matted fur?

[wallice]

Hi

I adopted my boy Wallice from a shelter a little over a month ago (btw hes a Flemish giant).At first he was a little nippy with me when I did something he didn't like, so I didn't get to really feel the fur around his back end before. He had some matted fur on his hind feet, but when I checked them, I was able to pull them right out, so no harm done.

No so for his bum! I got to feel around recently while grooming him, and near his tail and under it, the fur feels all matted and tangled. Apparently its sensitive, because when I tried to untangle it, he flinched and nipped at me.

What should I do? Will it just fall out on its own, or do I have to have someone trance his front end while I trim away his matted bum fur? Can I brush it out?

Any suggestions would be great!

 

[aurora369]

It may be less painful to cut the matts off. Either with clippers or some scissors (very carefully).

Bad matts can pull the skin, and in really bad cases cause tears in the skin.

Can you get anyone to help you? One person to feed him treats and rub his nose while the other person tries to work with the matts?

--Dawn

 

[wallice]

Hi
Thats the plan, I'm hoping my boyfriend has perfected his bunny face smooshing skills enough to put mr. Wallice in enough of a trance for me get in there with some tiny nail scissors. If all else fails, crasins!

 

[aurora369]

Hopefully it works!

If it's very painful for him, then doing short sittings might be better than one long session.

Good luck, hopefully he feels better after his grooming session.

--Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, I often pull out back feet matted fur on my bunnies, but other mats should probably be cut out.

 

[Maureen Las]

Using scissors is dangerous ..despite what you think you may have thin skin rather than fur . ; I know a woman who actually cut a quarter size hole in her angora in an attempt to use scissors to cut mats
clippers are better but do require some know how

 

[wallice]

Yikes!
Should I just take him somewhere to get it done professionally? I feel like we're just bonding cutting a hole in him would probably set me back...forever...
Do you think a dog groomer would do it?

 

[Maureen Las]

I don't think a groomer does rabbitsbut you could ask if anyone had groomed a rabbit before
a breeder of long haired rabbits could do it

maybe a vet tech but even then only if experienced

Call around
you could try arabbit rescue if you can find one near you..

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You can get a small trimmer at Walmart for about $10. It would be enough to get the mattes out without being very expensive. It can take some practise to use them, but you are less likely to cut him.

Most dog groomers don't know how to handle rabbits, mostly because they don't have experience with them. You might be able to find one who does know a bit about rabbits and has the equipment, but it could be hard. You could post an ad on craigslist or Kijiji asking for someone who can help you. Even a groomer who can shave the area while you hold him could work.