Netherland Dwarf Himilayan rabbit color change question.

Hi guys.
What the title says is what AJ is only he's a blue martens also. I am wondering for those that are familiar with these buns if their color (ears, nose, etc will lighten and darken with the temperature? Or if it's more like a stress indicator?

When I first got AJ his nose was completely dark, from where if I look at him straight on from the front, the color would be from the bottom of his eyes to the tip of his nose but just on his nose with some shadowing from there. His ears were dark also.

His nose has faded A LOT and it looks like someone had chalk or ashes on their finger and put it on his nose then smudged it going downwards. His ears have lightened and i noticed the back of his ears look like the fur is thinned out, but on closer inspection the fur is lightened considerably and part is even close to white.

I am now getting the stink eye for making him stay still while i was looking at his ears.

So I'd this temperature, season, stress, or hormone related since he's intact.

An ever curious Bunny mom

I don't raise NDs but I'm familiar with the points since we raised both Cals and Himalayans (the breed). The points are affected by temperature. When it's cold the points (ears, nose, feet, tail) get darker and when the temps get warm they fade (unless he's kept in the A/C all the time, and even then it might fade some). As they age it may fade some, too.

Majorca.

When I first got AJ he was near a cold draft all the time. I do have A.C. on during the summer but never below 70 and even rarely on that. It's usually on 72. The only time the colder air is facing near him is at night when my fan is pointed towards the foot end of my bed as I can't sleep when hot. But I monitor him because I don't want him to ever feel TO cold again... He is 3-4 years old and the vet said she would estimate him to be 3.

So I thank you for the info! His nose is cute though lol. Well he's cute as a whole but the coloring of his nose is just cute

Most color point animals in general (not all, but most) are affected by temperature. The reason (if you are curious) is that the enzymes allowing for the 'body' color are temperature dependent and denature if it's cold. The ears, nose, and feet (think Siamese cats) are colder than the trunk and are thus darker due to a lack of functioning enzyme. Which is pretty much the coolest way to get a color in an animal ever in my opinion.