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Badly Matted Rabbit:(

mezrie

Warren Scout
Hello there, it's been a while but i'm back and hope you can help me. My sister in law bought a long haired rabbit a few years ago for her daughter (my niece) but since then it seems the rabbit has had a fair bit of neglect. I've always tried my best to help and have trimmed and brushed matts out and clipped his nails. It's been a while since i've been around my brothers house (he lives quite a way away) so i havent seen their rabbit lately. Well my brother has left the rabbit with mum whilst they go on holiday, mum rang straight away to say she didn't know what to do because the rabbit was in such a state. I went round tonight to see if i could help but there is no way i could do it. The poor little things hair is just one big matt. He must be really uncomfortable so i hope to take the little darlin to the vets tomorrow if possible to get him sorted out and get him vaccinated against myxi which my brother never has done. It's rather important as my mum and dad live out in the sticks and also have a wild rabbit warren in the back garden where the rabbit is staying. He's shut in his hutch as we worried about him getting infected.

When this little fella has been sorted do you think it would be possible to take him in to my care? Thing is i have two female unspayed rabbits already and am worried if this will complicate things. Of course i would keep the females separate from him in all aspects but i just wonder if even sensing his presence would cause problems? I really want to help and give this little lad the treatment he deserves, he is such a lovely little character. Better attitude than my two young ladies i must add!!! I just wondered what your thoughts would be and if anyone has been in this situation or has experienced a really bad case of a matted rabbit and what they did etc etc

Any advice and help would be appreciated.

Love and hugs

Mary x
 
Would your brother allow you to take the bunny?!

If so i would.

Keep him seperate as far away from your gurl bunnies, am guessing there babies and are together?

xx
 
I'm pretty sure he would, he always asks if i want a rabbit when i see him. I didn't know the rabbit was in such a bad condition or i would have acted long ago.

My girl bunnies are about a year and a half old, this little lad is about 2 or two and a half i'm guessing. x
 
I would have the rabbit sheared at the vets...poor thing. If it is that badly matted it will be in some element of discomfort and pain because it pulls at the skin. I would also have the vet check for fur mites.

Long haired rabbit are difficult to manage, especially so for people who don't have a lot of handling experience. It upsets me that people buy them because they look cute but don't understand how much attention they need.
 
Me too :( I clipped as much as i could and removed a few lumps of matted fur around his head but i could see that the bigger matts are pulling on his skin, any longer i'm sure it would just get more and more sore and probably infected. I'm going to ring my vet up first thing in the morning to try and get him in for an appointment. I imagine they may have to put him to sleep to shave him?
 
Just got back from the vets and they are going to sedate the rabbit (who i have now named Peter) and clip all his matts off. It's going tot ake a fair while to do it but i'm sure he will feel like a new rabbit once it's all done. Also i asked for his mxyi injection to be done so when i go to collect him this afternoon he'll be on the road to recovery.

I asked the vet about me taking Peter in to my care when i have two unspayed females. Explained that i would keep them apart but was worried that it still may effect their hormones and behaviour. Of course he then recommended strongly that i get all of them neutered and then possibly integrate them all. Said it was possible and that the odds of them getting on would be stronger as there's two girls and a boy. Only thing is the operation costs £80 each and i just can't fork out so much right now. I know you shouldn't take on animals without being able to afford things but at the moment it's very tight. I suppose i could whack it on the old credit card with everything else!

I would really like to give Peter the love and care he needs but i don't want it to be a great big mistake and it to upset all parties concerned.

I have to ring the vet at 2:30pm to see how things are going so i will update then

Thanks for all your help and support

Mary xxx
 
where are your girls living at the moment? If they're anything like my girls they will fight if they see him and get near him, but will be OK if you put boards between them and keep them apart - no sniffing through the bars as that always caused mine to fight.

I do hope you take this little bunny on - poor thing sounds desperate for some TLC so I hope it goes well for him at the vets - it's best to have long haired rabbits indoors and definitely no woodshavings as they work their way into the coat, drying it and tangling up in the process.

If your girls are happy together I wouldn't rock the boat trying to bond him in, but I would get him neutered as accidental escapes happen - inevitable and I'd never have an unneutered boy just incase! He will most likely be happy as a single house bunny, but that all depends on whether your girls are inside or outside at the mo :)
 
My two girls are outside rabbits but as we rent we wouldn't be able to have an inside pet which is a great shame coz i would love that. I might just double check with the estate agent.

Do you have girl rabbits and boy rabbits? ARe your girls spayed? Thank you for replying to me post :) Appreciate all the help and advice i can get

xxxx
 
My two girls are outside rabbits but as we rent we wouldn't be able to have an inside pet which is a great shame coz i would love that. I might just double check with the estate agent.

