With a number of photographs and videos of cute looking rabbits going viral on social media recently, there has been another spike in the popularity of keeping rabbits resulting in a bunch of people reaching out to ask various questions about keeping a pet rabbit.
Although it is a less common question that we have seen people asking, one important question that is commonly misunderstood is if dawn dish soap is safe for rabbits or not so we wanted to publish this article as keeping your pet rabbit clean is important.
It is never a good idea to fully soak a domesticated pet rabbit and using chemical cleaning products such as dawn dish soap can cause irritation to your rabbit’s skin resulting in a rash and constant itching.
Due to the thick coat of most domesticated rabbit species, correctly drying your rabbit to help keep its temperature regulated after a wash is also more difficult than most people initially think.
This is why the majority of people who keep rabbits will implement a spot cleaning process of only cleaning areas of their bunny than need to be cleaned.
Even then the cleaning process is usually only done with a cloth with a little warm water on it with chemical products such as dawn dish soap usually not being required for use.
As we covered in our article on keeping a rabbit hutch at room temperature, most domesticated rabbit species are temperature sensitive and tend not to do well with low temperatures with a wet coat drawing warmth from your bunny surprisingly quickly.
Is Dawn Dish Soap Safe For Rabbits?
Rabbits tend to have very sensitive skin so even a relatively mild cleaning product such as dawn dish soap can result in irritation and potentially even a rash developing on your rabbit’s skin if used.
Even trying to dilute products such as dawn dish soap with water can result in problems with your pet rabbit’s skin depending on the species of your bunny so it is generally not recommended.
If you do have a particularly smelly rabbit that you feel needs to be washed then you are able to pick up a specialist small pet soap that is both GMO and detergent free to reduce the chance of your rabbit having a reaction to the soap when bathed with it.
You still have to realize that there is always going to be a chance of irritation on some rabbit’s skin though even if you do use a reputable soap product so only washing small areas of your rabbit at a time is recommended.
As we mentioned earlier in the article it can be very difficult to correctly dry a rabbit after washing it with the drying process often taking more time and effort than many people new to keeping pet rabbits initially realize.
Using a hairdryer on a gentle setting can be a quicker way to dry your pet rabbit but some rabbits can find the process of having a hairdryer blowing warm air at them while making a loud, strange noise traumatizing.
Can Dawn Soap Be Used On Rabbits?
Although there are some people on social media saying that they use sawn soap to clean their pet rabbits, we would never recommend this as it can cause problems with your pet rabbit’s skin.
Just because someone on social media washed their rabbit with dawn soap without issue does not mean that the same can be said about your pet rabbits as different species of bunny have different skin sensitivity levels.
Some people also adopt wild rabbits that have been found abandoned as a baby with wild rabbits often having a much tougher skin and coat than a domesticated rabbit with wild rabbits often needing to be cleaned on a more regular basis than the traditional domesticated rabbit species.
This can be another reason that you may see people on social media saying that they have been able to wash their rabbit with dawn without issue too.
As we mentioned above, if you absolutely do have to use a cleaning product on your rabbit then always try to get a specialist small pet soap to reduce the chances of your rabbit having problems with irritation.
The majority of our readers will usually find that they will be able to wash their pet rabbit with nothing more than warm water on a cloth though with this usually delivers results that are almost as good as you could get with a chemical cleaning product without the risk of causing irritation on your pet rabbit.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over using dawn dish soap for rabbits to an end and we hope that we have been able to help you realize that the majority of people who keep a pet rabbit will usually not need any chemical cleaning product. Not only can they cause a number of unwanted side effects in your pet rabbit but you can often clean many species of rabbits coats efficiently with nothing more than warm water on a cloth. Just remember to fully dry your bunny after cleaning it no matter what method you use as a wet or damp rabbit coat can also quickly result in problems with your rabbit too.
