Hygiene PSA

So for todays post I decided it would be prudent to educate everyone about the infrequent hygiene needs of rabbits. If rabbits are living in a natural environment they do a lot of digging and keep their nails filed or they gnaw on a lot of grass/roughage and sometimes wood or sticks to keep their teeth filed. In a domestic environment they don't always have access to these resources. Therefore rabbits need chew toys to help keep their teeth filed as they have open rooted teeth (meaning their teeth never stop growing) and they will need their nails trimmed on a monthly basis depending on how fast your rabbits nails grow. You can get rabbit chew toys online or from amazon and dog nail trimming tools work fine. Be careful that you don't trim the nail too far back as the quick (the pink part on the underside of the nail) comes out pretty far. If you do trim it too close use sugar as a clotting agent. At last but not least for our grossest infrequent hygiene topic I'd like to discuss the rabbits scent glands. Rabbits have a pair of scent glands located at the base of a hairless valley on either side of the rabbits anus. These glands if not cleaned properly can lead to hygiene issues for the rabbit and an unpleasant smell. It is easy to clean, just use a Q-tip dipped in warm water and gently wipe excess wax out of the valley on either side. This should be done on a monthly basis to prevent buildup. The buildup is initially yellow and waxy in color but over time it will turn orange or even red. Theres no need to panic, its not blood just a buildup of the scent gland secretions. If you haven't ever done this or done this in awhile you might want to wear a clothespin on your nose. I didn't know about this hygiene need until last week and while most the rabbits weren't bad I had a rabbit I rescued from a meat rabbit farm and had never been cleaned. I still have nightmares about what I smelled that day lol. I hope this information was helpful and that your rabbit is happy and healthy.