is this normal for american fuzzy lops??

[agnes_day]

we picked up a really pretty fuzzy lop from someone on craigslist..and i have spent an hour cutting huge mats of fur off of this guy, with plenty more to deal with tomorrow..i am talking mats that feel like skin. i thought he had tumors when we got home. that and his nails are really really long..i was wondering why she was so eager to carry him out to the car and put him in the cage for me..at any rate, should i just shave all of it off? he is such a sweetheart, while i was doing it, he put his little paw on my arm..(probably because he wanted to escape but it was still cute

)

 

[herbandteas]

It is not normal but if the fur is not groomed enough this does happen. I had angora's which I loved dearly but the grooming was the pits. If a person is not use to cutting nails and the rabbit is twitchy then that is another reason why it has long nails.

 

[cherndon712]

Do you have a comb designed for dematting? I have one, and I do have an angora. The trick is to just use the first two teeth of the comb, and pull out away from the body. Keep doing that with little tiny sections of the hair right where the mat starts. That breaks the mats up. You'll get a lot of fur, trust me! My angora was bad when I got her, took me 5 hours to get her straightened out. They do require more grooming, but they're awfully cute when they're all cleaned up! For general brushing, just pick up a slicker brush.
And, if he'll let you, I just use normal fingernail clippers on my rabbits. With 30 plus, and a lot of dark ones, they're easier than pet nail clippers. If he has dark nails, try try try to find the quick. If you can't, trim just a bit at a time. Usually the quick only comes out at most 1/2 inch, but you never know!
Good luck!

 

[agnes_day]

thats the thing..the mats are completely solidified..they feel like bubbles of skin or something..poor guy is literally covered in them! i put him back in his cage with some treats and im going to work on him some more tomorrow, the poor thing. even his neck has big clumpy mats stuck to it.

 

[Omniskies]

If he has a place to keep warm then just shave him down. It may be easier to take scissors and cut the clumps out. You won't be able to cut them down to the skin, but you will be able to make them smaller, which are easier to manage.

If the nails are too long then it's a sign that you have an older rabbit. Usually by the time a rabbit is 2-3 years old the nails will be come long and start to twist. Clip them down and give him something to sratch on (even a _hardwood_ board/log works - not soft wood since it will splinter in his teeth).