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This is a short but important post. What does it mean when your rabbit has wet or matted fur under his mouth or chin?

This is Pudge this morning, July 30th. 😥 What does this mean?

I first really noticed this yesterday, I tried to dry his chin and wondered if it was wet from drinking out of his bowl after eating greens. He soon was self-grooming and washing his face.

He was and still is, eating, chewing hay, pooping, drinking, running, flopping and otherwise acting completely normal. However, wet or matted fur under your bunny’s chin can be related to teeth. Therefore, I monitored him closely.

Early this morning I had a good look and saw that his chin fur was looking much worse. No change in anything else, but something is definitely going on.

I immediately called our vet (who thankfully has wonderfully extended hours) and we are bringing him in today.

A little backstory

On June 23rd, we brought Pudge to an exotics vet for his routine well-visit check-up. He was having no problems, but rabbits, just like dogs or cats or other pets (except fish I suppose), should have routine check-ups.

Hi everyone! What is this new place?

As part of his routine check-up, our vet performed a dental exam and looked at Pudge’s back molars. You can read more about rabbit teeth here.

Pudge ready for his dental check up.

His back molars were a little abnormal on one side; pointing out a bit to his cheek. While some tooth abnormalities are congenital, some are caused by lack of a proper diet. In Pudge’s case, the anomaly was mild and no soft tissue damage was present. Our vet suggested getting this addressed surgically within a couple of months.

I scheduled him for his procedure and his appointment is next Wednesday, July 31st.

Because of this new development, however, I am taking him in for an additional vet visit tonight to make sure there is no infection or soft tissue damage.

This is not normal and requires a vet visit!

Why does my rabbit have wet fur under his chin?

Wet chin fur is commonly referred to as “slobbers.” Slobbers describes moist dermatitis and is most often due to excess salivation caused by malocclusion (improperly aligned teeth). The drooling results in wet, matted fur, and sensitive inflamed skin. Your rabbit may lose hair in the area.

This is not normal and anything that is not normal should be checked out. Be prepared by having an emergency kit before your bunny experiences problems.

I will update this post after our vet visit.

Update July 31

Luckily Pudge did not have any signs of an infection. He has no fever and he continues to eat, drink, chew, and poop normally. The vet had a good look inside his mouth to make sure his teeth had not caused a soft tissue injury and thankfully they hadn’t. She also shaved a bit of the matted fur under his chin.

Pudge was a curious and good little boy! He was so cute in his little bunny burrito getting his manly shave!

We kept our original surgery appointment for next Wed August 7th. Until then Pudge is on an anti-inflammatory (Meloxidyl). Read more about the safe use of Meloxidyl here. I will monitor him for signs of infection such as a change in behavior, smaller poops, decrease in eating, obvious signs around his mouth and any other abnormal findings.