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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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A STINKY BUNNY!!! Why? HELP!!!

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    • luvmycritters
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        Hi everyone!  I have an IMPORTANT question.

        Our male bunny is now right at 3 months old and as such has not yet been neutered.  We’ve had him now for about 5 weeks, and he is our very first bunny.

        Up until about a week ago, we had no odor problem whatsoever.  All of a sudden, his cage is really stinky!!!  We change the litter out every single day and clean up anything else, plus we spray the litter box down with deodorizer before putting in new litter, but it seems like either his urine or his poo has gotten stinky.  IT SMELLS LIKE HORRIBLE B.O.!!!

        Is this normal?  Is it because he is reaching sexual maturity, or do all bunny pees and poos smell like B.O.?  We need to understand what to do because his 3-story condo is in my teenaged daughter’s room, and he’s about to stink her out of there!

        HELP!

        Thanks,

        Terry


      • Sarita
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          Rabbits urine won’t smell as bad once they are altered.

          What type of litter are you using?


        • osprey
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            I think Sarita hit the nail on the head.  Bunnies use their pee as a way of marking off their territory, and when they reach sexual maturity, males can get pretty skunky as a way to warn off other males.  After he is neutered, the smell will be much less.


          • MooBunnay
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              Hello – It is likely that as he is around 3 months old he may be making “territorial” poops and those are much stinkier. These also tend to die down once the bunny consider’s their territory “marked.”

              Related to the neutering – this may help the situation – and your bunny is just around old enough to be neutered now, so I would consider that as well.

              Have you changed his diet at all? As Sarita asked, what kind of litter are you using? If it is stinky pee, the litter should be able to absorb that smell quickly. If it is stinky poops however, that may not be able to be prevented as easily by the litter.

              My bunny Raymond’s poos smell very stinky only when he is making those territorial poops, so I bet that may be what is going on. The neutering may be able to help with this, and also, he may not be doing this for very long. Raymond only does it when he gets a new cage, or another boy bunny gets to close to his territory.


            • Deleted User
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                Connor is having a similar problem. His cage and poop smell like spices. I keep saying it smells like he had mexican food and everybody thinks I am joking, but i am dead serious. It is a horrible smell and he smells like it as well now. The vet is checking his poop for parasites as I type.


              • Scarlet_Rose
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                4293 posts Send Private Message

                  Certain vegetables in the diet can also cause stinky poop as well like cilantro or basil. What kinds of veggies are your bunnies getting?


                • luvmycritters
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                    Wow! Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like it’s either the pee or poo (or both) related to his hitting puberty and marking his territory. I do plan to have him neutered, but it probably won’t be for another 2 or 3 weeks before I can do it. In the meantime, we have picked up some Yesterday’s News to try in his litterbox. I’m hoping that will contain the smell better.

                    Actually, what I’ve noticed is that, after cleaning out his litterbox and spraying it down, the smell is much better but still there. Seems like his poos are smelling, too, and he’s lately been putting them all over the cage!!!

                    We’ll just stay on top of cleaning every single day and see if he doesn’t improve once he’s had his surgery.

                    Again, thanks! You’ve given me hope that this is only temporary!

                    Terry


                  • MooBunnay
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                      I have always been using newspaper in litter boxes, and just recently switched to pellet litter, and it REALLY helps. Also, you could think about getting a covered litter box (Booda Dome makes them for cats – and most pet stores have them in the cat section) because that really contains the scent well. Also, as far as the stinky poops, even though it stinks to keep cleaning them up, I’ve found that picking them up each day as you are doing and putting them into the litterbox really helps, it reinforces the idea that the poops go IN the box!


                    • luvmycritters
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                        Thanks MooBunnay. I was just reading about everyone’s favorite litter. I think I’ll try to find some of the Aspen stuff…sounds like it has a great woodsy scent to it. I guess if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to look for a covered litter box. I just hate to have to go with one of those ’cause it’ll be harder to grab it out of the NIC cage to clean it. Actually, our baby is pretty small, and we’re using the corner (triangular-shaped) boxes…one on the bottom and one on the second level. I also have a flat tray-type box with a grid top (actually a small dog potty) that sits under Pongo’s hay rack. His poos go right through the grid. We have newspaper inside it.

                        So, between all of these things, he’s been really really good to put all of his urine in the litter box and most of his poos. It’s just gotten incredibly stinky!!! We do pick up his poos every day and put them in his litter box. I guess we were just naive to think our bunny was not going to have a smelly potty!

                        Terry


                      • BinkyBunny
                        Moderator
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                          That stinky musky BO smell is very typical of a male reaching sexual maturity. I know this is just basically a “ditto” post, but I know that smell well. With all the bunnies at the shelter I volunteer for, you can ALWAYS tell the ONE that has yet to neutered. It’s amazing how much stinkier they are, especially if they are young and just reaching sexual maturity. Your bunny may be spraying too. It should get better once he’s neutered (note it can take a month or so for the hormones to die down)


                        • luvmycritters
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                            BinkyBunny:

                            Thank you so much…I feel so much better about this now. I really, really felt like it was his puberty causing us problems ’cause there was no smell whatsoever and then BAMM!!! We’ll be getting him neutered in a couple of weeks; so, by Thanksgiving maybe he’ll be smelling better!

                            The Yesterday’s News seems to be helping, as well. We put that in last night, and so far no smell…

                            Terry


                          • Deleted User
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                              I wonder if this is why connor just plain stinks. When I have to bathe his butt, I am gaggin because when we he smells so bad. His poop smells really bad but he has stunk even before poop problems.


                            • skunklionshow
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                                I agree that unneutered males STINK!  We have to keep postponing Leo’s neuter b/c of kitty health care costs…we had a partial toe amputation w/ several biopsies, canine teeth removal, and now my Phoebe (the cat w/ the tooth removals) is likely becoming diabetic!  My vet has been so gracious w/ helping me out w/ their care costs, but its been kicking our butts.  So Leo’s neuter will be postponed til after Christmas. 

                                Its just as well, b/c he had such a hard recovering from his teeth surgery, that we are not looking forward to a difficult recovery for him.  Also…check their scent glands.  This helps keep Leo’s stink down quite a bit.


                              • Amy Lou
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                                  Is it only male bunnies that get this odor? We were first told by a vet it was a boy then a girl but now I’m unsure.


                                • LBJ10
                                  Moderator
                                  16870 posts Send Private Message

                                    Good golly this thread is old! We ask members to not drag up old threads. It causes confusion. I’m going to lock this thread now. You can start a new thread if you wish. In the meantime, to answer your question, girls can most definitely have territorial “onion” smell.

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                                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A STINKY BUNNY!!! Why? HELP!!!