Emma Jones
Rabbits are clean animals that spend most of the day grooming. You can support this natural behavior with simple measures. We’ll show you which ones.
Healthy skin and thick fur protect rabbits from the cold and wet. On the other hand, if the fur is dirty or sticky, it can no longer fulfill its essential task. For this reason, rabbits groom themselves extensively several times a day. The head and ears are cleaned with the help of the front paws, the rest of the body (including the stomach, back, and anogenital area) can be reached with the snout.
Grooming of rabbits
In a healthy rabbit, the coat is:
- tight
- glittering
- fitting
Bald, reddened, or sticky areas (especially on the eyes, nose, and anogenital region), on the other hand, indicate disease and must be treated by a veterinarian. Therefore, keep a close eye on your long-eared cats and check their coat and body for possible pathological changes during the daily health check.
Rabbits change their fur twice a year and sometimes look quite “shaggy” during this time. The change between thicker winter and lighter summer fur takes place in spring and autumn. Strong temperature fluctuations (heat or cold) can also cause a change of coat. During this time, your rabbits shed a lot, so that there are also bald spots in their fur.
Since rabbits swallow a lot of hair when grooming and, unlike cats, cannot vomit it, there is a risk of constipation. To prevent this from happening, you can help by brushing your rabbits regularly during the molting period. Use a soft brush with natural bristles for this. You can also carefully pull loose tufts of fur out of the fur with your fingers.
Cutting claws in rabbits
Rabbit claws are constantly growing back. Often they do not wear out by themselves and then have to be trimmed every 10 weeks. If the claws are too long, the animals have pain when walking and can injure themselves. In principle, you can trim the claws yourself, but if you are unsure, you can also have them trimmed by a veterinarian. The claws are trimmed so that they end with the hair of the fur. However, they must not be cut too short, otherwise, the vein will be injured and the animals will bleed. You can read here how to claw trimming works.