Can I shave my bunny and what's causing mass shedding?

[h4ywii]

Thumper is a holland lop. When I first for him for several months his hair was shorter and neat and tame. Eventually over the past two years it has been an ongoing problem with his hair.... It gets long and sometimes very matted and he gets to looking disheveled sometimes haha. When I brush him there is no end to it .... The hair keeps coming and coming so I have to eventually stop brushing him and give it another try the next day. It's like he never stops shedding. He has the ability to have shorter , neater looking hair because he once did....I'd like to get him back to that for his own comfort and for my own ease as well since grooming him is a nightmare.

My questions are can I shave him this one time and maintain his hair with frequent regular grooming thereafter? This rabbit would really benefit from a shaving. And he's an inside pet so I'm not worried about outside temps. I feel like he needs to start fresh with his coat cause it's out of hand.

And, is there anything I can do to prevent mass shedding? Ive heard of changing the rabbit food brand. And he is pretty healthy and happy... Eats, drinks, poops and pees normally and loves to hop around and play so to my knowledge at least there is no physical ailment causing him to shed so badly.

Thanks!!!!

 

[FreezeNkody]

He's prob molting. This happens 2 a year i think. I wouldn't shave him, I'd get a good slicker brush and have some bonding time

 

[zombiesue]

Unless his fur is actually matted (you'll know if you have like a hard patch that you can pinch) you don't need to shave him, just start brushing him with a soft brush twice a week. If you find a couple mats, but not a lot of them, you can cut them out with a sharp pair of scissors. put a comb under the mat and keep it between the scissors and the rabbits' skin so you don't accidentally cut the rabbit.

 

[majorv]

How long does his hair get? You're sure he's not mixed with some other breed besides holland lop?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would not recommend shaving a rabbit. Angoras and other long hared breeds are different though. A rabbit with normal fur should not need to be shaved unless there is some medical need. The fur doens't grow back the same way and some can take a long time to grow back.
Do you have a good photo of him that can show what his fur is like? It can be hard to tell from a description.

What you are feeding him? Diet can play a role in over all health and coat health. You might need to change the pellets, usually a bit more protein can help with bad moulting, 1-2% more is plenty for a rabbit. There could be some other diet issues as well that may need to be looked at.