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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Cleaning Poopy Butt

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    • Eucalyptus
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        Hey guys, haven’t been here in quite a long time. Last night, we did a physical on Java. We don’t normally do anything super thorough like flipping him over – just checking teeth, eyes, nose, and nail clipping. But last night, we decided to check everything out. I flipped him over and held him like a baby while the boyfriend inspected. Right away there was a smell – ugh! He has poopy butt. Just mildly, though, some smears around his butt area. He’s acting and eating perfectly normal, so I don’t think there’s a health concern. He’s shedding and the fur in that area is extremely long and dense. I’m pretty sure that some cecals might have gotten caught and he never got them off … or something. So, I’m not worrying about that, but if anyone has some info about what it could possibly be, let me know.

        We’re planning to give him a bath or something, but we’re not sure what to use. The only pet shampoo that I have is called Doc Ackerman’s and I only have it because my dad manages the company. I have leftover Dawn dishsoap (but don’t really like what’s in it), Dr. Bronner’s Magic soaps (peppermint and tea tree), as well as coconut oil. I thought the oil might be a natural way to get the poop off, but wasn’t sure if it was safe. I know coconuts are okay and it’s really just fat content that’s a concern if a bunny eats it, but would the oil be okay even if it’s dilluted? Or should I go with an actual soap and dillute it?

        Suggestions and also some tips on washing are appreciated! Thanks!


      • Deleted User
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          A really good detailed explanation of the two best methods of bathing here: http://www.bio.miami.edu:80/hare/buttbath.html

          Maybe a little hair trim around the effected area would help prevent further problems?


        • Eucalyptus
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            The hair trim sounds like a good idea.

            It says: “Use a hypoallergenic, non-medicated shampoo. The best shampoo is an organic, environmentally-friendly (and cruelty free) product.”

            The shampoo that we use on ourselves is an almost fully organic shampoo from Trader Joe’s. It also has a bunny on it with a line through it stating that it hasn’t been tested on animals (yay). I only know how to shop for stuff for humans, I don’t know specifically what natural ingredients can be dangerous or toxic other than tea tree oil being toxic specifically to cats. And the shampoo we have is a tea tree, eucalyptus, and peppermint based shampoo. It has a lot of essential oils in it, as well.

            Just grabbed the bottle and the exact ingredients are: Aqua (purified water), with *tea tree oil, *peppermint oil, * eucalyptus oil, * rosemary oil, * nettle oil, * thyme oil, birch leaf oil, * chamomile, * clary, * lavender, * coltsfoot leaf, * yarrow oil, * mallow, * horsetail oil, * soybean protein, C12-14 olefin sulfonate (coconut derived), cocamidopropyl betaine, tocopherol (vitamin E), trace minerals, citric acid (corn), sodiumhydroxymethylgrycinate, sodium chloride (sea salt), grapefruit seed (citrus derived).
            * organic ingredients

            So a lot of the oils are derived from things that a bunny can eat, while some I’m not sure. Most are organic, though the corn based ingredient is not. Anyways, this is the shampoo that we use to avoid a lot of lauryl ingredients and harsh chemicals. I have no idea if this is indeed safe for him, though, even if diluted.

            What are your thoughts? My only other options are Dawn dish soap, which has SLS and other crap, and Dr. Bronner’s magic soap, which is mostly organic and does not use harsh chemicals.


          • Deleted User
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              I may be being over cautious but I work with essential oils (I’m a soap maker) and given that they are the primary ingredients in your shampoo personally I wouldn’t be comfortable using it on an animal. (The usage of essential oils and animals is completely different from using it on humans, … may sound obvious but its amazing the differences involved.) One simply scented with them, with a very small percentage maybe, but that isn’t the case in yours. I realize they are almost all derived from rabbit safe plants but the distillation process does change the oils, they are much more concentrated and shouldn’t really be thought of as being the same as the plant they came from.

              I’d recommend picking up a small bottle (travel sized if available) preferably of an unscented shampoo. A very basic straight forward one would probably work well, … maybe an organic baby shampoo?

              Are you sure a dry bath wouldn’t do the trick? Much simpler all round.

              Either way best of luck.


            • Eucalyptus
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                I do realize that which is why I asked. I had a feeling anyways as I know oils and extracts are different from the actual plant. I just wanted to do it tonight and we don’t really have anything that’s just unscented or without chemicals. Other than the coconut oil like I thought but I suppose that’s too concentrated.

                For the corn starch, will it work when the poop and fur is dry? It’s more stained with a little bit of actual poop than full on poopy butt with moist poop.


              • Bam
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                  Coconut oil would make the butt very oily I’d think? Bunny might want to eat it and that could make the poopy-problem worse. Id say use an egg-yolk, whipped up in some water. It works kind of like a mild soap. But be careful to rinse it out properly.

                  Perhaps you could use only lukewarm water.


                • Deleted User
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                    Sorry, you lost me to the time difference.

                    I suspect the cornstarch might have worked but really don’t know, … did you try it, I’d be interested.

                    As Bam said some times plain old warm water works fine, … I’m curious about the egg yolk though Bam, never heard of that, interesting. I know about using it as a facial mask, is the thinking behind this kind of usage similar?

                    Eucalyptus, I got that you were concerned, and thanks to your cat comment that you probably had some knowledge of essential oils. However, you never know who may drop in on (or later read and make use of) a thread and just by looking at them many of those ingredients sound as though they should be fine. I didn’t feel like waking up to find someone saying that of course they were and feel that why they weren’t would then need to be explained, so I did it in the one shot.

                    I hope your little one is fresh and clean soon.


                  • Elrohwen
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                      I’ve had a lot of success with just water. I hold the bunny over the sink, then use the little sprayer thing to spray him off (I keep it at a low level so it’s not blasting him), then use my hand and a small slicker brush to get everything out.


                    • Bam
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                        G D: The thinking behind eggyolk is that its a natural emulsifier. As a soapmaker you know all about emulsifiers, but perhaps there are people here who don’t so I’ll try a short explanation:
                        Eggyolk can dissolve fatty dirt because it is fat while it’s also water-“soluble” and dissolves water-soluble dirt. It’s because it’s a natural emulsifier due to the lecithine-content, a phospholipid which is a molecule where one end “likes” water”, the other end “likes” fat.


                      • juniorjunior
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                          i would just use warm water … maybe some sort of soft brush that can help break it up if you need to

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                      Forum DIET & CARE Cleaning Poopy Butt