From my recent deep dive into vaccination protocols, I’m reading that there is no vaccinal plan for rabbits in North America (please, US/Canadian fellow members correct me if I am wrong).

If the bun is an outdoor bun I’d recommend that you get in touch with your vet to arrange a prevention plan against bug bites and other parasites (never use Frontline, that’s toxic for rabbits)

US doesn’t need vaccination, but because you do live in such a warm area, you might want to check for flystrike regularly, as it can be deadly. Flystrike occurs on the bum and occurs in buns that don’t have the best litter box habits.

Flystrike happens when the bunnies are in unsanitary conditions (litter box is dirty and attracts flies), or they have soft poops that get stuck to their bum.

When there is poop and other waste matted to the bun’s fur and there are flies around, they can lay eggs on the rabbit, then the maggots can burrow into the rabbit’s skin.

It can become deadly very quickly! If you ever notice worms in or around the rabbit’s cage or litter box, then you should check their bum area as well and take them to the vet just to be safe.

But, the main thing is prevention, and fly strike is pretty easy to prevent! Just make sure their litter boxes and cages are kept clean, and flies are kept away from them. If either bunny ever has a tummy upset and ends up with soft poop stuck to them, you will want to clean it off right away.

Muchelle and A&B are correct regarding the vaccinations. One thing I’ll add is that there have been incidents of myxomatosis in parts of California, but those incidents have been isolated, and it is still rare (https://rabbit.org/myxo/). There still are other things flies and mosquitoes can transmit, so I agree with Muchelle that a call with a vet could give you some ideas on prevention plans.

For the matts, I saw this technique one time at the rabbit rescue where I volunteer at, so forgive me if the explanation isn’t the best. For a large matt, you get the matt wet with warm water (but just the matt and not the bun) and gently massage the matt between your fingers, and repeat until the matt gets massaged away.

If they are really close to her skin, you don’t want to cut her fur. However, if you have a pair of electric clippers like a Wahl or something, I think you can shave off the matt but I’m not sure if this is correct? Maybe another member can weigh in .

That’s actually how my vet gets a lot of Bombur’s mats gone before she does the sanitary shave. She wets her hands with warm water first and massages the least tricky ones and tries to work out the larger ones.