Hair matting on the bottom of feet

[Mdsn]

Hi all!
I have two mini lops but only one has the issue with hair matting and knotting on the bottom of his back feet.
He barely tolerates being groomed and clipped as it is, so trying to get to his feet is nearly impossible.
I had it attended to at a vet, but they had to sedate him to cut it away, I would love to avoid doing this in the future.
Does anyone have any advice of how I can Manage this and do it myself whilst keeping my bun as least stressed as possible.
Thank you!

[JackRabbit]

Matted fur on bunnies who shed is basically shed fur that has gotten tangled in with fur that is still attached. My two holland lops have a tendency to get mats on the sides and bottoms of their feet. The side mats got so bad at one point that they looked like fingers sticking out the sides! Our vet showed me how to deal with foot fur to deal with and prevent both side and bottom of foot shed fur……

For mats that stick out on sides of feet: *gently* pull open the tip of the mat as if you were pulling open a cottonball. Using your fingernails or tips of your fingers, pull out the shed fur from with the center of the mat. The shed fur will easily slide right out until the mat is gone and only the fluffy attached fur remains.

For mats on bottoms of feet; Using your fingernails, *gently* pull the shed fur out of the matted fur as if you were trying to remove one hair at a time. Fur on the bottoms of feet has more of a wooly texture but will easily slide out and the result will be fluffy fur left on bottoms of feet. Bunnies need plenty of soft fluffy foot fur for cushioning so never shave mats on bottoms of bunny feet.

Once feet are mat-free, inspect feet regularly. Gently pull out any loose tufts on sides of feet, and do as described above on bottoms of feet. No need to be aggressive — all you need to do is remove the shed fur! I’m always amazed at how easily the shed fur comes out!

[Bam]

Hi JackRabbit! *waving*

[Mdsn]

I’m sure if I could get to his feet I could get it out. But he just will not tolerate me touching his feet or being held and he won’t sit still. I just wondered if there where any tricks for a timid bun to get them to tolerate grooming.

[Author]

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