i have a 1 year old male mini lop whos been shedding alot the last few weeks, like i'll clean out his cage and the next day it's covered. is this natural or could there be something wrong?
2007-05-10 02:19:49 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
It could be natural or there could be something wrong.
If the buck has bad fur genes it could be that he is just molting bad.
However, there are a few things that can tend to make a rabbit molt or shed a lot of fur:
1. Your buck may have some parasite on its fur causing the shedding. I'd recommend giving it a shot of Ivomectin as a preventative measure whether you think he has parasites (fur mites or fleas on his fur) or not.
2. What you may be feeding your rabbit may have too much energy. If you feed your rabbit a diet that has too much energy, it will cause your rabbit to get fat and can also cause it to molt. You can tell if your rabbit is fat by grabbing the hide and feeling how loos it is. The looser the hide is, the fatter your rabbit is. Giving it veggies or rabbit pellets that are high in corn content or fat could cause the rabbit's diet to be too high in energy. If that is the case, it is probably a good idea to increase the amount of fiber the diet eats and cut out the veggies if you are feeding veggies.
3. Stress can cause the rabbit to molt. Moving the rabbit or changing its water or feed could increase its stress.
4. Not giving your rabbit enough water can increase the metabolism of the hair follicles and cause your rabbit to molt.
5. Increasing the protein can cause your rabbit to produce more new hair follicles causing the new follicles to push the old ones out and thus causing your rabbit to shed.
2007-05-11 07:27:47 · answer #1 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, my two rabbits shed fur and it is well a bit messy as when the wind blows, it goes all over me. You could try to gently comb it down but you still need to clear the fur. Funny thing about it is the ones I had (it was female) sort of lined the bedding around it's cage and pulled some of the fur from it's stomach to line the cage.
2007-05-10 02:27:45 · answer #2 · answered by Ken 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong. Rabbits shed naturally. Don't worry.
2007-05-10 08:32:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He could be shedding his winter coat, but I would bring him to the vet. I used to breed meat rabbits, and that doesn't sound normal.
2007-05-10 02:27:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It`s natural in the Spring. He doesn`t need all that extra fur to protect him from the cold now.
2007-05-10 02:26:35 · answer #5 · answered by Hamish 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