Rabbit Grooming

Rabbit Grooming – Guinea Pig Grooming & Bathing

Rabbit Grooming

Observational checks

Presence of parasites such as fleas, tick and fur mites.

Check the skin and fur on your rabbit to make sure they are parasite free. Mites, fleas and ticks and other skin disease may all damage your rabbit’s skin and impact their health.

Signs of parasites:

Fleas and usually very difficult to spot unless totally infested, then vet support is required, please do not be tempted to use shop bought products such as frontline and products for cats and dog as they can be toxic for rabbits. Even items advertised as “rabbit safe”, are not recommended for use on rabbits. Bathing of rabbits, in general, is strongly discouraged.

The main indicator that a rabbit has fleas, is bites within the open skin of the ears as this is soft and easy access to fleas and very visual beside it being a major irritation to the rabbit.

Ticks are rare but can cause major infection every inch of the skin needs to be inspected with greater attention to the inside of legs and belly area of a rabbit.

Mites usually appear as light dandruff and almost alway starts on the neck behind the ears and on the rump / back end of the rabbit, areas rabbit struggle to groom themselves.

Ear mites leave dark dried debris within the ear, again vet support will be recommended

All fur animals are susceptible to parasites which readily pass from humans and other pets our role is to help stop and treat.

Environmental flea control, sprays and “bombs” are not recommended,

Fur Brushing:

Our job in the grooming process is to help keep the fur and skin of the rabbit clean and mat free.

Careful brushing/ combing of rabbits, to remove the excess fur, This in turn helps the rabbit clean their own fur and prevent fur clumping or matting which is a major irritation to their skin.

Rabbits will sometimes develop fur mats, large clumps of tangled fur. Rabbit skin is delicate and highly susceptible to cuts, so using scissors to remove mats is the last resort.

Using a mat splitter or mat rake or gently teasing apart by hand to take the matt apart this is a long process and not all rabbits take to the prolonged pulling so regular breaks are scheduled hence the reason rabbit grooming takes so long.

Rabbit’s skin is really delicate so grooming gently is required. At times mats become too difficult to remove from the rabbit and must be shaved. When sheet mats form, you have no choice.

Keeping the eyes clear of hay or fur will prevent irritation and potential infection of your rabbit’s eyes. We use moistened cotton balls and gently clean the area around the eye. If your rabbit tends to have a heavy amount of fur around their eyes, you may use a tool called a mascara brush or a small flea comb to comb back the fur from the eye.

Although it look sweet we will alway remove excess hair that covers the rabbit eyes.

Ears

Keeping the rabbit’s ears free of debris or wax is important. Removal of wax build up from outer ear is helpful. Lop rabbits may tend to have damp areas inside their ears which you need to keep clean and dry

Eyes: Checking your rabbit’s eyes for any redness or items like hay or fur that may be in the eye or on the eye rim is a part of grooming.

Basic cleaning:

Ensuring that no excess urine or droppings have remained underneath the rabbit. Urine scalding to be gently wiped and we can apply rabbit friendly cream to help with the irritation.

Nail trims: Keeping nails trimmed will prevent snags, torn nails and possible infection to the nail bed and toe.

Grooming is part of the normal health care routine of a rabbit. Rabbits are delicate animals and their grooming needs to be carried out on a regular basis, with gentle care.

Rabbits need to be brushed regularly. In addition to removing any loose hair, Rabbit moulting cycles may occur about four times per year or more). Rabbits will shed in different ways. Some rabbits will take a couple of weeks or more to lose their old coat of fur. Other rabbits will be ready to get rid of their old coats just a few days..

Common tools used to groom a rabbit:

Slicker brush or another type of brush designed to groom the specific fur type of rabbit

Fur splitter. Wide toothed comb for removing mats in fur

Scissors for cutting out mats. (Blunt nose scissors)
Mini shaver for certain breeds.
Nail clipping scissors,
Kwick Stop or other styptic powder to stop bleeding from nails
Flea comb
Disinfectant solution for cuts or injury to skin.
Mineral oil for cleaning sensitive scent gland areas on the rabbit
Eye wash for cleaning the eye area
Cotton balls (for cleaning)
Q-tips for outer ear cleaning and scent gland cleaning

Scent Glands:

Rabbits have scent glands both under their chin and in their genital area. The only scent glands that may require cleaning are the scent glands by the anus of the rabbit.

When these scent glands build up, the rabbit often has an unpleasant odour and the scent gland duct may actually become blocked due to the build up of this waxy substance.

Material that builds up in the scent gland area may become very hard and uncomfortable for the rabbit. It’s simple to clean the glands.

Take the Q-tip and allow the mineral oil to moisten the area. In a minute or two you may easily remove the build up. Be very careful as the genital scent gland membrane is delicate. Remove this material with care or risk tearing the membrane in the scent gland.

Feet:

Part of grooming includes checking the feet top and bottom for any signs of fur wear or injury. Mats may also form on the foot pad.

We remove these mats carefully. The rabbit needs their fur padding on their feet to prevent injury to their tender skin. If the padding (fur) on the feet is worn down, exposing inflamed or callused skin.

Exposed skin that becomes urine burned or broken is very likely to become infected. Seek vets advise.

Ears: Ear wax from the outer ear can be removed from the outer ear with a cotton swab. Be careful not to push on wax in the canal, we will not attempt to reach deep into the ear canal. Your vet may recommend a variety of wax removal products as need be for your rabbit.

Nail Trims:

In the wild, rabbits and guinea pigs wear their nails down by digging and burrowing and by scrambling over hard surfaces. Our pets don’t do so much of this, so their nails tend to grow faster than they get worn down.

If rabbit or guinea pig nails grow too long, they can cause a number of problems. Firstly, they can curl round and grow into the skin, which can be painful and potentially cause infection. Even if they don’t grow that far, they can still be awkward for the pet and make it difficult for them to walk comfortably.

There’s also the risk of injury – long nails are more likely to get snagged and torn, which can be very sore. If the nail gets torn off completely, this can leave a wound that could get infected. All of this means that it’s a good idea to keep your pet’s nails well trimmed.

How often should I clip rabbit nails or guinea pig nails?How often you should cut your pet’s nails does depend on how fast they’re growing, which varies between different animals. But as a guide, you could consider nail clipping about once a month. This may sound quite often, but there’s a reason why frequent trimming is generally better in the long run. It’s because the quick itself can overgrow if the nail gets too long.

The quick is the sensitive bit in the centre of the nail that contains the nerve and blood supply. It’s important not to cut this part of the nail, as it would be painful and cause bleeding. The length of the quick therefore restricts how far back you can clip. If the nail is allowed to grow very long, the quick will grow too, meaning you can’t cut the nail back as far as you’d like when it comes to trimming time. You can encourage an overgrown quick to recede by frequently trimming the nail by small amounts, but this does take time. So, all in all, it’s best not to let the quick overgrow in the first place.