no replies? that's a first...
Smelly Rabbit!
So I have an non-neutered male rabbit, who is 8-11 years old. He lives in an open cage and I love him dearly, but he smells awful!
His cage is similar to the medium one of this:
http://www.petco.com/product/113068/WARE-Home-Sweet-Home-Purple-Small-Animal-Cage.aspx
So since he is a senior, he has arthritis, so I have him on layers of old sheets, blankets, and towels, so it is softer. I remove all of the bedding every other day and completely sanitize and spray out his cage once every week or every other week. Bowls, bottles, and accessories are cleaned and sanitized daily.
He doesn't have poop or anything stuck to his butt cause I have checked. No diarrhea or anything of the sort; normal poop and pee. HE smells perfectly fine, but his cage reeks!
I also refuse to put him outside.
It's not like he's gassy or anything unusual like that. It's just a constant smell. Except right after I clean it. It smells like alfalfa right after I clean it and I have even tried pulling the bedding out daily to see if that helped eliminate odor, but that didn't help either.
I heard that non-neutered rabbits make more of an odor problem, but I don't really want to get him fixed, considering his age and the fact that there are no good vets around that understand the process of proper rabbit basics (all livestock and farm vets here!).
I would say that but when I first got him, the smell wasn't this strong, and actually, he didn't smell at all.
And yes, I am sure that it is him creating the smell. Any tips or advice to help?
I can't move him to a different room either. I wouldn't normally mind the smell but I have a problem with asthma as it is and that isn't helping with it. Along with the fact that when I adopted Archie, I made a deal with my parents; as long as his cage stays smelling nice and clean, he can stay in the house.
His cage is similar to the medium one of this:
http://www.petco.com/product/113068/WARE-Home-Sweet-Home-Purple-Small-Animal-Cage.aspx
So since he is a senior, he has arthritis, so I have him on layers of old sheets, blankets, and towels, so it is softer. I remove all of the bedding every other day and completely sanitize and spray out his cage once every week or every other week. Bowls, bottles, and accessories are cleaned and sanitized daily.
He doesn't have poop or anything stuck to his butt cause I have checked. No diarrhea or anything of the sort; normal poop and pee. HE smells perfectly fine, but his cage reeks!
I also refuse to put him outside.
It's not like he's gassy or anything unusual like that. It's just a constant smell. Except right after I clean it. It smells like alfalfa right after I clean it and I have even tried pulling the bedding out daily to see if that helped eliminate odor, but that didn't help either.
I heard that non-neutered rabbits make more of an odor problem, but I don't really want to get him fixed, considering his age and the fact that there are no good vets around that understand the process of proper rabbit basics (all livestock and farm vets here!).
I would say that but when I first got him, the smell wasn't this strong, and actually, he didn't smell at all.
And yes, I am sure that it is him creating the smell. Any tips or advice to help?
I can't move him to a different room either. I wouldn't normally mind the smell but I have a problem with asthma as it is and that isn't helping with it. Along with the fact that when I adopted Archie, I made a deal with my parents; as long as his cage stays smelling nice and clean, he can stay in the house.
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
This is a pretty dead forum.
What do you feed him? And the smell is more recent? I would guess his internal stuff is slowing down. He would probably need to see a good vet to determine further. At his age he could not be metabolising food, excreting more waste than usual and that would be the smell. I smelled a male unfixed rabbit years ago with my roommate and it was simply the smell of his pee that caused it.
It was almost skunky in scent.
Your rabbit might be territorial and after every clean he might poop everywhere to reestablish his territory and spray pee. I'm no expert on male bunnies or senior bunnies, for that matter. But if it's something you're worried about for being recent, he needs to see a vet.
What do you feed him? And the smell is more recent? I would guess his internal stuff is slowing down. He would probably need to see a good vet to determine further. At his age he could not be metabolising food, excreting more waste than usual and that would be the smell. I smelled a male unfixed rabbit years ago with my roommate and it was simply the smell of his pee that caused it.
It was almost skunky in scent.
Your rabbit might be territorial and after every clean he might poop everywhere to reestablish his territory and spray pee. I'm no expert on male bunnies or senior bunnies, for that matter. But if it's something you're worried about for being recent, he needs to see a vet.
Wow! I Know What That Is Like! It Is Best To Have Them Neutered.
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
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