Excessive Shedding is Driving me nuts~

[flowerpower]

Hello,

I haven't posted on here for over a year, but I felt the need to reach out and see if I can get any help. I have a ~2 year old mini Rex house rabbit (never ever locked in a cage). I absolutely love him to pieces but the shedding is driving me nuts. I was crying this afternoon as the sun lowered and revealed sooo many hairs everywhere. As he hoped through our living room, I could see a cloud of hair fluffing up behind him. I have been googling and researching everywhere about maybe a diet, suppliment, brush, anything that will help reduce his shedding. Its not just seasonal either. Ive seen him go through his seasonal molts, but this is just general constant persistent EXCESSIVE shedding. Every time you pet him, anywhere,even his nose, even one swift pet on the head, and there is instantly 200 hairs flying through the air. I, literally, vaccumm our 1,500 square foot great room, all the chairs, couches, table tops, kitchen counters daily because his hair is so light it circulates through the air and lands everywhere!

Anyone have any ideas. I feed a high quality pelleted timothy based feed and has constantly supply of fresh water, and a mix of orchard grass and timothy hay. He gets a few veggie treat. He has recently discovered our dog's food (Halo- has bits of dired carrot, cranberry, and peas in it) but I think he is just stealing the dried fruits out of it. He does sit next to our lizard cages in the afternoon where it is warm. But even before this, shedding was an issue. I think I am going to take him to our specialty vet, and see if there is any hormonal issues going on, because I would hate for him to become impacted with hair (not an issue so far, doesn't groom himself much).

Any recommended brush for shedding ( I use a furminator 1-2 times a week)?

Any recommended diet? Raw food diet? Any food or suppliments to reduce hair loss?

Any thoughts, recommendations would be appreciated!

Here are some recent pictures, both for kicks, and to show coat condition.

Busy hopping under our formal dining room table. I just vacummed the chairs, floors, and table about 4 hours ago. Notice coat of hair on chairs now!

Begging for me to share some of my daily breakfast of banana.

And visiting with our lizard, Big Dude (note, vegetarian lizard, eats only lettuce, just so everyone is clear)

 

[flowerpower]

Sorry, Im not sure what happened. I resized my photos using photoshop, and then resized smaller using photobucket image editing. They just wont shrink! I spent about 30 minutes just resizing with no luck. Deepest apologies.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Have you taken him to the vet? Does he have any bald spots? Could he have mites?

Honestly, I hate to tell you this, but Bo, my little guy was like that for about a year! He is finally getting his coat back and it's not so awful! but he still has some loose hairs! and he looked worse! His head molts out a lot too! He's nearly bald on top and then he has like bushy eyebrows! we call them "Bo's angry eyebrows!"

I took him to the vet and he had no mites showing up in tests. He does lay in the sun under a window. He also has temperature lowering at night during the winter (we set the thermastat lower) but it doesn't seem to be any one thing causing it.

Brushing them sometimes loosens the hair on mini-rex I think. That's just opinion cause I found that the loose hairs come out and then the ones that aren't as loose come out. Maybe the furminator is worse for him! I had to stop using a comb type thing on Bo. Now I might use a flat rubber brush

Have you tried just moistening your hands and rubbing him down?

 

[flowerpower]

Thanks for the input. I was going to make an appointment this week with the specialty vet I take my reptiles too. Most cat/dog vets usually know NOTHING about rabbits. Ive got to take my reptiles in too, so maybe we will all go as a group. Can you see mites? I don't see anything on him, but I will definitely have the vet check. There are no bald spots, in fact, it looks like he has too much fur crammed onto his body at times, like excess production.

PS- feeling much better today. He cuddled up with my last night on the couch,and "re-arranged" my blanket, and has been following me around all morning. He is definitely worth it. I was thinking of getting some more hepa filter fans. We already have 2 in our living room to help remove the hair out of the air, maybe we could special order some large ones. MY husband considered getting a Roomba, even though I think our space is too big, andit would probably die due to all the hair.

Thanks again!

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I tend to only groom my mini-rex Stuart using slightly damp hands, as he is pretty scared of any brushes (for whatever his reasons...) Nothing is more fun than pulling out tufts of bunny fur...
I think that since he's had Evie (his girlfriend) grooming him on a regular basis, the loose fur production has decreased to a degree... Maybe you need another bun to do the grooming work for you?

