Rabbit molting

[Cilantro]

I was wondering if this was a regular heavy molt? I have been brushing my rabbit every day and carefully plucking loose fur. Is this normal to look like this? And should I pluck the loose fur out? Also, is my rabbit looking underweight? He is a 3-year-old Rex rabbit.

 

[Sirius&Luna]

That is a serious moult! You must have fluff absolutely everywhere. but it looks normal, and yes, keep plucking out loose fur and brushing

He doesn’t look underweight to me, but it’s hard to tell from photos sometimes. How boney does he feel? What’s his diet like?

[Cilantro]

Yeah when I groom him fur flies everywhere, haha

Yeah, he doesn’t feel boney, I just thought he looked skinny but I feel like that is because of him molting and I am not used to him like that, as you can see his fur is usually a lot longer lol. I have recently been trying to be a better rabbit mom and make sure he has a good diet. I feed him vegetables like Cilantro, lettuce, and parsley in the morning and a little bit of pellets. And I fill up his water before school, when I get home from school and before I go to bed. I know I might sound bad but I used to give him hay and it would go everywhere so right now I am looking for a good hay rack and then I will get him hay, I know that probably sounds bad 😡 but he will for sure have hay in the next week or so. I also give him pellets at night. And after grooming him a give him a treat so he doesn’t get as grumpy lol.

[pinknfwuffy]

I agree that the moult looks intense, but normal. I think it looks more severe in Rex rabbits because their hair is so short and dense. The moulting area stands up so high against the line of new fur, almost like cutting into a thick layer of grass.

As for weight, it might help to compare these pictures to older ones or use this chart to see how you rabbit compares: http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-weight.asp

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m glad you realise that it’s important that you get hay for him – it really is the most important part of a rabbit’s diet, and should make up about 90% of his food. If they don’t have hay they can develop all sorts of problems, like overgrown teeth and poopy butts, which in turn lead to other issues.

Unfortunately, hay does have a tendency to get everywhere. I got into work the other morning and found some hay on my chair! Does he have a litter tray? My rabbits have their litter trays inside a much bigger under the bed storage tray, and then hay in there. Because of the higher edged tray, the hay tends to stay in the box much more. Of course, it does still spill out a bit.

Please try and get him hay as soon as possible, even if you don’t have a hay rack yet.

[pinknfwuffy]

Sounds like you’re doing a great job with grooming. That’s super important, especially to keep too much fur from getting into their system. I bet he loves his little treat at the end!

I’m glad to hear you’re planning to offer hay again, too. That is really the go-to ingredient in a rabbit diet and will keep his digestion healthy and teeth trim. I had trouble with hay mess too so I’ve been using a fabric hay bag hung over my rabbit’s litter box. You can make your own or buy one from Etsy or another shop. I think the fabric bags hold on to hay better than wire or wood racks, but that’s just my opinion. Any hay that does slip out just falls into the litter box so it’s much easier to clean up than sweeping. Sometimes it takes trying a few different options to find the best fit for you and bunny. Good luck!

DIY Hay Bag: http://www.natashalh.com/how-to-make-a-fabric-guinea-pig-or-bunny-hay-sackbag-tutorial/

Etsy Hay Bags: https://www.etsy.com/market/hay_bag 

[Cilantro]

Thank you so much for your help, I will for sure be getting him hay very soon and I like the idea of a fabric hay rack like pinknfwuffy recommended. I am getting him a new cage soon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0133LNLJY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER and I will be able to fit a litter box in it. Do you like higher sides on litter boxes or lower sides personally? Also, do you think this cage is good? I thought it was pretty big, and he gets to run around a lot, inside and outside.

[Cilantro]

Thank you  and it really is. And yeah he does! 

Thank you for the recommendation! I will for sure see if that option works for me and my rabbit. I was looking at hay racks like this one 

Thank you for the links and help as well <3 

[DanaNM]

I know you didn’t ask about this, but just wanted to add that rabbits should not have pine shavings in their cages as it is dangerous for them. The compounds in the pine build up in their systems and are harmful.

An inexpensive alternative are pine pellets, sold as horse stall bedding. They are not dangerous as the way they are made releases all the dangerous compounds.

Ideally you could have a litter box with pine pellets, then some fleece blankets on his cage floor to protect his sensitive little rex feet.

