Is molting change permanent?

[Taloan7]

We’ve had Bunnius for 7 months and she was fully grown when we got her (age is unknown because she was abandoned and adopted). She’s molting right now, which I haven’t really noticed occur before and some of her new fur looks kind of… absurd. She’s a holland lop, but she’s had new fur come in on her head that is longer and spikier than it was before, like an 80s mullet without the long hair in the back. It looks really silly. I don’t particularly care that she looks ridiculous, but I do wonder, why now? Is this a permanent change and why would it happen to an adult rabbit?

[JackRabbit]

Bunny molts do look crazy at times! Heavy molts usually happen a couple times a year plus a couple of lighter molts a couple times a year. Then there’s my Marlee (holland lop) who sheds heavily non-stop plus has a couple of partial coat blows! My other girl Kieko (agouti colored dwarf mutt bunny) usually looks like a road map when she molts….this time she has stripes on one side, large polka dots on the other, and a weird mohawk. Poor thing looks like a bad art project. By boy Moshi (holland lop) isn’t quite as obvious but tends to fluff up and look like a lumpy brown dandelion. But no, the molt patterns aren’t permanent but you will have an odd looking bunny until the molt is finished!

[JackRabbit]

Btw, help the molt along by gently plucking tufts that stick out and frequent brushing (the Hairbuster comb sold in the Binky Bunny store is a must for holland lops!!).

[kurottabun]

It’s not uncommon for molting bunnies to look really silly – I’ve seen all kinds of patterns and it can be quite hilarious.

I also don’t think it’ll be permanent because even if it does stick around after this molt, the pattern may change again in the next molt.

[Taloan7]

Thanks! I hadn’t seen her have a big molt like this before and her body looked like it had finished but it’s been a couple weeks and her head still looked like that so I was starting to wondering if she just looked like that now, haha. She doesn’t like her head to be pet so I hadn’t really tried to see if the fur would come out, but I will give that a try now.

[Taloan7]

Okay, she REALLY did not like me trying to touch her head. Is this something she needs help with or if I just leave her long enough will she shed off the top of her head too?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Try wetting your hand in a bowl of water, shaking of the excess and then petting her head. Rub your hands together to get the fur off. Repeat. This is great for the whole body as well but especially in hard to groom areas like belly and under arms. Gets all those hairs that would otherwise be licked off.

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