Is he shedding or…?

[FluffyBunny]

Well I’ve been getting different opinions on the fur loss Mr. Bunny’s been having…

I thought Mr. Bunny has been losing fur for the last week or so. He’s starting to get very large patches of much-shorter-than-normal fur all along his lower back. It started just along the tops of his back legs, then it started spreading along his lower back, and now there’s a large line of short fur, almost like a rex, goin along his back. It’s spreading towards his tail too. He isn’t really losing much more fur than normal in any other places. I originally thought he was just shedding, but…The vet said he might just have an obsession with rubbing his back on things? So I put cardboard in his favorite spot to lay (by the cage) and he just found a new place to sit. The obsession with rubbing himself sounded possible, but now there’s a short-furred place by his neck. I don’t know how he could rub it off there…So my parents are both very sure he’s just losing his “outdoor bunny” coat (he was a hutchbunny before we adopted him 3 months ago) and they’re pretty sure it probably won’t grow back to its long length…

So I’m really confused? The tempuature in his room is kept at 60-70 F and there’s no natural sunlight. He does lose a lot of fur in tufts if I pull gently near the short-furred spots…Has anyone had an outdoor bunny who was moved indoors and approximately 3 and a half months later grown in a shorter coat?

[BunnyMuffin]

I’ve never had outdoor bunnies, but it does sound a lot like a normal shed to me. All bunnies, whether indoor or out, shed 4 times a year (2 major ones and 2 lighter ones). Especially with my holland lop, I can watch what I call the “reverse flood line” move from higher on her body down to the lower fur as the shed progresses. I also sit and pluck out clumps of fuzz when she’s shedding. I love it, she sometimes tolerates it. 🙂

So MY guess is that it probably will grow back in, and then fall out again, and repeat. Especially since you’ve only had him 3 months, seems like about the right time for a quarterly shed! 🙂

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

It’s actually changes in daylight that trigger animal fur shedding or growing, not temperature (that’s why you’ll see white jackrabbits even if it hasn’t snowed yet!).

Sounds like a very normal shed to me They’ll shed four times a year, and two of them will be big sheds-like this.

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