I use a toilet paper storage thing as a hay rack (somewhat like this one: https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/da185cfb-8574-4d55-8229-2b88dc873689_1.704718d7830274c6ae4cc695660f49f2.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF) .

You can also use a cardboard box with a hole in the side, zip tied to the cage. Lots of people use tissue boxes with the plastic removed.

. . . 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.  

[DanaNM]

I know you didn’t ask about this, but just wanted to add that rabbits should not have pine shavings in their cages as it is dangerous for them. The compounds in the pine build up in their systems and are harmful.

An inexpensive alternative are pine pellets, sold as horse stall bedding. They are not dangerous as the way they are made releases all the dangerous compounds.

Ideally you could have a litter box with pine pellets, then some fleece blankets on his cage floor to protect his sensitive little rex feet.

I use a toilet paper storage thing as a hay rack (somewhat like this one: https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/da185cfb-8574-4d55-8229-2b88dc873689_1.704718d7830274c6ae4cc695660f49f2.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF) .

You can also use a cardboard box with a hole in the side, zip tied to the cage. Lots of people use tissue boxes with the plastic removed.

. . . 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.  

[Cilantro]

Thank you so much! I will try my best to start buying safer bedding. I will try to use blankets but when I used to do that he would dig them and knock over his water bowl and food bowl but I will for sure make sure to get a more safer and comfortable bedding for him. <g class="gr_ gr_12 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="12" data-gr-id="12">Also</g> thank you for the hack rack recommendations!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

[DanaNM]

No problem!

Ah yes, digging! He doesnt need a blanket covering the entire floor, as long as it’s something solid, so it would be fine to allow him to bunch it up, and have the dishes in an area without the blanket. Having an uneven surface is good for their feet, so allowing him to “arrange” it the way he likes is fine. That way he has a soft spot to sit if he wants. That’s of course as long as he doesn’t eat the blanket! Other alternatives if he does chew are newspaper mats (free to make: http://www.bunssb.org/buns-newsletter/september-2013/make-mat/) or hay seagrass or hay mats (kinda pricey depending on how quickly he chews them up).

. . . 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.  

[Cilantro]

Thank you! I will probably do this 

I am planning on getting this cage: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0133LNLJY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&nbsp;

So if I get it I will make a part of it for the blankets and one part for the hay rack, and bowls and litter box. Thank you so much for the help. Sometimes stuff is a little to expensive to get all at once but I will for sure make this stuff priorities and get everything when I can 

[DanaNM]

Wow, very big!

Looks good! Since cost is a factor, you should check out plans on this site for DIY Cube grid condos. You would be able to make something the same size for about half the price.

They are quite easy to make with minimal skill and tools.

. . . 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.  

[Cilantro]

I have considered that but what would be the best thing for the flooring? 

[DanaNM]

I mine I use a piece of plywood covered with peel and sticky vinyl tiles. Then blankets and mats on top

I believe mine cost about $80 to build all together. It’s 3 grids long, 2 wide, and 4 tall, with 4 levels.

. . . 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.  

[Cilantro]

That sounds great! I will figure out something

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

That looks like a normal, nice big moult! Sounds like you’re doing great on the grooming Rabbits are amazing pets for 46 weeks of the year, and the other 3×2 weeks you’d gladly ship them off to your worst enemy, so they can deal with all the fur flying around. 

It’s very hard to tell if rabbits are on their correct weight, you’ll likely need a vet for that. They have so much thick fur that it can be hard to tell, and shape differs from breed to breed. Some breeds are long, others are rounded. We thought our bun was just round because the Netherland Dwarf breed has a naturally round build.
But the vet told us we was actually at 133% of his optimum weight, like a person who’d be healthy at 75 kg weighing 100… Yikes, that’s seriously overweight! O_0 We were so shocked and ashamed, because we both do our best to keep healthy and we also want our pets to be healthy too. We put him on a diet and he went from 1,6 to 1,25 kg within 1,5 years.

[Cilantro]

Yeah! He is almost through it I would say, just still shedding on the lower parts of his body like by his tail and his stomach. I weighed him today he is 5.6 pounds. I think he looks healthy and you can’t see his bones but he also doesn’t look overweight to me. And that’s good you went to the vet and it’s okay, we make mistakes but then fix them if we can  Recently I have been saving money to get him a new cage then after I am going to litter train him. I will probably get the cage sometime this month which is exciting because it is fun to buy your fur baby things! Thank you <3 

[Author]

Messages