arimabarii
New Member
Hello all, I'm in an interesting predicament. I work at an animal hospital where a rabbit was abandoned. This little buddy is in pretty bad shape, I think it's an Angora. It has a severe flea infestation which we are treating but it is also completely matted all over, to the point where it needs shaving. It's so bad we can't even sex the poor thing. I have decided I will be adopting and taking home this rabbit, and therefore I need to figure out a way to shave it. The mats are tight and if pulled on the rabbit obviously reacts badly, and I don't think it'll take kindly to the sound of clippers. My mom is a groomer with experience with specifically Angora rabbits, so the actual act of shaving isn't what concerns me. I have no idea how to help her keep the rabbit still, or keep the rabbit calm while she tries to shave it, and I obviously do not want to hurt or stress this poor bud, it's been through enough. Does anyone have any tips or advice on safely holding the rabbit so she can shave it? As I said the mats are tight and we know rabbit skin is thin so it moving suddenly and harshly is a very big concern. I already asked the vet here if sedation would be an option but it's been decided that it's in too rough a shape to be safely sedated. We want to handle this as soon as possible because the fleas probably won't be successfully killed until we can get rid of all these mats. I've attached an image of said little friend in case that helps in any way. The top coat is ok, but the mats are very severe underneath. It's basically solid mat on either side of the cheeks even.