[lily.]

One of mine doesn't seem to ever be clean. Our garden is completely fenced in so both my rabbits free range. The female likes to sit in the mud and hang about in puddles when it's raining. This has led to her being really dirty around her tail and bottom...

Anyone else have/had this problem with a pet rabbit and if so, how did you fix it? I bring her indoors and clean her up every few months, but it drives me mental how she can't seem to take care of it herself, when my male rabbit seems to be perfectly capable of doing that.

Edit to add: She is a Netherland Dwarf mix and he is a Polish... their coats are definitely different so maybe that has something to do with it..

[Ninastar]

ours stays inside (sadly, the horrid bitch) and we clean her out every few days so she doesn't have anything to get dirty with. sometimes her feet get yellow cause of pee and she's white, but we wash them and then shes fine...

sorry, i dont know what to suggest. Maybe bring him in when it's super wet? sorry that i'm no use!

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by lily.

One of mine doesn't seem to ever be clean. Our garden is completely fenced in so both my rabbits free range. The female likes to sit in the mud and hang about in puddles when it's raining. This has led to her being really dirty around her tail and bottom...

Anyone else have/had this problem with a pet rabbit and if so, how did you fix it? I bring her indoors and clean her up every few months, but it drives me mental how she can't seem to take care of it herself, when my male rabbit seems to be perfectly capable of doing that.

Edit to add: She is a Netherland Dwarf mix and he is a Polish... their coats are definitely different so maybe that has something to do with it..

I have a pet rabbit,never had that problem with her Lily but just check that she can groom herself like the nails cut down and teeth etc,I also house mine with a guineau pig and I see them grooming each other sometimes,maybe your boy doesn't fancy cleaning her when she is dirty,lol

[Kizzy]

Maybe her mummy rabbit didn't show her? Put her in the bath
Good job my dog is black or he'd have to live in the bath, I wish that shoes for dogs were more socially acceptable.

[rubymoo]

Hi lily, I had a pet rabbit and as he got older he just couldn't clean himself, as the weather got warmer I had to clean him regularly, we went on holiday and left him with our neighbours, when we got back we found they hadn't cleaned him and to my shock he had fly strike, I sat with him for hours pulling out the maggots (it was night time) I managed to remove them all, I then cleansed him with salt water as he was sore, I then took him to the vets, they checked him over and said that my rabbit was lucky as I'd managed to remove all the maggots and they prescribed some cream, it quickly became apparent that he was incontinent and was just sitting in his urine and poop, we had to make the heartbreaking decision of putting him to sleep as it was revealed his kidneys were failing, which meant he was at risk of fly strike and dying a sad death, he was 9, and like yours was a free range bunny who lived in his own play house, I would just keep an eye on your bunny, but as the weather gets warmer she will need daily cleaning, and thorough drying to prevent fly strike, you can get her treated with a treatment that prevents fly strike, I loved my Bilbo bunnykins, and know I did my best for him, people think bunny's are easy but as they get older they require more time and more looking after, good luck with your bunny, and some Bunny's just can't be bothered to clean themselves! You know your bunny, this is just my experience, hope I've helped:-)

[lily.]

Thanks Ruby.. that does help.

My boy is nice and clean, but I have noticed that she spends a fair amount of time grooming him... unfortunately he doesn't want to return the favour..

He is also a fairweather bunny.. and doesn't tend to go out the hutch for long when it's bad weather... whereas she seems to love raking around in the rain..

They both use the litter tray, which gets cleaned every morning, so the hutch itself is clean.. she is getting the dirt from her adventures in the garden..

I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing and keep on top of the problem.. if she won't clean it, I will just have to do it for her ... Maybe she likes having a maid.. lol