Making sure your rabbit is well groomed is an essential part of being a bunny owner. Grooming not only keeps your rabbit looking their best, but can help to prevent many health issues too.
Grooming your rabbit includes brushing them, clipping their nails, cleaning their ears and doing an overall check on their wellbeing, such as looking at their teeth, eyes and skin for any problems. Let’s take a look at the basics of grooming your rabbit so they can stay in a healthy, happy condition.
Brushing Your Rabbit
Brushing your rabbit helps to prevents knots and tangles in their fur, and helps them to shed their coat faster. Rabbits usually shed two to four times a year, but you will still want to brush them even outside these periods.
Bunnies self groom by licking their fur, so by brushing them you can help to reduce the amount of fur they ingest. If they ingest too much fur, they can develop serious digestive issues, such as GI stasis.
The amount that you brush your rabbit will depend on their fur type. Bunnies that have short fur may only need to be brushed a one to two times a week, while those with long, thick fur may need to be brushed every day. During shedding season, you will find you want to brush your bun at least once a day, and sometimes multiple times a day!
Matted fur
Occasionally, your rabbit’s fur can become matted. This happens when the fur gets wet or gets urine on it. Longer haired rabbits also get matted fur just by running and hopping around. If your bun has matted fur, you can either brush it out or cut it off. Depending on how matted the fur is, it may be easier to cut it off. However, you should be very careful doing this as you don’t want to hurt your rabbit.
Grooming Tools
Some rabbits do not liked to be groomed, while others do not mind it. Either way, you should make sure your bunny is relaxed and comfortable before you start grooming them. You may want to hold them in your lap, or groom them in an area of the house they feel safe in.
To brush your rabbit properly, you will need some grooming products. There are many different types of grooming products you can buy, depending on your rabbit and the type of coat they have. You may want to use a flea comb to help get the loose fur from the the undercoat, followed by a rubber brush or glove brush to remove all the loose fur from the surface coat.
Grooming Techniques
Rabbit skin is fragile and sensitive, so you will want to be careful when brushing your rabbit’s fur. Make sure your bun is calm and relaxed before you start brushing, so they do not hurt themselves by trying to hop away from you.
You should brush in the direction of the hair growth for best results. If there are any tufts of fur that stick out, you will probably find that they are easiest to remove by gently pulling them out. You can also brush off any excess fur with your hands.
Shedding
It is completely normal for your rabbit to shed their coat. Each rabbit has a different shedding schedule, and it can be difficult to determine when it is going to happen and how many times they will shed a year. The outside temperature affects their shedding habits, as does the inside temperature of your house.
If your rabbit sheds a lot, do not be alarmed. This is completely normal! You may find their fur gets everywhere during this period, but that is just one of the joys of being a bun owner. Brushing their fur frequently can help to prevent the amount of fur left around your house.
Bathing Your Rabbit
Despite what you might think, rabbits do not actually need to be bathed. Rabbits self groom themselves, and you will notice that your bun spends a lot of time doing this (and grooming their companion, if they have one).
Like many other pet animals, rabbits hate water. So, while being unnecessary, baths can also be quite traumatic for your bunny. In fact, they can be so traumatic that they can lead to stress within your furry friend, which could then lead to a heart attack.
If you find that your rabbit has a messy or dirty area is a specific place, the best thing to do is to give them a spot clean. First, try to clean them with a dry towel. If this doesn’t work, dampen a towel with water and try to get the dirt off. Ensure that the towel is not soaking wet and always make sue you dry your bunny properly afterwards.
However, there are cases when you may need to bathe your rabbit. The most common reason is if they develop poopy butt, when feces dry in a ball around your rabbit’s bottom. This is most likely to happen if your rabbit is elderly, disabled or obese and can’t clean themselves properly. To get rid of this, you will need to give them a “butt bath” in warm water to help soften the area so you can clean in properly.
Clipping Your Rabbit’s Nails
Rabbit nails can get very long and sharp if you don’t clip them. In the wild, rabbits wear down these nails by digging, but domestic rabbits do not usually have this opportunity. If your rabbit lives indoors, you may find that their nails grow very quickly and need to be clipped every 1 to 2 months. If your bun is housed outdoors, you may need to cut them less often.
Rabbit nails have a vein within them, known as the ‘quick’ and when clipping them you will need to ensure you avoid this vein. Therefore, don’t clip too close to the bottom of the nail as you may see a lot of blood! However, don’t panic if you see this. This usually doesn’t hurt your bun too much and can heal quickly. Use flour or styptic powder to stop the bleeding.
It is helpful to clip your rabbit’s nails with someone helping you. One person can hold the rabbit still and the other can do the clipping. If you are ever worried about clipping your bunny’s nails or scared you will clip too close to the vein, your veterinarian can do this for you.
Learn more about clipping your rabbit’s nails in our article.
Rabbit Teeth
Rabbit’s teeth are constantly growing. Therefore, they need to eat a lot of hay to help grind their teeth down. If their teeth continue to grow without being ground down, they can develop serious dental issues, so ensuring they have a lot of the right hay is important.
You should check your rabbit for dental issues often. Rabbit’s are tough animals, and not always show they are in pain. Signs of dental issues can include drooling, little interest in food, dropping food and runny eyes.
Read our article on dental care for rabbits to learn more about bunny teeth and signs you should look out for. If you believe there is an issue with any of your rabbit’s teeth, you should make an appointment with your vet. They can use specialized equipment to see into your rabbit’s mouth and check that everything is normal.
Cleaning Your Rabbit’s Ears
Depending on your breed of rabbit you may or may not need to clean your rabbit’s ears. Lop eared rabbits are most at risk of developing ear infections, but you should always check with your vet before you start cleaning their ears.
Some rabbits may need to have their ears cleaned every other week, while some may not need to have them cleaned very frequently at all. Regardless of whether your vet says you should clean them or not, you should make sure you check their ears regularly to spot any changes in their ears or a build up of ear wax.
If you do need to clean your rabbit’s ears, your vet will advise you on what solution you should be using to do so.
Overall Health Check
Doing an overall health check often is a great way to catch any signs of illness before they get worse. These are the areas of your rabbit we recommend you check regularly:
Eyes
Most eye conditions are not serious within rabbits, but you should still look out for signs of watery eyes, crusted or goopy eyes, swelling, redness around the whites of the eye or cloudy eyes. You can use cotton balls to wipe away any excess gunk that may be around their eyes, but if you are ever concerned, then contact your vet.
Skin
As we mentioned above, rabbit skin is very sensitive. Therefore, you should check it regularly for any signs of irritation. Anything that looks like dandruff could be a symptom of mites or fleas, which can be treated at home.
Sore Hocks
Rabbits have very soft feet and, unlike cats and dogs, do not have pads to help protect them. Therefore, if the floor is too hard underneath your bunny’s paws, they can develop sore hocks. This is essentially irritated and inflamed skin on the underside of their feet.
Check regularly for sore hocks. To help prevent them, make sure your rabbit has somewhere soft to sit and rest. They should always have access to a surface that is non-wired to sit on, as this can be one of the main causes of sore hocks.
Regular Veterinary Appointments
Taking your rabbit for regular vet appointments is important. You should schedule a check up once a year, during which time your vet will check your rabbit all over, including their eyes, ears, teeth, genitals, feet and weight.
These check ups are very important because rabbits often do not show when they are in pain, so a professional can let you know if there is anything to be concerned about. Your vet will also vaccinate your bunny against any diseases they may be prone to catching.
