Rabbit grooming and care tips for summer
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Your rabbit grooming kit
Before we get started, you’ll need to put together an appropriate grooming kit for rabbits:
- A soft rabbit grooming brush for general maintenance
- A wide-toothed comb (particularly for longer-haired rabbits)
- Nail clippers designed for rabbits
- A rubber brush or pimple mitt to remove the build-up of loose fur
Rabbit grooming: the essentials
How to groom a rabbit: step by step
It’s best to groom your rabbit with a helper at hand, if possible. Here’s what to do:
- Gently pick up your rabbit. Get on the floor and, supporting the chest and hindquarters, lift your bunny. Hold them against you as you stand up slowly.
- Place your rabbit on a table or other surface covered by a towel, being careful they don’t bolt.
- Check them over from head to toe, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
- Check the area around your rabbit’s bottom to make sure it’s clean.
- Once you’re happy everything looks normal, take a rabbit grooming brush and stroke in the direction of hair growth. Remember that rabbit skin is very delicate, so be gentle. If there are matted patches of hair, use a wide-toothed comb to gently work these out.
- Gently clean around their eyes using a moistened cotton wool ball.
How often should you groom your rabbits?
How to health-check a rabbit
Check their teeth
Check their nails
Check their droppings
Check their skin
Keeping rabbits cool in summer
Good grooming alone isn’t enough to stop your bunnies overheating during the warmer months. ‘In the wild, rabbits burrow to keep cool, so make sure pet rabbits have plenty of shelter and shade in summer,’ says Brian. Electric fans placed near their enclosure can be useful, as can a bottle of ice-cold water wrapped in a towel or sock. And although rabbits don’t like getting wet, a gentle spray of water in their vicinity can help keep them cool, too.
For further advice, see our top tips onkeeping your bunny cool during the summer months, keeping your bunny cool during the summer months expert guide.
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