Caring for a rabbit involves more than providing proper housing, nutrition and a friend. Rabbits are naturally very clean animals and keep their own coat clean. Moreover, the nails wear out by walking on a hard surface. Even so, it is necessary to bathe your rabbit every now and then and the nails should be checked regularly and clipped if necessary.
The rabbit in nature
We all know the wild rabbits that live outside in the woods or in the fields. These rabbits eat what they need at the time and they bathe regularly. They also walk on different surfaces, where they can wear their nails in a natural way and to keep their teeth short they nibble on twigs and eat roughage. They wear the nails themselves by walking on different types of surfaces such as stones, tiles and rocks.
Dental care
A rabbit’s teeth are perhaps the most important of all, because without teeth they cannot eat. It is therefore vital that they can gnaw well to prevent the teeth from growing too long. Because the teeth of a rabbit are always growing, it is important that a rabbit is always provided with roughage in the form of hay. That is why it is very important that rabbits can gnaw on hay and willow branches. They love to eat willow branches and they are also very healthy. During the annual vaccination, the vet will look at your rabbit’s teeth and file them if necessary.
Nail care
A rabbit’s nails are always growing, just like human nails. Because most of our house rabbits live in a hutch or run with grass and sand as a substrate, the nails do not get the chance to wear out naturally. It is therefore very important that the nails are checked at least once every two weeks and to trim them if necessary. Cutting nails is always done with special nail scissors or nail clippers that are suitable for cutting rabbit nails. Failure to do so could result in the nail tearing, which can be very painful for a rabbit.
The nail consists of a ‘dead’ and a ‘living’ part. In a rabbit with white nails, ‘life’ can be recognized by the red color in the nails. You are supposed to cut the nail a few mm away from ‘life’. With a black nail you cannot see where ‘life’ is. That is why it is best to cut the sharp tip of the black nails, so that you are sure that you do not cut them. Yet it sometimes happens that you accidentally cut too far and that the nail starts to bleed. This is not harmful, but you do well to stop the bleeding. You can do this by pushing the nail into flour or coffee grounds or by squeezing the nail with your hand. If you are afraid of cutting your rabbit’s nails yourself, you can always go to your vet. He will gladly show it for you and you can cut the nails under their supervision so that you can do it yourself in the future.
Coat care
A rabbit is naturally very clean and washes itself regularly. It’s a lot of fun to watch them do that. They suck their paws and then rub their heads and ears. Of course, rabbits with long hair need more care than rabbits with a short coat. The long-haired rabbits should be brushed every day. This is necessary because otherwise the hair will become tangled and that will pull on the skin, because it hurts, a rabbit tries to pull the hair out, resulting in bald spots and wounds. Many people think a long-haired rabbit looks cute, but don’t realize that it takes a lot of time to care for such an animal. A rabbit with short hair needs much less grooming than a rabbit with long hair. Rabbits with short hair also have periods when an extra brushing is not harmful. During the moulting season in the spring and autumn they lose a lot of hair, and then you can help nature a hand by brushing. Be careful with the harder brushes, rabbit skins are not that thick and very sensitive and if you brush too roughly it can hurt a lot.
Wash
Under normal circumstances, a rabbit never needs to be washed. However, in some cases it is necessary to wash them. For example, if a rabbit suffers from mites or lice, it is important to wash or spray it with a special agent that the vet prescribes. Even if a rabbit has poo on its butt, it is important that it is soaked clean. The poo makes it attractive for flies to lay eggs near a rabbit’s butt. These eggs become maggots and when the maggots crawl into a rabbit, it is completely eaten from the inside. Even if you participate in exhibitions with your rabbit, it is important for the points that he looks neat and tidy. The legs are usually dirty from below, you can hardly prevent this because a rabbit just stands in its own feces. Especially a white rabbit or one with white legs you never keep completely white.
How do you do it?
To start, think about where you want to wash your rabbit. For example, in the summer it can be nice outside and a lockable room is very nice for busy rabbits. Some rabbits can simply be washed in the sink, but if you have a Flemish giant or something else of that size, a sink will soon be too small. The solution could be to bathe your rabbit in a baby bath or shower. Once you have decided that, put your things ready and within reach, such as shampoo (special for rabbits or medical shampoo, soda or betadine shampoo) and towels for yourself and your rabbit. Do not get your rabbit until everything is ready and, if necessary, fill a bath or bucket with lukewarm to warm water. Wet your rabbit well, but gently touch its eyes and nose. When he is thoroughly wet, soak him and let it soak in, then rinse your rabbit well until you are sure that no suds have remained in his coat. If any residue remains, it can itch and irritate, causing your rabbit to scratch itself open. Finally, pat your rabbit dry with a towel. Then let it dry inside or in warm weather in a draft-free room. Put a rabbit never in the draft it can make him sick and even die.
Key lock
As you can read, care is very important for a rabbit, this of course applies to all animals. If you have any questions or if you have any doubts about something, you would do well to inquire at a special rabbit shelter or vet. These folks specialize in rabbits and know more about it than the pet store.