Hot Spot

[Smoggy]

My 9 year old rabbit Meadow has had dental surgery twice for spurs on her molars which we got rasped. She has never been good at eating hay opting more for pellets and nibbling straw which has no nutritional value I am told. We give her meadow hay and chopped hay, and fresh grass plus some veggies.
She has developed a rash under her chin caused by saliva several times, it was treated with antibiotics in the past.
The girl at the pet shop said rashes under the chin were common in a number of animals and the area is known as a "hot spot". It was very hot under there when I checked and this girl suggested shaving the area. This means I can clean it with hibiscrub and let it dry. Otherwise the fur becomes even wetter and the rabbit overgrooms and I think makes the problem worse. I tried a hairdryer before after cleaning but it isn't nice to subject a rabbit to treatment like that.

Has anyone shaved their rabbits fur before and if so how...?
Thank you

 

[helena]

My rabbits fur is way to thick to use a shaver. I just have to use scissors if i really need to cut it for some reason. If you do cut it, be sure you are very very careful. I hope you bunny feels better soon!

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm familiar with "hot spots" on dogs. They can be fairly common but I've never seen them under the chin. I would never trust a pet shop employee -- they are more often wrong than right.

It looks more like your rabbit has been drooling which is a common symptom of a dental issue. The fact that she has had dental issues only confirms this. I would be hesitant to shave the area and would have the vet check her teeth again to get to the root of the problem (no pun intended).

On a separate note, you mentioned she prefers pellets and straw over her hay. Are her pellets limited? At her age her daily pellet amount should be limited. Also, if she tries to nibble on straw, why have any? Just use hay so she has no access to straw. Many rabbits prefer pellets over hay, which is why those pellets should be limited. Often limiting pellets will get them to eat more hay.

 

[zuppa]

I use wireless hair clippers there are extra attachments so they are safe to use. In this video black attachment it is plastic. I used for my lionhead with very thick fur absolutely no problem but I don't think you can use on wet. I agree that could be drooling caused some dental problem when my rabbit had overgrown teeth he had also wet spot there. Also teary eyes.

 

[Smoggy]

It is a dental issue yes the rash is caused by drool. We don't use straw anymore, we used it along w hay for years and it was the pet shop assistant that told me that it had no nutritional value for rabbits but my vet never said the same thing. Unfortunately by that stage the damage regarding spurs on Meadows teeth had already been done. I understand that hay is essential to get them using their back molars/promoting chewing. So she gets hay daily chopped and unchopped and limited pellets too, a little more perhaps than is OK but definetly limited. They are supposed to get a couple of tablespoons each. I thought I might be able to get rid of her rash in the meantime by continuing to encourage more fiber and shaving under her chin. Which would allow for cleaning and then drying the area to reduce the grooming and limit production of saliva. I hope not to have to have a third dental surgery... She is quite old now and it's scary to think that she might not wake up. I will talk to the vet yes but wanted to do some research first...

 

[Smoggy]

My rabbits fur is way to thick to use a shaver. I just have to use scissors if i really need to cut it for some reason. If you do cut it, be sure you are very very careful. I hope you bunny feels better soon!

Thank you, yes there are specialist scissors apparently. I will have to be extremely careful you are right, sometimes I have to cut away areas of clumped fur around their genitals as otherwise it can attract flies, it's a worrying job!

 

[Smoggy]

I use wireless hair clippers there are extra attachments so they are safe to use. In this video black attachment it is plastic. I used for my lionhead with very thick fur absolutely no problem but I don't think you can use on wet. I agree that could be drooling caused some dental problem when my rabbit had overgrown teeth he had also wet spot there. Also teary eyes.

Thanks so much its great to watch a demo video
How did you treat the over grown teeth problem with your rabbit. Yes we also get the weepy eye along with the drool. Our have always had the freedom of grazing its such a pity. Our other rabbit is absolutely fine on the same diet...