Zeus gets tiny mats in corners of mouth?

[bunnnnnnie!]

So Zeus gets tiny mats in his fur at the corners of his mouth, as I circled here in this photo of a bun I found on google:

As I said, they’re small.  Each one is about the size of an eraser on a pencil.  You can’t see them at all unless you part his hair, the only reason I found them was he was chinning my hand and I felt them.  The hair of the mat is stained dark brownish/grayish color.  They’re not wet, they don’t smell.  His mouth is never wet, save for directly after a meal of greens or a drink.

They don’t seem to bother him, and he doesn’t care when I trim them off.   I’m assuming trimming them out of his hair is the right thing to do?  Anyone seen this before, or know what it is? 

[MimzMum]

These mats aren’t just different colored fur that would be part of his natural spot colors? I used to think Fiver was chewing a hole in the fur under his chin till I realized there was a dark spot of fur in his dewlap there.
Does Zeus eat pellets? Is there any food residue in the mats at all? No other lumps in the area or sore spots? Are his teeth okay? If not he might be drooling into these areas and not able to groom out his own saliva.
Pip sometimes gets stringy fur at her mouth corners from drinking from her crock. Plus the ‘green lipstick’ after a batch of veggies. But no matting fur.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By MimzMum on 12/11/2011 08:37 PM

These mats aren’t just different colored fur that would be part of his natural spot colors? I used to think Fiver was chewing a hole in the fur under his chin till I realized there was a dark spot of fur in his dewlap there.
Does Zeus eat pellets? Is there any food residue in the mats at all? No other lumps in the area or sore spots? Are his teeth okay? If not he might be drooling into these areas and not able to groom out his own saliva.
Pip sometimes gets stringy fur at her mouth corners from drinking from her crock. Plus the ‘green lipstick’ after a batch of veggies. But no matting fur.

That actually just made me think of something.. I’m at the bottom of the bag of his pellets and it’s got a lot of “pellet dust” in it.  I wonder if the dust is getting smushed into the corners of his mouth when he eats, then creates a mat?

It’s definitely not a different color of fur, he’s white and chocolate brown, and these mats don’t match his chocolate brown color.  He also drinks from a bowl so the stringy fur you describe plus the pellet dust may be the culprit, possibly?

  EDIT; Forgot to add, these mats only started showing up within the past month or so, and that’s about the time I started reaching the bottom of his pellet bag.

[MimzMum]

Hope that’s all it is then Funny Zeus, gotta lap up every last crumb, huh?

[Stickerbunny]

Powder has a mat on top of his head I have to get off from getting hay dust in his fur, so it’s possible it’s just the pellets.

[RabbitPam]

If they’re mattes as in clumps that feel tougher than the rest of the area, it could be clumping dust or food with the moisture from drinking or dripping greens. See if it goes away with a fresh bag of pellets.

I’m just thinking you should keep an eye on it because if it’s drool all the time that’s doing it, he might need his teeth examined.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By RabbitPam on 12/12/2011 10:51 AM

If they’re mattes as in clumps that feel tougher than the rest of the area, it could be clumping dust or food with the moisture from drinking or dripping greens. See if it goes away with a fresh bag of pellets.

I’m just thinking you should keep an eye on it because if it’s drool all the time that’s doing it, he might need his teeth examined.

Yeah I’m switching to the new bag of pellets to see what happens.  I have been watching him carefully and checking for drool, and so far the only time his lips/chin is wet is right after eating or drinking.  I think he’s also getting sick of me examining his little face all the time! 
 

[MimzMum]

I feel your pain, Mimzy is the worst when it comes to chin work and Fiver is still so sensitive about his face being touched that I can’t tell if he’s got one. ~_~
I would guess they’re not keen on revealing their throat areas for good reason. Too vulnerable a spot to show to possible predators.

Hope Zeus’ toofies are okay.

[Huckleberry]

Huckleberry gets those all the time. It drives me nuts and I always want to pull at them and get them out but I know it hurts her and I cant. I took her to the vet to find out if she had teeth problems and it turned out her teeth don’t line up right.
Hopefully that is not what your problem is and it is just dust from the bag!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Bindi gets little mouth mats too. He’s a messy eater/drinker. I gently comb them out or trim them with clippers.

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