Steps to Clean a Rabbit With Poopy Butt

If your rabbit has what is un-eloquently known as “rabbit poopy butt” – literally fecal matter stuck to your buns, well, buns – then it’s going to be your task to get your pet cleaned up. In a previous post we discussed what causes poopy butt. Now, let’s go over the steps to clean your rabbit with poopy butt.

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There are two effective ways to cleaning a rabbit's rear end. You will need to judge the severity of the mess to determine which will be the best choice for you. Dry cleaning poopy butt is the easiest and should be the least stressful for your rabbit, but should only be used in light to moderate situations.

Wet cleaning should be used in the event that you have a big mess. Rabbits do not like baths, and will generally express their discomfort in getting one. The following rabbit care steps should help minimize that stress.

Dry Cleaning

What You'll Need:

• Unscented Baby Cornstarch Powder (Do not use any products that contain talc) - We'd suggest using a plain food grade corn starch. But, if you want to have a bottle for dispensing and want some of the other enrichments to help the skin heal you can use Burt's Bees Wax or Johnson's as both have all natural solutions.

• A Fine Toothed Comb - a lice comb works well.

• Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap - this is for your hands because you're going to be in direct contact with your rabbit’s feces.

Steps to Clean:

1. Put your bunny on their back so that they are relaxed and comfortable and you have easy access to the messy area.

2. Take a few minutes to put your bunny completely at ease. A minute or two of tummy rub usually does the trick.

3. Liberally apply the cornstarch to the soiled area.

4. As the powder comes in contact with the poop it will loosen and allow it to be easily removed. You may need to work the powder into the harder to remove pieces. They should loosen and be able to be gently pulled out.

5. Gently run the comb through the fur once most of the debris is removed. (Important: your bunny's skin is very sensitive and fragile, do not pull hard as the skin can tear)

6. Rub and pat the remaining powder out of your bunny's fur. They should be much better.

Now that was easy rabbit butt care, right?

Note: While placing a bunny on their back to "relax" is a no-no, it's okay to place them on their backs to perform a medical procedure and/or clip nails.

Wet Cleaning Poopy Butt Rabbits

What You'll Need:

• Bunny safe pet shampoo with no additives, organic, and with no insect killing properties. - Do not use human shampoo or dog shampoo. Both dogs and humans have tougher skin than rabbits and the chemicals used in those shampoos can cause irritations.

• A Shallow Sink

• Warm Water - you may need enough to do multiple washes and a rinse.

• Towels

• Blow Dryer - optional

Steps to Clean:

1. Fill the sink with 2-3 inches of lukewarm water. You will want this to be as neutral as possible as your rabbit’s skin is very sensitive and they'll already not like this ordeal.

2. Mix about a tablespoon of shampoo in with the water.

3. Hold your rabbit gently but firmly so that your rabbit cannot jump and injure themself. Lower just their rear end into the water.

4. Gently agitate the messy fur. When the water becomes dirty repeat, starting with fresh warm water.

5. Once all the debris is removed rinse the fur thoroughly. Make sure that no shampoo residue remains.

6. Towel dry gently making sure to dry their back to fluff.

7. A blow dryer can be used on low speed and warm temperature. Keep your hand next to your rabbit’s skin to protect against burning your bunny. The skin is already inflamed, make sure not to burn it too.

Healing

Your rabbit is now clean, but we still have two issues: your rabbit's rear end is now sore and the actual cause of their poopy butt.

After poopy butt skin sore on a rabbit's rear end is common. Skin inflammation can be relatively easy to fix. Carefully clip your bunny's fur away from the inflamed area, to not clip your bunny's skin use round point shears. Make sure to take your time when clipping, you want to do everything possible to not cut their skin. Once you've clipped the fur away, you can apply a balm or triple anti-biotic ointment like Calendula or Neosporin.

Prevent Poopy Butt in the Future

Now that you've cleaned your rabbit's poopy butt up, you'll want to make sure it doesn't come back.

Remember that poopy buns is a symptom to some sort of digestive or mechanical issue your rabbit has. We recommend feeding your rabbit a diet almost exclusively of quality Timothy Hay as it will give them the fiber they need to bring their digestion into alignment, which in turn will stop them from having poopy butt.

But, if you see that changing them to a strict diet of Timothy Hay does not stop future messes than a visit to the vet will be required. There are a number of easily treatable ailments that can help alleviate your bunny of this discomfort in the future.

New to having a rabbit? Download our Rabbit Starter Kit and learn all about the right food for your rabbit's age, common terms used within the rabbit community, and more!