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Bunny bum knots

Mazzy

Young Bun
Hi,

For a change I have Paws causing me worries, for the 2nd time Paws has got a knot of fur, the first time it was to the left of her poop escape hatch but now this one is to the right. Would it be ok to use a pet hair trimmer to keep the fir neat down there rather than stressing her with having to groom that area every couple of days.
She finds it stressful doing the rest of her body but the poop escape hatch area is a real stresser. When I tried earlier she was burying her head in my dressing gown and was just a quivering wreck, I had her wrapped in a towel to try calm her down but it wasn't working and I hate putting her through it So often. So would keeping the hair short once a fortnight with trimmers be better than the 7 times I would need to do combing down there in the same for night period?
 
You can trim the fur but it is very important to take extreme care, Rabbits have very delicate skin and a tear 'down there' would be very painful and very likely to become infected.

If you are confident that you can do it yourself, probably whilst someone else holds Paws, then I would do it. But if in any doubt at all I'd ask your Vet or a Vet Nurse to do it for you.

It will still be important to check her bum area a couple of times a day to make sure she is actually clean 'down there' even if she has had the fur trimmed.

If she continues to get a mucky bum then that is indicative of something else going on, often diet related (too much carbohydrate/protein and not enough hay)

Good luck xx
 
Is it just the fur knotted or does she have sticky poop getting stuck in her fluff?
 
It's just knotted fur her bum and glands are nice and clear and the knot is pure white fur. I feel awful that I have not noticed it before now and that I'm clearly missing the area when brushing her but she has started a new moult again so think it's as a result of the shed that the knot has come about. She has a mane and long fur similar to a lionhead but is not a true lionhead as she weighs 2.8kg so is too big for this breed. Generally when I'm brushing her rear end I comb her while she is laid down so pull the comb from underneath her nether regions towards her tail but I think shaving that area to be shorter so it's less than the 1.5 to 2 inches in length should help with the problem. I check how clean she is down there usually when she has done the DBF on a evening and she is oblivious to what is going on but lifting legs to examine whilst sprawled out is completely different to me attempting to groom during the DBF.
 
Sounds like a trim or shave would be a good solution then :) Sometimes the lionhead style fluff is just too difficult for a bunny to maintain and a little haircut will make it easier for both of you to manage. Like Jane say's just be be careful as their skin is much thinner than cats/dogs.
 
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