I was told by my vet that he feeds his angoras fresh pineapple/papaya to reduce the number of hairballs.... I'm sure someone will chime in/refute that point though, if it is incorrect...

Library info on Grooming: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28114&forum_id=17

 

[flowerpower]

thanks again. we tried several times to bond him with another rescued bun, but never again. He became severely aggressive, and destroyed the house by marking it with pee and dropping everywhere! I was soo attached to all the buns we tried, it was very hard. He is somewhat a rogue bun. He hangs out with our dog (more like chases our dog and steals her dog food) and likes people a lot, and likes to watch the lizards in their cages, but for some reason, doesn't do well with other buns. And, yes, he is neutered, but when we got him, he was in a cage by himself. My husband got really attached to him at a pet store and talked them into giving him to us, because people had returned him several times and he was too big for his cage. He was very antisocial and aggressive when we first got him, but has come a long way. He used to tear people and our dog apart, and wouldn't let anyone stick their hand near his cage, even though he was not confined to it. He now tolerates neccessary picking up, brushing to an extent, and loves to cuddle as long as it is on his terms. Not really important as to the shedding, but I thought it was a good side note.

 

[tonyshuman]

He sounds like a great bunny! I love the pic of him staring at the lizard.

Unfortunately, there's no real way to keep a bunny from shedding. You can try to improve his coat by giving him a tiny amt (I think a teaspoon?) of black oil sunflower seeds, maybe every other day. Be careful though, because they can be fattening. BBB does this for Bo so she may know exactly what amounts.

I like the hepa filters, and daily brushing (outside if you have to) may help, at least until this period is over. I used to take Tony into the backyard in the spring and pluck him--which was weird because I live in an apartment and have TONS of neighbors. I remember another mini-rex owner (other than BBB) whose bunny had a period of excessive shedding (out of the normal every 3-4 month shed) that eventually ended. Wet hands through the fur works well. I have a couple of brushes that I like--a dog/cat flea comb can be good, and also a rubber brush called a Zoom Groom.

The pineapple/papaya thing is not proven. The idea is that some enzymes in these fruits can help break down hair in the digestive tract. It may not be true, but hey like these foods and they're good for them (in small amounts) because of the vitamins in them (not in large amounts because of the sugar), so it's always good to keep the digestive system going.

edit: mites sometimes look like little bits of dirt in the ears, but it's best for a vet to test for them.

 

[HoneyPot]

HowMUCH are you feeding him or what particularly? Sometimes it's not the quality of the pellet, but the quantity. I believe it's the amount of protein that can cause the bunny to be in constant shed... I'll have to do a search, but that's what I rememebr off the top of my head.

Also, what is the lighting and temperature like in the area the bun is in? Is there a lot of natural light or just arificial light (like a basement). AND, does the temperature in your home fluctuate a lot? Hot in the day and colder at night? Some people have thermostats that change temperature at different times of day.

Any extremes may cause them to be in constant shed. Too much unnatural light can cause it, temperature fluctuations can cause it...

I hadthe constant shedissue before, and it was due to their room getting very hot in the day with direct intense sunlight, and then cool at night becasue I kept the temp in my house low to combat the heat in the day time. They had shed constantly for about a year before I figured it out.

I feel your pain and I commiserate. I have 3 that all are free run in my place and they are ALL shedding right now. There are small bunny tumbleweeds blowing around my living room that I have to vacuum up every day.

I tried getting an air purifier and it got clogged too quickly - I might have needed a bigger one to keep up.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

If you take him in to see the vet, they'll most likely do skin scrapings. Bo had it done and I cried - of course I am very sensitive to my little bunny getting hurt in anyway shape or form! LOL!

You cannot see mites, but I doubt that's it since you say he's not got bald spots. It sounds like a furry little mini-rex They have so much fur and it has no guard hairs so I bet that he's just producing a lot.

The pineapple and dried papaya are good for breaking down the hair is my understanding...... always been told there is no hairball but who knows what's right....

I love that guy! He's adorable! and Bo "Fluffs" blankies.... it's their job as mini-rex to do this and no one else can do it as well...... eventhough I try :biggrin2:and then he has to fix it cause I messed it up! LOL!


OH I just saw about the sunflower seeds. I do give Bo a couple one or two times a week! They seem to have helped his hair being healthier. It's worth a try!