Freaking out…

[Reeem]

Okay so i go to pick my bunny up cause shes thumping , and i see tiny clumps of hair all over the cage and im liike ” OH MY GOD THERES A BUG ON HER “. I put her down on the bed and my brothers like ” whats this hair in her mouth ” , so i picked her up and checked , she had hair sticking out of her mouth. A minute later she just spits out a whole handful of hair. Is this false pregnancy or could it be something else ? Im freaking out right now and i dont know what to do.

[Bam]

It certainly sounds like a false pregnancy. Don’t freak out.
There are no parasites that I know of that’d make the bun pull out her own hair. But you can check so there are no crusts or sores on her skin, just to make sure and calm your own nerves
There’s no possibility of this being a real pregnancy? No chance encounters with a boy bun?

[Reeem]

No chances at all , shes never met another bun. Shes thumping a lot , whats with that ?

[Bam]

That rules out babies then, good =)

Is she eating, drinking and pooping?

If she’s having a false pregnancy, pulling out fur is like the last stage before her body will think she’s giving birth. Her hormones are all upset, so she could be thumping because of that. You could give her a “nest-box” or rather, what to her will seem like a nest box, because then she can put bedding in it and prepare for the babies that her whole system is telling her she’s about to have. 

This condition is self-limiting, meaning when there are no babies, it stops.   

Here’s a tiny bit of info on false pregnancy: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/False_pregnancy

[Reeem]

Yes she is eating , drinking and pooping. What if she stops ? Does she NEED a nest box ?

[Azerane]

She doesn’t NEED a nest box, but it can probably be more calming having a secure place to build the nest rather than in just the corner of the cage. Even an appropriate sized cardboard box cut to shape would do the trick. Cheap and easy

[Reeem]

She started putting it in the corner on fleece. She has a big bald spot on her chest , is that normal?

[Bam]

It’s normal. The hormones make the hair on the chest loosen so it’s not like she’s self-molesting. And as Azerane says, a nest box is just so she feels she has somewhere to hide and bed down her “babies”. Since their won’t be any it doesn’t have to be much of a box, something cardboard will do. Just to calm her nerves and keep her occupied. But if she seems fine with the corner + fleece, that could do as well. Hopefully it stops within a day or so.

[Reeem]

Oh okay i feel much better now! Thanks for the info!

[Vienna Blue in France]

LOL – panic over – no babies possible…. (unless she’s called Mary….lol) and unless you have a very small hand, that a LOT of fur… isnt it ?
Looks real thick too, Zou’s fur is much thinner than that….
Must be quite stressful having a phantom pregnancy and then no babies coming…. cats and dogs go through it too, and I believe some women too…..

[Bam]

It really is very common in rabbits, and if it recurs, the best thing is to get the bun spayed. A girl bun needs to be spayed anyway to prevent cancer of the reproductive tract that’s really common in does aged 2-3.

[Reeem]

It was a lot of fur actually and it was quite thick. It just fell out of her mouth and thats exactly when i started panicking. Who knew they could put so much hair in their teeny tiny cute mouth! She will definitely get spayed , but im quite young and saving up with no job is really difficult.

[Bam]

How is she doing now?
I did have a feeling that you were planning on getting her spayed – but since other people might be reading the thread I thought I’d better stress the importance of spaying a girl bun

[Reeem]

Shes doing good now , no more pulling. Now my question is when do i clean up the nest ?

[Patti]

I’ve never had this experience, but, it’s ready to clean if she no longer uses it and continues to eat, drink, play and poop.

Poor little bun …

[Bam]

It is ready to clean out when she nolonger has an interest in it. The mothering-hormones die down soon after the non-birth has (not) taken place, so to speak. Great to hear she’s not pulling fur anymore! A false pregnancy can happen again after some time though, but then you know what’s up so it won’t be as scary.

[Reeem]

Just as I thought her hormones died down , at like 10 am she started acting the same way when she started pulling ( thumping , digging in the corner with the fur and a bit of pulling.). Then she started digging in her hay and stuffing her mouth with hay , so I don’t think I’ll clean it up for a bit longer.

[Bam]

That sounds wise. This condition is however not supposed to last more than 3 days. It can become chronic according tro Medirabbit, and if that happens, the doe needs to be spayed (have an ovariehysterectomi) in the near future, because that is the only remedy.

Here’s the full acticle from Medirabbit. It has good info and is a trusted source:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/Pseu_preg/pseudo_en.htm

[drwil]

False pregnancy, the fur pulling sounds painful but the hormonal system loosens the fur on that part of her body during the process.

You never said how old she was. If she is a young rabbit I would not worry. Over 5 years or so it may be more of a concern for reproductive system health.

[Reeem]

I think shes finally done cause she doesnt pull or go in the corner with hair!

[Bam]

That is good to hear!

=)

[Author]

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