Okay... this is really weird to me. When we got our rabbit she was a beautiful shade of grey with a white underbelly. Now she is getting darker on the back and has a brownish tint on her sides but still has the white belly. She is also shedding like crazy. Anyone ever had this before? What breed of rabbit could she be?
2006-09-17 08:55:49 · 7 answers · asked by lifesong0622 3 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Rabbits shed every three months. Every alternate time they'll have a light shedding that may not be very noticeable. Next they'll have a heavy molt that you will not be able to escape.
Rabbits will shed in different ways. Some will take a couple of weeks or more to lose their old coat of hair. Other rabbits will be ready to get rid of their old coats all in one day and these are the rabbits who cannot be neglected once they start shedding.
You can often remove a large portion of the hair by just pulling it out with your hand. Another good way to remove hair without is to lightly dampen your hands and then rub the rabbit. Or use a spray bottle to spritz the rabbit with a fine mist of water, then massage the fur coat with your hands. Loose hair comes out, sticks to damp hand, and you can roll it off!
However you remove it, remove it as soon as possible or your rabbit will do it during grooming. Bald spots are quite common. They should start to grow back within a week or two.
Rabbits need to be brushed at least weekly. In addition to removing any loose hair, this weekly brushing session helps prepare them for the multiple daily brushing that they must undergo when their heavy shedding begins.
Rabbits are fastidious groomers. They insist on being clean and tidy and will lick themselves like cats. And like cats, they can get hairballs if they ingest too much hair. Unlike cats however, rabbits cannot vomit. If hairballs are allowed to form, they can become gigantic masses of tangled hair and food and will block the stomach exit, causing the rabbit to starve to death while his stomach appears to be very fat.
2006-09-17 14:20:26 · answer #1 · answered by Duke 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My bunny is also grey with a white under belly. He's Netherland Dwarf and has a Chinchilla color to his fur (various shades of grey). He looks like this: http://home.earthlink.net/~bunny2u/4cf847d0.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/1451/achin.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/nd2/netherland_dwarf/images/Cherry_close_side.JPG
He was lighter when he was little, but as he got older, he got darker. When he sheds (which is all the time) he gets patterns in his fur and it looks black. If that doesn't look like your bun, check online for breeds or join the Rabbits Only forums and post your bunny in the rabbitry section. They have breeders that can tell you the exact breed. As for the brownish tint on the fur I'm not too sure. Sometimes the ones that aren't bred to be 100% chinchilla color have brownish tints to them. It basically mean they can't be show bunnies, but that's about it. However, that may be another question to ask them. You'll have to register for the site, but it's free and well worth it. Many people are good on there for rabbit illnesses as well.
2006-09-18 00:09:48 · answer #2 · answered by loloshorty9 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DO NOT GIVE YOUR RABBIT A BATH!
I don't care what some other posters tell you, it is NOT encouraged or recommended. Rabbits DO NOT need to be bathed! Most rabbits are very intolerant of getting wet and when you dampen the undercoat, your rabbit can easily catch pnemonia or other illnesses---despite if it's warm outside or not. You shouldn't need to ever bathe a rabbit anyway---they do a good job of keeping themselves clean. IF your rabbit gets dirty you can spot clean but you should never give your rabbit a full bath like you would a dog.
That said, your rabbit is 'molting'. Young rabbits molt their baby fur when they're about 3-4 months old. After that they do it twice a year---in the fall and in the spring. The fur your rabbit is losing is likely it's soft baby fur. Baby fur varies in color from the adult fur because the hairs are longer, the rabbit has not been exposed to much sunlight, and the baby rabbits' hormone levels are very low.
The brownish tint on her sides sounds like the fur there is sun-bleached. When a rabbit is out directly in the sun the fur gets a brown haze to it. It's not permanent and will shed out when the rabbit molts again. The only way to avoid the sun-bleaching is to not let your rabbit be exposed to direct sunlight. -OR- your rabbit could be a color that has some brown shading in certain areas (as determined by genetics)--in particular the sides, back of the neck, ears, nose, and tail. These are 'otter' patterned rabbits and the brown is normal (and will always be present).
It's hard to determine what breed of rabbit she is without seeing a picture. Her coloration sounds like either an Opal (Blue Agouti), Blue Otter or Smoke Pearl (Blue Sable) Marten.
Here's some pictures of some rabbit colors. You can see which ones you think closely resembles her and let us know. Rabbit breeds only allow certain colors, so guessing her breed is easier if you can find out what color she is.
http://www.islandgems.net/compatible-colors.html
Hope that helps!
2006-09-17 17:47:15 · answer #3 · answered by strayd0g 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it is 100% natural! all rabbits need to shed especially when the weather is hot, like the summer or warm spring. and while they shed, they regrow different shades throught all of thier lives. my rabbit when i found him, was a light orangy brown and light grey in the belly. 2 years have gone by now and he is a darkish dirty blone brown. one time it was funny, on his little forehead he had two different types of fur, one that was soft and long and another that was dark and not as long. and the thing was that for about 2 weeks, the long fur curved in on his forehead giving him a little mohawk look. he was soo cute, after 2 weeks it grew out and just blended in.
yes, it sucks when it comes to too much rabbit shedding. every morning in the summer id walk around house wiht a pool of rabbit fur everywhere. they looked like rabbit fur tumbleweeds rolling along the house while you walked. so be prepared to pass the vacuum cleaner every two days! what i also do is take him outside and pet him with my hands wet making all the loose hair fly out, helps a little, but better than nothing.
you can also give him a little bath if the weather is nice, but try to dry him as much as possible afterwards.
2006-09-17 17:26:42 · answer #4 · answered by sueet2b 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
This is nomal. The color of her fur is changing becaues the seasons and months are changing. She is sooo beutiful i have a rabbit and his fur will change colors to..
2006-09-17 17:09:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
most rabbits change some with the weather and she is shedding do to fall/winter coming on...
2006-09-17 16:58:10 · answer #6 · answered by blonde 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
This is completely normal. Especially as the weather changes from warm to cold. She is getting her winter coat.
2006-09-17 16:10:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