As an animal lover, I find rabbits adorable, cute, fluffy creatures. I have never had a rabbit before, and I plan on getting one for myself, but I want to know more about them before I do. I was wondering if rabbits smell bad? And if they do, what can you do about it?
According to experts, rabbits don’t naturally smell bad and do not have an odor. However, if you don’t clean the rabbit’s cage, the rabbits will start to smell. Urine and soft feces, which have a strong odor, will cling to them. Rabbits can also smell because of certain medical conditions.
Through the research that I have done and advice I got from veterinarians, I learned that naturally, rabbits do not have an odor or smell bad. However, certain conditions can cause a rabbit to start smelling bad. I know some people might have this issue, so I wanted to share my findings.
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Do Rabbits Smell Bad? – If They Do, What Can You Do About It
Naturally, rabbits aren’t known to be odorous or smell bad. If you notice your rabbit starts to smell, it can be due to either hygiene factors or health-related issues. In the section below, I will focus on these reasons and what can be done about them.
Medical Or Health Issues Causing A Rabbit To Smell Bad
- Gastrointestinal Stasis can cause the rabbit to have diarrhea, and the poop can stick to your rabbit’s fur and leave the rabbit with a dirty bottom. It will cause the odor of the poop to linger and your rabbit to smell bad.
- Dental Issues like overgrown teeth can cause your rabbit to smell bad as the top teeth can grow into the bottom gum and cause a dental infection that can smell foul.
- UTIs (Urinary tract infections) can cause rabbits to have strong-smelling urine. The infection can leave the urine with a more pungent scent than usual, causing the rabbit or its cage to smell bad.
- Scent glands – with overweight rabbits and rabbits with mobility problems, the glands can become overfilled with wax and a bad-smelling odor.
These are just a few health-related issues that can cause your rabbit to smell bad. If you note that your rabbit starts smelling bad, it can be from medical or health-related problems or a hygiene reason. Health issues might require the vet to examine the rabbit to determine and treat the condition.
Hygiene Reasons That Can Cause A Rabbit To Smell
Under normal conditions, rabbits can smell because of bad hygiene if a medical issue is not at fault. While rabbits themselves don’t have a bad-smelling or strong odor, their urine has a strong ammonia scent that can cause a bad smell, and the smell will start clinging to your rabbit and cause the rabbit to start smelling bad.
Their poop also has a bad-smelling odor, and if you keep your rabbit in a cage, it is vital to regularly clean the cage of your rabbit so that you can control and illuminate the bad smells from poop and urine.
If your rabbit’s cage isn’t regularly cleaned, your rabbit’s environment will start smelling bad. So it is essential to clean your rabbit’s cage regularly and ensure it is hygienic. This way, your rabbit shouldn’t smell.
Caring For Your Rabbit’s Hygiene And Preventing A Bad Smell
I will mention a few steps you can use to care for your rabbit’s hygiene and keep your rabbit from developing a bad-smelling odor.
Step 1
Brush your rabbit with a fur comb.
Step 2
Sprinkle cornstarch on the areas on your rabbit’s fur you are brushing, especially the dirty areas, to draw out any moisture in your rabbit’s fur.
Step 3
Wipe your rabbit with a damp cloth, not wetting it as they don’t like water. Use the cloth all over your rabbit’s fur to wipe away any dirt on the rabbit.
Step 4
Trim your rabbit’s fur only if necessary when poop is stuck to your rabbit’s coat, and you cannot remove the poop from the fur without hurting the rabbit.
Step 5
Clean your rabbit’s scent glands using a wet cotton swab and wipe around the anus of your rabbit to remove all traces of excretion.
These are just a few suggestions for hygienically caring for your rabbit. Rabbits are sensitive animals and do not like water, so bathing is not recommended as this can cause unnecessary stress for your rabbit.
Rabbits are not generally dirty animals and like to keep themselves clean; however, occasionally, they will need help to keep them sanitary, clean, and odorless.
How Often Should You Clean A Rabbit’s Cage?
You should clean a rabbit’s cage regularly cleaned; at least once every two weeks, but if you have the time, maybe once a week. This way, you can prevent the cage and the rabbit from smelling bad due to the cage odors.
What Are The Basic Steps To Cleaning A Rabbits Cage:
Below are the best ways to clean a rabbit’s cage:
Step 1
Remove everything from the rabbit’s cage, including toys and accessories like bedding. Whether you use straw or hay for the rabbit as bedding, everything must be removed from the cage when cleaning.
Step 2
Wash and disinfect the rabbit’s cage and properly scrub the cage after the cage has been cleared out. You can use vinegar to remove stubborn stains from the rabbit’s urine.
Step 3
After the cage has been adequately washed, scrubbed, and dried out, replace it with new straw or hay, and before returning the toys and accessories, wash and clean them as well, ensuring the rabbit’s cage is fresh and smells good.
When using disinfectant while cleaning the rabbit’s cage, ensure all the chemicals have been rinsed from the rabbit’s cage before placing all the contents back in the cage and returning the rabbit to its cage. Also, daily put fresh food and water to help prevent the rabbit’s cage from smelling bad as old moldy food might also contribute to bad smells.
Conclusion
Rabbits are clean animals by nature, and they love grooming themselves. Naturally, rabbits do not smell bad. However, they can start smelling for hygiene reasons from their urine and poop, their cages can smell bad if not cleaned regularly, and some medical reasons can cause your rabbit to carry a bad smell.
You can clean the rabbit’s cage if your rabbit has a bad smell. When the cage is clean, you can clean the rabbit before returning it to its clean cage again. If the smell lingers, you might need to take your rabbit to a vet as the scent might be more severe and health or medical-related.
