The fur is all matted round his bum!?

Jack has an area round his bum that is fairly matted. I was going to buy a flea comb but wonder if a small animal brush or cat brush (with soft bristles) would be better to brush this matted fur out.

What do you use?

Would i be ok to assume that this sort of matting to be normal from a rescued rabbit and it's just a case of brushing it out?
I'm just letting him settle in so i would want to leave this brushing for a couple of more days before picking him up and having a go. Can it be left for this time?

thanks

pic below to illustrate

sorry me dont know ...

the mub hasnt had any :wink:

good luck tho!! I dont think Mubby would appriciate me getting that out :roll:

If you don't mind him looking a bit daft for a bit you could just cut the matted parts off. It's a lot quicker than trying to tease through the knots, and a new bunny probably isn't going to be too happy about being held while you brush him for ages. So to brush it all out could take a few sessions.

Also if you think about it when you have long hair you brush from the ends to stop your scalp getting hurt. With shorter hair that is harder.

It all depends on whether he'll let you! If he's happy to be combed and brushed, I'd go with the comb first to see what's happening underneath it all. Best not to cut it til you see how close it is to the skin. Rabbit's skin is frightneingly easy to nick with scissors, so it you choose to do this, be very very careful, and don't even attempt it if he's jumpy.

Using the comb, start with the surface of the matt to see if you can get as much of the loose hairs out as possible, don't go in deep initially, you could make the matts worse. Then as more of the hairs come out, it should be easier. Also try gently plucking at the fur to see if any comes out that way.

Soft brushes aren't really any good in this case.

For example our boarder, Patch has quite a few big matts in his fur and the one's I have had to leave are very close to his skin. If Patch was my rabbit, I'd wait til his hair grows a bit longer so the matt is further out from the skin surface and then clip them off, however, he's not mine so his owner will have to make the choice of either bringing him back to me for clipping once his fur has grown a bit more or, for quickness, safety and comfort of the rabbit, take him to the vet to have the matts shaved off.

I use a cat flea comb on my fluffy rabbit. He has had matts in the past that have been hard to remove. As already said, see if as the fur grows teh matt comes away from his skin which makes it alot easier to remove it. If you do go for the option of cutting it out it helps to have another pair of hands. Put the comb the skin side of the mat being careful of his skin with the comb then you can slowly snip small bits away until its almost gone. Also as said.. if he is jumpy then its not a good idea to cut it out. Good luck.
Chris

thanks for the help. i'll have a bit more of a feel and look tomorrow when i'm going to start handling him a little bit more. to date he's been v happy being stroked etc. when i held him at the rescue i managed to hold him on his back so i could have a good look at his 'private region' so i'm hoping i can still do this and he'll be comfortable with me holding him like this again. i'll get hubby involved :!:

in the meantime...

how does this matting happen?

if i leave it to 'grow out' is this in fact possible?

is the matting going to get worse?

what could be happening underneath the matting? what do i need to look for?

he isn't a long haired rabbit - just standard length i think.

Rabbits often moult in waves from the top to the bottom, it looks to me like thats the end of his moult. Are you sure its a matt and not just lose fur? If you tug it gently do clumps fall out?

A flea comb is good for grooming. If its really lose then its easiest just to use your fingers. You'll probably find the new hair growing underneath.

Tam

i have to agree with tam,it doesnt look matted to me. miffy one of my buns is having a good moult at the min i will try to take a pic of her to show you her fur is comming out in clumps.


sorry she looks funny on the pic i was trying to get her to keep still!
you can see where the lighter bits on her fur are thats where its comming out.

And this is Alfie's bun during moult... http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=418

Tam

You dont want to see claude when hes moulting because he is a rex he goes bold!

gosh thanks for your help
hadn't even considered a moult. i had a cuddle with him this evening and parts round his neck felt a bit lumpy/matty hmm, i think i'll have another look tomorrow. i've so little experience of this i feel so dumb. i'll let you know how i get on. thanks for the pics, links and tips. if it is moult then i'll be pretty relieved.
cheers all.

dont worry.. we all had to learn!
Keep asking questions and you will soon know plenty.
Chris