Do you have girl rabbits and boy rabbits? ARe your girls spayed? Thank you for replying to me post :) Appreciate all the help and advice i can get

xxxx

Oh that sounds ideal then - I would hope he's not a destructive bunny, but it can't be guaranteed and they all chew through wires etc so you need to bunnyproof. I wouldn't tell the estate agent though - when I asked about my council house they said their rules on pets applied to cats and dogs as 'caged pets' were under control supposedly - so just restrict him to a dog crate and pen, and see how it goes :)

My girls aren't spayed no - they are nearly 4yrs old now and although they have had to share the patio with other rabbits, I always fenced and boarded off the hutches that let onto the patio before letting the girls out there - ironically they came to blows last year over next door's rabbit being allowed to sniff them through the fence :roll: So I put boards up against that too - invest in several sheets of thin plywood :) I also have lots of nursery fireguards from Argos, which are moveable panels which freestand as they are an L shape - they are great for holding boards in place and making temporary fencing :)

The boy I have is neutered and over 4yrs old now - I adopted him ready neutered and I'd never risk it long-term with an unneutered boy on the premises, even in the house - accidents really are inevitable I think, as they are determined little creatures :)
 
I can try and do that but i'm not too keen on going against the landlord, we're moving next month and it's taken a lot to get the place in the first instance! But what i can do i will i assure you. I will look in to castrating the little lad, it may be cheaper than a spay. Maybe i can do all of them just one at a time to help spread the cost a bit. It sounds like you have a lovely set up at home:) x
 
I can try and do that but i'm not too keen on going against the landlord, we're moving next month and it's taken a lot to get the place in the first instance! But what i can do i will i assure you. I will look in to castrating the little lad, it may be cheaper than a spay. Maybe i can do all of them just one at a time to help spread the cost a bit. It sounds like you have a lovely set up at home:) x

It's definitely cheaper to neuter than spay as it's not such an invasive operation - he will still be fertile for up to 8 weeks AFTER his op though, so still needs to be kept away from them then :)

As for my 'lovely setup' - well they seem happy with it but it's not a pretty sight - more like some tumbledown farmyard and I'm sure the neighbours weep over it when they're not shaking their fists at the mess :lol:
 
Lol:) Same here where we are we just have a concrete back yard and neighbours can see on both sides! We've had mesh fencing around the gaps in the wooden fence so they can run free around the yard now and then and the run they have when i'm not at home they make a right mess of! Oddly enough one of our neighbours has just moved and now the house it up for sale. They did try renting but i'm sure the viewings were unsuccessful because of the state of our back yard! THe rabbits are happy though! Thats all that matters! x
 
I've just called the vets and Peter is ready to come home :) I can't wait to see him and give him a cuddle.

x
 
oh poor little man! and a lincoln bun too :D:wave: glad you got him sorted - we must have piccies!

it is heartbreaking though when you see their coats in such a state. my poor minstrel is such a good patient girl, but i feel so guilty brushing her mats out. i'm still learning at the moment, but i've taken her to a proffesional groomer before and i'll prob take her again in the course of the year.
 
I'm glad the bunny got through the vet visit okay. Well done to you for helping him out. He must have been very uncomfortable bless him. Hope he's enjoying his cuddles:D
 
Thank you all for your concern and well wishes everyone. I picked him up after work and they've shaved him everywhere apart from his head and socks. He does look a sorry sight. Apparently they went through 3 blades as they kept breaking! He was under sedation for about 40 mins. When i first put him in his hutch back at my mum and dads he was a bit withdrawn but i think its just coz he was tired and had the sedative in his bloodstream. I checked on him a few hours later and he was a lot more alert and chomping on some hay and of course lapped up some cuddles! He is so much more affectionate than my two girls! It's a pleasure to have a cuddle! His hutch is currently in my old bedroom at my mum and dads so he'll be just fine:) It's lovely in there, not too stuffy and not too cold. I'm really glad it's all done. Going back to the vets on Monday for a check up and to have his myxi jab. They thought it would be a bit too much to put him through anymore today.
I'll try to take some pics tomorrow to post on here, he is still a handsome chap none the less. The vet nurses who trimmed him named him Gok as they said he looked so good naked! I think that name will probably stick! Seemed they all loved him at the vets:) Nice to know he's in such good hands there.

xxxx
 
Thank you all for your concern and well wishes everyone. I picked him up after work and they've shaved him everywhere apart from his head and socks. He does look a sorry sight. Apparently they went through 3 blades as they kept breaking! He was under sedation for about 40 mins. When i first put him in his hutch back at my mum and dads he was a bit withdrawn but i think its just coz he was tired and had the sedative in his bloodstream. I checked on him a few hours later and he was a lot more alert and chomping on some hay and of course lapped up some cuddles! He is so much more affectionate than my two girls! It's a pleasure to have a cuddle! His hutch is currently in my old bedroom at my mum and dads so he'll be just fine:) It's lovely in there, not too stuffy and not too cold. I'm really glad it's all done. Going back to the vets on Monday for a check up and to have his myxi jab. They thought it would be a bit too much to put him through anymore today.
I'll try to take some pics tomorrow to post on here, he is still a handsome chap none the less. The vet nurses who trimmed him named him Gok as they said he looked so good naked! I think that name will probably stick! Seemed they all loved him at the vets:) Nice to know he's in such good hands there.

xxxx

Gok.....oh bless his heart :)

I'm so glad that things are going well for him....long may it continue :) x
 
Well my brother is back from holiday and seems that he's taking the bunny home with him. I feel a bit gutted and a bit short changed i guess as i and my mum and dad put a lot in to gettni him sorted out. He said he will take him home and see how things go and if it gets bad again then he'll pass him over to me. I don't want to cause aggro in the family so will step down. To make me feel even worse i have just come home and on the way hit a rabbit:( i can't stop crying. I always drive so carefully at night just in case, i just couldn't avoid him, he ran straight ahead instead of left or right to the verge and i couldn't completely stop becuase i had cars up my bum:( I just hope it was quick, i'm pretty sure he must have gone to rainbow bridge coz if i hadn't got him the two cars behind must have. I turned round a few times and drove up and down the road to see if i could see him and there was nothing. God i hope he's not lying in the grass somewhere in horrifying pain:( Please God let him have gone to sleep quickly:( x
 
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