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advice on grooming

sarattie

sarattie

Alpha Buck
Harvey is a very "fluffy bun" and despite a strict diet, slightly overweight still.

BUT he never grooms himself and he hates being groomed or brushed or stroked down his flanks. His bottom is always dirty and the surrounding fur matted.

He always has clumps of loose fur sticking out everywhere! But he goes mad i we try and "pluck" it!

Anyway... we do pin him down for a thorough groom every week and get mountains of hair out but this doesnt solve the bum problem. He doesnt like being touched around his bottom and sometimes it gets so bad we even have to soak it in the kitchen sink to loosen the stubborn bits.

His back feet fur is really matted and above his tail and its loose so just pulls out easily but it makes him so cross..

What can we do to sort out the grooming and bottom problem??

Thanks for any tips!!

Sarah
 
If he is still overweight then perhaps there is an underlying problem which needs to be sorted so the "bottom problem" can be adressed. What is his diet? Does he have enough exercise? Have you ruled out any medical conditions?
 
he's been to the vet and they said that he is slightly overweight.

He has a small amount of supa exel lite which just about covers the bottom of his bowl every evening and every morning he has a fresh bundle of hay. but he always seems hungry even with this.

Anything green gives him runny poo, even just a sniff.

He gets 1/2 riveta midday treat.

I wouldnt say he is fat. he is a rounded bun perhaps slightly overweight, Id probably say he was more lazy than fat.

He is out all day with free access of the lounge dining room, but tends to flop out mostly. He does have a 'race round' but spends most of the time with us flopped out by the sofa.

If we are up late we put his food in his treat ball which he tumbles around for dinner...
 
It does sound like your feeding him a good diet. The bum issue could be that he's not reaching around to eat the poop rather than his diet is too rich. You might like to try adding a probiotic.

Is he a house rabbit? I'd recommend shortening the fur in his problem areas which you can do with clippers (ask the vet or a groomer) or just with sissors. Usually the inside of the backlegs and between them are the places that you need to shorten. It will make cleaning him up easier (hopefully get rid of the need for bathing) and may make it easier for him to clean himslef. Don't do the bottom of his feet though as that's protection for his heels.

Tamsin
 
Thanks Tamsin,
We have clipped his fur around his bottom and between his legs etc with some small clippers, the vet showed us how and where to do this...
we also add a small amount of probiotic to his water.erm... goes to look at bottles... here we are... I use these 2:
VETARK PRO -C Probiotic daily a small spoon in water..

and DR Squiggles Daily Essentials 1 (water soluable vitamins) about a spoon once a week (without the Pro B)
 
Sounds like you're doing all the right things already. I wonder if it would be worth trying a different pellet like A&P or SS. I've heard of a few bunnies that excel didn't agree with but that was the standard not the lite version (which has more fibre).

Perhaps try worming him too?

Other than that I'm out of ideas :?
 
Ive not long (a few months) moved over from SS. He loved it but I was advised to move on to Excel lite to help with his weight... theres been no change in his poo since the food move...

I still add about 3 or 4 SS pellets in his mix as a treat as he loves them so much!!! Im soft!

Ill try worming... can indoor buns without contact from other animals get worms?
 
Sounds like ytou're doing it all! No more I can think of, perhaps he's just really lazy and would rather you did all the work :? :lol:
 
It does sound as though he is enjoying a lazy life. Is there any way you can let him outside(when the weather heats up a bit). I only ask as I've noticed how much less active my two are since they came indoors. We had 2 beautiful days last week so I put them out in their run for a couple of hours and it brought it home to me while watching them roaming around nibbling at the grass, just how lazy they are indoors.
 
I take him out on his harness (our back garden isnt secure and he hates the run - its one of those extendable dog ones which go really long and retract when they get closer again with his bunny harness on the end) and he will have a nose about and then just find a shady spot to sit in for 5 mins then make a beeline through the conservatory back home!! I have tried chasing him, but he just thinks I'm rushing over to give his a treat or stroke him!! :lol: :lol:

Thanks for the tips.... I might try going back to the vet again and see if they can suggest anything else...

regarding the actual fur... how do you all groom (he hates brushes!) Is stroking with a gentle pinch on the loose bits to pull them out ok? theres no restriction and it just falls out in bundles....
 
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