Californian's markings changing?

[EileenH]

Hi everybody! I adopted my first Californian(Jake)in February. I noticed this week that the markings on his ears and his nose are changing (the pigment is changing) from when I got him. I see other Californian's with pigmented markings too, so it must happen.
Is there any reason?

Here is a picture of him when I first got him:

See how dark and solid his ears and nose was?

This is from today:

Any clues? Plus I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

 

[majorv]

This isn't unusual. Warm temperatures cause their points to fade. We had Californians when my daughter was in high school and they did it also. It's more noticeable if they're kept outside. The color should come back when the weather gets cold again, though as they get older it may not return as dark as before.

 

[hillrise]

Yep, that's what Californians do. Any rabbit with points (including Himalayans, and breeds with that color or sables) will fade during the summer because the color is temperature sensitive. Wherever they're coldest is where they get the dark color. When they shed in the fall, the color will come back in dark, again.

Sometimes they'll get eyebrows during the winter, and does will usually end up with dark spots wherever they pull fur for nests. Also, if they have to be shaved (say for an abscess), that fur will probably come in a little dark until they shed again.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[EileenH]

Thank you, everybody. That is so interesting! My first and only other rabbit was a New Zealand White, so every day he looked the same

 

[Lawren]

Hi everybody! I adopted my first Californian(Jake)in February. I noticed this week that the markings on his ears and his nose are changing (the pigment is changing) from when I got him. I see other Californian's with pigmented markings too, so it must happen.
Is there any reason?

Here is a picture of him when I first got him:

See how dark and solid his ears and nose was?

This is from today:

Any clues? Plus I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

Californians are like a Siamese cat with the markings. The reason why their ears and nose turn dark during the winter is because black attracts sunlight, and in the summer the color changes to white because white reflects sunlight. It's just their natural way of maintaining a cool/warm temperature for the changing of the seasons. I have 3 rabbits myself (2 are californians) and they are going through the same thing.

 

[Josh]

Due to the weather in my area the furr on my Californian rabbit canged from white to black white back to black very quickly causing her ears to get a really interesting pattern