With the number of people keeping pet rabbits increasing steadily, we have noticed more and more people reaching out with various questions about taking care of their pet rabbit recently.
We have seen a spike in the number of people reaching out and asking about how to go about shaving a rabbit too and with there being a number of ways that you are actually able to shave a rabbit, we wanted to publish our own article on the topic.
Now, there are a number of valid reasons where you may need to shave a rabbit but we have seen some people wanting to shave their rabbit just to make it look “cuter”.
This should never be done as it has a direct effect on your rabbit’s ability to insulate itself and keep itself warm at night when temperatures drop.
Sometimes, the valid cases for shaving a rabbit can often be avoided by using a suitable slicker brush for tough mats in your rabbit’s fur that you were initially thinking of shaving.
Not only does this usually work out to be easier and often cheaper than shaving your rabbit but it also removes the potential issue of your rabbit not being warm enough during the night too.
Can You Shave a Rabbit?
You can shave a rabbit with the three most common reasons that you will have to shave a rabbit being due to matted fur, fleas or parasites, and due to the rabbit requiring surgery.
Some rabbit species will also require shaving on a regular basis just to keep their coat under control and to prevent them from overheating but this is generally more of a trim rather than shaving the coat of the rabbit right down.
As we touched on above, there have been a number of photographs and videos of rabbits on social media that have gone viral over the last few years with the rabbits having had their coat shaved right down for fashion purposes.
We would never recommend that you do this as it can cause problems with your rabbit being able to regulate its temperature correctly while also causing skin problems with some rabbit species too.
Clippers designed to shave human hair tend to underperform for shaving animal hair. Thankfully, you can get a cheap set of pet clippers for around $20 to let you clip your rabbit’s hair if needed but most cities and large towns have a dedicated pet grooming business now anyway.
How Do You Shave A Matted Rabbit?
You should usually try to fix the matt in your rabbit’s fur with something like olive oil if possible prior to resorting to shaving its fur.
If you have decided that you have to shave your rabbit’s fur then a set of pet grooming clippers that are able to deal with an undercoat should allow you to quickly and easily shave the matted area of your rabbit.
Another good idea is to try a suitable slicker brush on your rabbit to free it from the matt without you having to shave it.
This can work in some situations but in others, if the matt is bad enough you may have to resort to using a cheap set of pet clippers to remove the matted fur.
If you do have to shave a matt from your rabbit’s coat then be sure to try and shave off as little as fur as possible to reduce any potential issues.
Provided your rabbit is calm, it should be easy to shave the matt off your rabbit with some pet clippers but human clippers may struggle with pet fur and potentially pull at the fur as you shave it irritating your rabbit.
Should You Shave A Rabbit For Fleas?
You should usually avoid shaving a rabbit if it has fleas or parasites as there are quicker, easier, and cheaper treatments available to deal with the fleas.
This removes the need to shave your rabbit and prevents any potential issues with your rabbit being able to maintain its temperature when cold.
There are a number of different rabbit flea treatments on the market that you are able to use to try and remove fleas from your rabbit’s coat.
If your rabbit has other parasites in its coat then you may require special treatments to deal with the parasites from a vet but for the most part, you should easily be able to remove fleas without having to shave your rabbit.
In some situations, a cheap flea comb may be enough to remove the fleas from your rabbit without you even having to get a specific flea treatment.
You do usually have to catch the flea infection in your rabbit early for a comb to work though as once the fleas breed, you will usually need an actual treatment or a coat shave to remove all of the fleas.
Can You Use Hair Clippers On Rabbits?
Hair clippers designed for use on humans tend to perform poorly on rabbits and other pets with pet clippers usually being a much better tool to shave a rabbit. Hair clippers for humans can often pull at your pet’s fur as it clips it and irritate or even hurt your pet rabbit.
You should always try to use some cheap pet clippers if possible rather than hair clippers for humans.
Pet clippers can be purchased for as little as $20 with a cheap set of pet clippers usually performing better than an expensive set of human hair clippers on some pets.
If you are worried about having to shave your rabbit then checking how much your local pet grooming store will charge to shave your rabbit for you may be a good idea.
If you only need your rabbit shaving once then it will usually workout to be cheaper than getting your own clippers and an experienced pet groomer will do the job for you minimising the risk of you accidentally cutting your rabbit during the process too.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over shaving a rabbit to an end. We hope that you have found our article helpful and that you now understand that for the most part, you should be trying to avoid shaving your pet rabbit if possible and only use it as a last resort. There are usually alternative treatments and methods that you are able to use on your rabbit that have a high success rate to reduce the chances of you having to shave it too.
