My First Time Dealing with Molting! Advice?

[SmushyWillow]

I’ve only had my bun for a little over a week now, and I’ve done so much reading that I feel like EVERYTHING is going to kill my little Smush. I just happened to get him as he was beginning his shed, with mattes around his eyes.When we took him to the vet, she pulled a few out, but there’s still quite a few more. If I tug at them, will my rabbit bite me? Also, he seems to be shedding from his chest/tummy area at the moment, and he is not comfortable enough with me for me to brush him or pet him there. I find lots of fur balls around the room when I let him out, and around his cage when I clean it. But I also tend to see him with fur stuck in his mouth from time to time, as well as chewing a lot after grooming. Any advice on how to handle this, and how to prevent all of that fur from getting jumbled up inside of him?

[Bam]

Hi and congratulations on your new bun!
It can be really scary when you read up on rabbits, but it does get better with time. There are a few dos and don’ts – rule nr one is keep an eye on appetite and poop. If a bunny doesn’t eat or poop in 8-12 hours, contact a vet. Try to get your bunny to eat grass hay and let him have access to unlimited hay and water 24/7. That’s the basics of the basics.

Bunnies tend to molt a lot, and as you are saying, you want to prevent them from ingesting too much hair. If you pull loose tufts out, it’s doubtful if you bun will bite you. It won’t hurt him when you pull out tufts that have already come loose. If there are mats, you should cut them off instead of trying to comb them out, but don’t cut too close to the skin. He might not look pretty after you’ve cut out mats, but the hair will grow back and he’ll be pretty again.

Brushing is rather a must with a shedding bunny, but if he gets really scared, try to pick out hair instead of brushing. When you’re done, wet your hands and run them through his fur so you catch as much loose hair as you can. If he has short hair you can even lint-roll him with a generic lint-roller (name brands have too high quality glue to be suitable for use on a bunny). Lint-rolling has the added advantage of catching the hair so it doesn’t fly around the room.

Hay-eating is good for the tummy and will help him get the hair he inevitably will ingest through his system without causing a blockage. If you’ve started him on fresh greens, you can serve them dripping wet so he gets water in him, that helps the tummy too.

[KimmyKim]

I’m sooooo glad someone mentioned using a lint roller as that’s what I used on a “I wonder” type of whim. I’ve had my baby for just over a year and her fur was so loose and the brushing seemed to do nothing more than push her fur around. Maybe I’ve got a rubbish brush. I was advised to get a shedding tool which I can only liken to something like hair clippers except all it does is remove the buns she’d fur leaving the new coat well alone.
I would say though that if using the lint roller method be prepared to use close to a whole rolls worth of sheets (depending on type of fur your bun has). My Jessica is a rex (velvet fur) so it seemed never ending the amount of hair the roller took away

[SmushyWillow]

Thank you to both of you! Smushy has been pooping as usual and actually eating more than he has since I’ve gotten him!! I clean his litter box regularly to make sure he is indeed pooping, as well as to check for “strings of pearls.”

Honestly, my biggest fear with being a new bun owner is being bitten. When do they bite, and will you have a warning?

He doesn’t seem to have any noticeable tufts anywhere. He tends to pull the fur out rather than wait until it’s loose and groom himself. His only mats seem to be around his eyes. Are those safe to cut out?

Thank you, again!

[Bam]

You can cut out tufts around his eyes, but not too close to the skin (you obviously don’t want to hurt the skin). The one part of a bunny where you shouldn’t cut out tufts/mats except under very special circumstances is from under the feet. Buns don’t have padded feet like rodents, so their need their fur on their feet.

Many bunnies growl before their bite, and will often pummel you too. And that’s aggressive biting, often in defense of territory or if the bun feels really really cornered. A bunny can bite for other reasons though, like for attention or a treat or because you’ve stopped pet him too soon. Those types of bites can hurt, but they’re not intended to hurt, it’s a form of communication- It works between bunnies because they have their ample fur that protects them.

Being bit by a bunny isn’t so bad though, since they’re strict herbivores they don’t have the kind of nasty bacteria in their mouths that cats have. If your bun bites you, squeal. Remove him from your lap etc.

[SmushyWillow]

Thank you, Bam! When I first read up on bunnies, I read that their bites hurt very much and often tear the skin and that’s why I was so nervous!

[Bam]

My Yohio has bit me through the skin once, and it was so silly, I was putting on mascara, he just ran up to me in the hallway and sunk his fangs into my calf. I immediately scooped him away with my foot and he looked so honestly surprised! Like “No treat, then mommy?” He’s nipped me in defense on other occasions but never so he’s drawn blood. And never “for no good reason” and never without growling first.

Bam has bit me pretty bad in my hand once but he was aiming for Yohio, Yohio had managed to get into Bam’s territory and they are not friends. Bam was like a little long-eared bulldog, he didn’t let go, I had to pry his jaws away.

So yes they can bite, no question about that, but it’s not really a huge concern imo. Girls tend to be nippier than boys, girls are more territorial.

[Author]

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