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Question
Hello i hope you can help me. I have a male rabbit about 6/7 months old and lately me and my partner have noticed quite a nasty smell of strong urine coming from his hutch. It is cleaned daily, even twice a day now due to the smell. We was wondering of this is due to him sent marking or we have put a carpet in the hutch instead of sawdust, could he just have urinated on that? He is litter trained so thought he would be ok for carpet. Im worried that it could be serious. We really apprieciate it if you could give us some advice. Thank you for your time. Jade x

Answer
Dear Jade,

I suspect there is an area where the urine is seeping between cracks, and sitting there fermenting.  :(  It can get quite stinky!

I would suggest you take the hutch outdoors, hose it down, and then wash every available surface and crack with white vinegar.  Use a spray bottle to get between cracks.  Let that sit for 10 minutes, then hose it all off again, and let dry in the sun.  If the problem is the hutch, that should do the trick.

If the problem is the bunny, be sure to check his bum for signs of urine scald or other problem.  If he's messy, this will help clean him up until you can get him to a rabbit-savvy vet for diagnosis and treatment of whatever is causing the messy bottom.  

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

For some of the causes of messy bottom, please read:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

and you may be able to locate a rabbit vet via the international listings here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps.

Dana