Rabbits often show up with different kinds of ailments. The owners get confused about how and when they need to treat the problems. One such problem we will be discussing is green paws.
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Why my rabbits’ hands are green?
There is a disease called pseudomonas aeruginosa which is seen among rabbits. This is a skin disease caused by bacteria. It is a kind of moist dermatitis which causes the fur of the hands to turn green in color.
There are other times when the rabbit has grown abscesses and that leads to the green paw, which is an outcome of bacterial infection.
When the hay or grass is cut and the rabbits lay in the backyard they get their paws green in color. This is a pretty common thing and the owners also can easily detect this change of color. This is not an infection and thus the matter is less serious. You can just rub the power beneath the paws to get it back in natural condition. Otherwise, these green marks often stain the house fabrics.
Sometimes the rabbit’s paws are soaked in their own urine and that turns their paws to green color. You can get the smell of ammonia from their paws and that means you need to bathe the rabbit at the earliest. However, if you do not wash the paws off and let the rabbit sit with the urine then it can affect them with several kinds of skin disease.
Sometimes the rabbit comes home with slightly yellow-colored feet, which are actually the dirt and dust from the yard. There is nothing to worry about this, as they can keep their paws clean if you can teach them that way.
When do you need to take the green paws of your rabbit seriously?
Most of the owners know that their rabbits are getting green paws due to running and jumping in the backyard. They do not take this matter seriously as the rabbits can clean their paws on their own. Sometimes the owners think of cleaning the paws by bathing the rabbit, but rabbits do not like to take bath much. They are often afraid of water and do not enjoy the bathing experience.
However, if you find that the rabbit is moving slowly and its green paws are not getting back the normal body color after 2-3 hours, then you may need to give it some more attention. It can be that the green paws are actually the outcome of some bacterial infection.
Also, check if the rabbit is feeling uneasy when you are touching its paws. All these are symptoms that it is suffering from some disease and the green paws are not mere stains of grass. Get the poor thing checked by the vet and make sure that it gets proper medicine.
How can I get the green stains off my rabbit’s feet?
When you are seeing that your rabbit comes back from the backyard with all green four paws you need to take care of the stains that it will cause to the household. As an owner of the rabbit, it is your duty to keep the body parts of this creature clean and bacteria-free.
So first you have to sit with your rabbit on your lap. Make it and yourself comfortable in the right posture. You should have some corn starch powder handy which will be applied to the paws of the rabbit. This can be availed from the pet shops as it is one of the baby care products.
When you will take a pinch of powder and rub that on the green or yellow-stained paws, the urine smell or the grass stains will vanish.
How do I know if my rabbit has got an infection in its green paws?
Along with the green marks on their paws, you will see several other symptoms on your pet rabbit. The food habit changes when the rabbit is infected by any kind of bacteria and they show unwillingness in eating their regular food. Also, they can be seen moving slowly or not moving at all, which is quite unusual for an energetic creature like a rabbit.
The fur will start to fall off and you will see the fur on the paws will be missing. Also, you may see that the rabbit is licking or grooming its paws too much and too frequently. If they are seen to lick it often that means that they are not comfortable or feeling well about the paws and trying to heal the affected part.
Rabbits when affected by any kind of bacteria, poop abnormally. You can check their feces to diagnose if there is something wrong with their internal physique. The smell and the texture of poop change when they are affected by parasites like bacteria or fungi.
Sometimes you can also see the rabbit drooling, which is an abnormal sign of the pet rabbits. They usually do not salivate too much to notice in healthy conditions.
Should I bathe my rabbit with green paws?
Bathing the rabbit whenever it comes back from outside with green stained paws is not a great idea. In fact, it often stresses them out. Rabbits stay groomed and clean in their own way. They do not get to bathe much when they are in the wilderness as they do not live near the water bodies. Thus you should bathe them only when it is scheduled and not when they are looking a bit dirty.
Washing their paws also will not help much, but you can take the help of talcum powder or corn powder to get the stains off the paws, as we have mentioned above in this guide. However, you should bathe your rabbit when it steps on poop and gets messy.
Can I leave the green stains on my rabbit’s paws?
Most rabbit owners do the same. They just leave their rabbits in this condition and do not bother much about cleaning them. The prime thought of the owners is that their rabbits should stay happy. The pets get happy when they are left to run and move in the green field, which can make their paws dirty. Unless it is some severe disease or infection there is no need to worry.
