winters without freezing weather allow the fleas to keep building up in the environment) or when one particularly graceless cat kept peeing himself. I've also had cats with oily coats. When I worked at the grooming shops and at the humane societies, we bathed cats all the time! So if cats are the benchmark for rabbits, I'd say that a rabbit, like a cat, needs a bath when it needs a bath.
Classic advice for bathing a cat at home--I just can't remember where I read it: "If you're thinking about bathing your cat, think again, lie down, rest, take some deep breaths, and take another look at the cat. If you still think the cat needs a bath, prepare yourself. And pick up the cat LAST." Maybe the same for bunnies?
But there are videos showing seemingly happy, or at least cooperative, lagomorphs undergoing "water therapy":
-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... tAU#at=140 Rabbit being bathed in a small dishpan (?) in the bathtub; owner also towel- and blow-dries her (for an hour); rabbit's body language is alert, relaxed.
-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuX7C4yflhQ A Lop being bathed with a personalized showerhead-hose (not sure what to call them); the color of the water coming off of the Lop tells me that this bath was needed. The drying "technique" at the end, though, is awful....
-- This Spanish-language site provides a checklist telling an owner the circumstances under which it's permissible to bathe a rabbit and the supplies, methods, etc., for doing so: http://www.conejitosenanos.com/index.ph ... ne-conejo/ (e.g., no more than twice a year, only during temperate or even warm weather, pH-neutral shampoo made specifically for rabbits or, if such isn't available, a baby shampoo, towel or blow rabbit completely dry).
Some pet- and rescue-rabbit sites lay down a dictum that one should "never" bathe a rabbit, since they clean themselves "like cats, and no one bathes cats." Well...uh...I bathed my own cats for years when my flea-combing just couldn't keep up with the fleas (winters without freezing weather allow the fleas to keep building up in the environment) or when one particularly graceless cat kept peeing himself. I've also had cats with oily coats. When I worked at the grooming shops and at the humane societies, we bathed cats all the time! So if cats are the benchmark for rabbits, I'd say that a rabbit, like a cat, needs a bath when it needs a bath.
Classic advice for bathing a cat at home--I just can't remember where I read it: "If you're thinking about bathing your cat, think again, lie down, rest, take some deep breaths, and take another look at the cat. If you still think the cat needs a bath, prepare yourself. And pick up the cat LAST." Maybe the same for bunnies?