Grooming your pet rabbit is an important part of their care routine, as it helps maintain their health and appearance and helps to keep them comfortable.
Rabbits usually have two major moults each year – one for winter, and one for summer. This is usually followed by smaller moults throughout the year. However, if your rabbit stays indoors, then it is likely to moult continuously throughout the year , which will require more frequent grooming.
Due to the regular moulting, we as owners need to assist in removing the loose coat through brushing regularly, as this can greatly help reduce the amount of fur consumed by your rabbit when grooming themselves.
Bloating in bunnies is a very serious condition. It can be caused by fur ingesting, especially during moulting seasons, so it is essential that brushing is done on a regular schedule.
Grooming also helps us to create a bond with our pets, practice safe handling and to keep an eye on their general health such as looking out for:
Most bunnies strongly dislike being handled and groomed; however, it is essential to keep them healthy and comfortable. When you begin grooming for the first time, you should start nice and slow and keep the sessions short while gradually extending the length of each session.
Always have treats within close reach to reward your bunny every step of the way and make for a positive experience. Lots of hard work and time can be quickly undone by a negative experience.
If you find any mats on your bunny, they can be difficult to remove, and they are very uncomfortable as they create tension on the skin and do not allow for proper movement.
Please avoid using scissors to remove the mats, as you can risk unintentionally cutting your bunnies’ skin. It is best to contact an experienced bunny groomer in your area to help remove the mats by shaving them or contact your local Unusual Pets Vets clinic to book a quick clip to remove them.
Bunnies have very delicate skin, so you can run the risk of cutting their skin when using electric clippers at home if you are inexperienced.
Understanding what brush or comb your rabbit needs will help make the grooming process easier and for both you and your rabbit.
Rabbit’s nails can grow quickly and become sharp, so it’s important to trim them regularly; this, however, can be a daunting experience. Watching a video tutorial or booking an appointment with one of our experienced nurses to demonstrate how to cut nails can be helpful.
The most important part of nail clipping is to ensure you do not cut the nail too short and cut the quick (the blood vessel inside the nail) as you can make them bleed. If you cut the quick and the nail bleeds, you can dampen a cotton tip, dip it into potassium permanganate, and press it into the bleeding nail, which will stem the bleeding.
Pro tip: prepare this before you begin trimming, and try not to spill the powder, as it can stain skin and surfaces when wet.
Begin slowly. You don’t have to cut all your rabbits’ nails in one session. The best way to hold them is to cradle them like a baby and to have a second person cut the nails for you, or you can do this on your own if you are confident. Alternatively, you can leave your bunny standing on a towel on the bench, gently expose each paw whilst leaning over the top of them, hugging them into your body and trim slowly.
Remember to always be gentle and patient when grooming your rabbit, and never force them to do anything that will make them uncomfortable. If you have concerns about your rabbit’s health or grooming needs, consult with your Unusual Pet Vets team.
Very nice and informative service. Lovely vet practice, will definitely recommend to others.
Wonderful and knowledgable vet. Took time to thoroughly check over my rabbit and answer all the questions I had. Would recommend to other rabbit owners.
Highly recommend, caring and compassionate no matter how small your pet. Thank you to the unusual pet vets for treating our very sick little mouse Moon, she came back to full health and is now enjoying life in a new home with new cage mates.
Cannot speak highly enough of the caring and lovely staff at UPV Osborne Park. Particularly to Dr Kelly for the wonderful treatment and compassion she displayed caring for my much loved
Bugz. Definitely recommend this practice. Simply the Best.
It’s a great vet for exotic pets, we would like to thank Dr Kiara and the nurses for all the help they have done for the bunnies especially when they have been unwell.
Gretel – Thankyou for all the tips and advice on what and what not to do with the bunnies.
We will definitely be recommending to all our exotic animal friends.
Fantastic vets! Staff are so helpful and friendly. Vet’s are brilliant, they show so much love and compassion to our animals. 5 stars all the way!!
I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to the gang at Murdoch who helped my family and stimmy Cindy. It was a very stressful time and they assisted us with ease! Pricing was also more than reasonable which we were very grateful for. Thank you guys again, my noodle is now on the mend all to you guys.
Excellent service, caring and professional advice, and very good handling for our pet bird, on our first visit today at The Unusual Pet Vets, Jindalee. Very helpful, and they also provided further reading for us via email after our appointment regarding a few things we asked about. All staff were lovely and friendly – from the initial phone booking (you can do internet bookings too) to and including the consult. Thank you very much – we’ll definitely be back! Highly recommend.
Received the best service from Dr Sasha at the Sunshine Coast clinic. She taught me so much in such a kind manner and was very gentle to my Guinea pig. She then followed up by emailing further information on Guinea pig general care. Highly recommend!
Amazing and caring staff at the Ferntree Gully Clinic. Our baby rat was not well, and they always made time to help and support her. Very knowledgeable and compassionate. Would highly recommend and absolutely will use again. Thank you to everyone at Ferntree Gully for being there for us and Tabby.
