Molting: Ingested Fur

[Luna]

Is there anything you can give buns-besides more hay-to help prevent blockage/stasis from ingested fur? Some kind of supplement or something? Luna is molting and gets multiple sessions each day of hair brushing with a furminator, plucking, and a light lint roll, but she is still ingesting some because there was a ‘string of pearls’ in her litter box last night. I’m usually not too alarmed when I see one here and there because there will only be 2-3 poops strung together, but last night the string was 5 poops long! Plus, she already had her first bout of stasis about 5 months back so I want to make extra sure her digestive system can handle any ingested hair during her molt.

Btw, thank you to everyone who posts to this site! Before I joined, the information I found here saved Luna’s life when she had stasis.

[Gina.Jenny]

I would suggest feeding extra wet green stuff, like herbs, salad leaves, as these will help the hair pass through? I’m having to do this with Jenny right now as she is moulting and also producing little chains. Needless to say, our other 5 buns approve the extra rations

[JackRabbit]

Bunnies naturally ingest fur as a normal part of grooming, and while you don’t want to see tons of furry poops, the string of pearls poops show you that the fur being ingested is properly being passed through and out. Frequent brushing (to lessen the excess fur ingested), plenty of fresh hay (fiber to keep the gut moving) and fresh water (hydration to keep food, hay, and fur soft and moving and prevent blockages) are all that are needed. Some people have been told to use petromalt (cat hairball remedy) but current research has shown that this can actually coat a forming blockage and prevent water from softening it and allowing it to pass.

[Author]

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