Big Molt

[Deleted User]

Asriel is going through a particularly unruly molt. I brush him/pluck off his fur several times a night, and it is never enough. My main concern right now is preventing a blockage/stasis. He has a water bowl, and we’ve tried a water bottle. The water dish I have to rinse out 2-3 times a day because there’s so much fur in there after only a few hours. He won’t drink out of the water bottle, and when he does it seems like the spout has more hair on it than the water dish has in it. The spout is constantly caking up with fur, and I don’t have the time to rinse it off every single hour, especially while I’m at work. When you pet him, it releases enough hair to make you cough. He’s not showing any signs of blockage/stasis. He’s still eating, drinking, and pooping fine. He’s a tad lethargic, but he gets moody during molts anyways. Is there anything at all I can do to prevent something from happening?

[Muchelle]

Also pay attention to his wet food. Vegetables get hairy so fast =_= I always serve them well dried and in a bowl. Luckily K eats from the bowl without taking the stuff out (you know I’m paranoid at this point about his fur).

To avoid getting his fluff from going everywhere, especially after you’ve plucked or groomed him, you can use a barely wet towels (or your hands) to swipe him head to tail in one long stroke. It will keep the hair flat on him and take off any remaining strays that the brush didn’t grab. I usually go for the hand, even if I tell you, it’s a rather yucky sensation afterwards. Also avoid ears for obvious reasons.

If situation is BAD you can give the furminator a try. It really picks up the strays. Just don’t go for the kitten/small pet one (light green head) but get the size just over that, I regret buying the x-small one

[OverthinkingBun]

This is sort of heresy, not a demonstrated fact, so please take it with a grain of salt. Ever since I started giving my bunny a daily bit of dried papaya as a treat, her appetite overall has really improved. It could be total coincidence, but since I’ve read that papaya may help a rabbit pass fur better, I wonder if it is helping her. My skinny girl is finally getting some weight on her. This is also her new favorite treat.

You could try and see if you notice an improvement?

[Sirius&Luna]

A little piece of pineapple also helps to break up fur in the stomach.

I also swear by lint rollers. Atlas is moulting a lot at the moment (thankfully seems to now be over the worst of it) and I could literally get about 20 lint roller papers covered in fluff off him a day last week.

[Wick & Fable]

I was hesitant about accepting pineapple because the argument against it made sense (i.e. stomach kills anything effective before reaching the gut to break down fur), but with Wick, pineapple has done a great job moving the fur through. One piece a day even did a good job.

As best you can, I’d also just hand pluck more, really concentrating on his grooming spot of the day/time. For example, when I see Wick grooming an area for a bit, I usually interrupt him, pull out as much as I can, then he’ll return to grooming there, except I pulled out pretty much all the loose fur he would have swallowed.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve heard of pineapple before too, I was just always hesitant because you know “too much sugar and gut problems”. So I’ll definitely give a small piece of pineapple a day a try. I’ve never thought of a lint roller! Thanks S&L! I do the majority of his grooming by plucking his fur, but right now I do that and it’s just not enough, along with a glove. I’ll also have to give the wet towel a go! I remember wiping them down in the summer to get cool and I’d pick up tons. Great ideas!

[OverthinkingBun]

Good luck! I was hesitant about sugary treats, too, but my bunny doesn’t really get other fruit, so it’s a tiny part of her overall diet, and hasn’t caused any gut problems so far. I’m sure if I gave her as much papaya as she wanted, she would gleefully destroy her gut microbiome

[Deleted User]

OB: it’s funny you say that! My boys used to get one of the Trader Joe’s papaya enzymes when they were molting, and it did work great, but I think they ended up getting sick of the papaya flavor and wouldn’t eat anymore. That’s why I was like crackers, back to the drawing board. Just like Wil.E.Coyote xD

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