Fur mites or just shedding?

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MandyK

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I have a rabbit who has always been a constant shedder. Lately though, she is shedding a lot more. I can pull fur out in chunks. It doesn't hurt her, she actually seems to enjoy it. She has quite a bit of dandruff, most of which comes off with the fur. I was reading about fur mites and I'm getting kind of paranoid. She's not scratching like crazy, and when I pull out loose fur, there is more fur underneath (as opposed to it being just skin). The skin under her fur looks fine, and she's acting completely normal. When I pull the loose fur out, it almost looks like she has bald patches (except it's just shorter fur underneath, not skin). Most of this loose fur is around her bum area, above her tail.

I have other rabbits who come in close contact with her, and none of them are shedding like this at all. I want to avoid taking her to the vet if possible, as she gets incredibly stressed out and sick whenever we go.

Is this a shedding time of the year, or should I be worried?
 
It sounds like she is moulting. This is when the shed out the coat and grow a new one that is better for the upcoming season. Rabbits will moult 2-4 times a year (depends on the rabbit usually). Some do moult more than others and will have lots of fur on the back above the tail that sort of sticks up and takes longer to come out.

One of the main concerns with moulting is that the rabbit will ingest a lot of it and that could lead to a blockage. It is important to brush your rabbit out (you can pluck the loose fur off if that is easier and she is not bothered by it) to help prevent them from ingesting too much fur. Giving lots of hay and keeping them hydrated is also good to keep the gut moving to push out and fur they have ingested.
 
im really glad mandyk posted this as i had the same concern with my bunny. he moulted a patch on the top of his head and the fur fell right out into my hands, but there was fur undreneath it just much shorter and closer to the scalp. no dandruf tho, so im glad it seems that my bun is just moulting too :)
 
The dandruff worries me though. A common mite of rabbits has the common name "walking dandruff" because the mites carry the dandruff pieces around and it looks like the dandruff is moving. If you look closely at it, does it look like the pieces of skin are moving? If so, it needs to be treated with medicine. If not, are these areas where she gets wet, for instance from pee or wet bedding? She may need the fur in those areas trimmed so she can keep her bottom clean and dry in those areas better. She also could have dry skin from a dry environment, for instance if your house has low humidity when the heat is on.
 
The dandruff is the main reason why I'm worried about mites too. It doesn't look like it's moving, but there is quite a bit of it. But since she comes in contact with other rabbits all the time and they share bedding, wouldn't the other rabbits have it as well if it was mites? They aren't shedding at all.
 
They might not have it even if they are in contact, or they might not be showing signs of it (like a lower-level case of it). Some rabbits groom more carefully or have others groom them, or just have other reasons that they don't get the mites even if exposed to the same source of mites.
 
I have made an appointment for tomorrow to take her in to the vet. The dandruff is getting really bad. I'll let you guys know how it goes when I get the results.
 
As for the dandruff moving, I don't think so. I've been examining her for a while and it doesn't look like "walking dandruff". I'll take her to the vet just in case though.

In the meantime, does anyone think this may be caused by stress? My fiance is away for a few months and she is REALLY attached to him.
 
Update, if anyone is interested:

I took her to the vet today. He said that it looked like it would be fur mites, since she is losing so much fur and has dandruff and bald spots, but he couldn't find any mites. He looked with magnifying glasses and under a microscope for a good 10 minutes and found nothing.

He said if I only had one rabbit, he would give her medicine for mites just in case she did have it. But since I have more than one rabbit at home, there's no point in giving them all meds "just in case". If she ends up having mites, the others are already infected anyway. So I have to keep an eye on her and take her back in a couple weeks if she doesn't stop shedding like crazy.

He said the fur loss is most likely just very heavy moulting, and the dandruff may be from stress from missing my fiance. He said her skin looks very healthy otherwise, so we won't medicate until we have actual proof of mites.

Thanks for all the replies! I'll update again if anything changes.
 
Another update:

Her fur loss has slowed down a lot, almost stopped completely. She still has some dandruff, but that gets brushed out pretty easily with the loose fur. She is looking good and back to normal, so I won't need to take her to the vet again. :)
 
Yep sounds alot like moulting. Glad to hear she's doing good now. Oh and for future moults, I *highly* recomend getting a FURminator. I've had bunnies for 7 years or so and always thought about it but never got one. Both of my buns have been moulting right now so I bought one and it works WONDERS! ;)
 
Hershey had major dandruff going on also. I asked the vet about it and he said it's usually due to a lack of +++++ (I forgot specifically what he said) in the diet. He told me to add a few drops of canola oil to his pellets.

I did this and the dandruff went away in just a few days and Hershey's coat looks and feels more healthy!
 
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