# Shaving Rabbits?



## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

It's the time of year again, and Wranger is in the process of molting! ullhair:I was just wondering if it would be safe to use one of those small pet shavers that is suppose to "safely" remove hair? I'll try and find a link to see what ya'll think - or maybe you already know what I am talking about. Anywho, thoughts/comments :?


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## bunnybunbunb (May 3, 2010)

Really? Becca is not molting at all and she is a lionhead. I have not noticed molting in any of the rabbits, that happened earlier this year.

Is it REALLY that bad? To shave him? I would think shaving a short haired rabbit is really unneeded.

We have a roughly 60lb herding mix dog who sheds horribly year round. If I do not sweep once a day the red carpet is pink and the green carpet is much lighter. On the brown *green* recycled carpet it is un noticeable. I can sweep twice a day and still see fur. She is brushed roughly every day. It is just soemthing we deal with. I was talking the other day about Lion cutting her, lol. I know how annoying the fur is but it is something you learn to live with.


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## Runestonez (May 3, 2010)

Even if you shave her...the problem will still be there!
Shaving won't stop her from moulting!
Sometimes the best thing to do is pluck/stroke with wet hands.


Of our ten bunns...Portia and Tucker have finally just finished, Peppers is still in the middle of the worst moult ever, Darwin has discovered the cure to male pattern baldness...he has been moulting for over a month!ullhair:and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon! Zoe, Guffy, Oliver, Gypsy, Daphne and Leo are finally done...

So I am STILL vacuuming everyday and grooming the moulting bunns twice a week...honestly...by the time these guys are done...the others should just be getting started again.:thud:

Danielle


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

*bunnybunbunb wrote: *


> Really? Becca is not molting at all and she is a lionhead. I have not noticed molting in any of the rabbits, that happened earlier this year.
> 
> Is it REALLY that bad? To shave him? I would think shaving a short haired rabbit is really unneeded.
> 
> We have a roughly 60lb herding mix dog who sheds horribly year round. If I do not sweep once a day the red carpet is pink and the green carpet is much lighter. On the brown *green* recycled carpet it is un noticeable. I can sweep twice a day and still see fur. She is brushed roughly every day. It is just soemthing we deal with. I was talking the other day about Lion cutting her, lol. I know how annoying the fur is but it is something you learn to live with.


You know what's kind of weird, Wrangler started to shed out earlier this year and I thought he was done, but now he's gotten pretty bad again. Like, he's got patches of hair missing and he has that "mangy" look :yuckI just assumed that it's because our Florida weather was so odd this year - it was colder for a longer period of time than last year, and then it went from cold to warm and then back to cold fora little while. Now, it's about 90 degrees everyday. So go figure :?And let me tell you, this little bun can shed like crazy! :shock:


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## Happi Bun (May 3, 2010)

Dunkin and Amber are shedding right now too. :twitch: 
I would recommend _against_ shaving a short haired rabbit due to molting. It's a natural process that could be thrown out of balance by shaving. Unfortunately, the hair is something us rabbit slaves just have to put up with. I like to go over my bunnies with a pet hair roller when they are shedding, you should try it and see if it helps. Longer haired rabbit's are fine with trimming/shaving back their fur a bit during the summer, but even then you have to be careful. It can be stressful to the bunnies.


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

*Runestonez wrote: *


> Even if you shave her...the problem will still be there!
> Shaving won't stop her from moulting!
> Sometimes the best thing to do is pluck/stroke with wet hands.
> 
> ...


LOL :rofl:aiyahyah :twitch:Wouldn't it be nice if they all molted the same time and got it over with? But that would be too easy :biggrin:*sighs* I just thought the shaving might help thin his coat out a bit...


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

*Happi Bun wrote: *


> Dunkin and Amber are shedding right now too. :twitch:
> I would recommend _against_ shaving a short haired rabbit due to molting. It's a natural process that could be thrown out of balance by shaving. Unfortunately, the hair is something us rabbit slaves just have to put up with. I like to go over my bunnies with a pet hair roller when they are shedding, you should try it and see if it helps. Longer haired rabbit's are fine with trimming/shaving back their fur a bit during the summer, but even then you have to be careful. It can be stressful to the bunnies.


Yeah, I'm probably going to just forget the idea now...it's just so hot now! I just hate plucking out the hair, even though he doesn't really care that I do it, it eventually annoys him...but that's probably because he doesn't want to be confined by me for that long.


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

This is what I am talking about, except I have seen other similar ones for cheaper: 

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751965


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## Korr_and_Sophie (May 3, 2010)

*BrittsBunny wrote: *


> This is what I am talking about, except I have seen other similar ones for cheaper:
> 
> http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751965


A Furminator doesn't shave a rabbit (or dog or cat), it removes the undercoat which is the part being shed. For the most part, it leaves the top coat intact unless you use it too much in one spot. It works really well, but you do need to be careful on a rabbits delicate skin. 

Shaving a rabbit is not recommended and would be quite difficult on a normal furred rabbit. Rabbit fur is finer and denser than a dog or cats fur which makes it harder to shave off. When I shave Lillian, it is much harder to get the fur off then when I do my dogs.


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

*Korr_and_Sophie wrote: *


> *BrittsBunny wrote: *
> 
> 
> > This is what I am talking about, except I have seen other similar ones for cheaper:
> ...


Oh really? Guess I didn't read the detail, but it looked like it would work, so I had to ask


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## slavetoabunny (May 3, 2010)

I can't remember if Wrangler is a long-haired bunny or not, but we do have some of our fuzzy lops and angoras shaved for the summer. It's not a permanent solution for long-haired rabbits, but they are much more comfortable in the summer.


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

*slavetoabunny wrote: *


> I can't remember if Wrangler is a long-haired bunny or not, but we do have some of our fuzzy lops and angoras shaved for the summer. It's not a permanent solution for long-haired rabbits, but they are much more comfortable in the summer.


He's short-haired...I can't imagine what molting is like for rabbits with long hair :lipsrsealed:When I first got Wrangler, having no knowledge of rabbits whatsoever, and he had his first molt with me, I thought there was something severely wrong with him! I could not believe the chunks of hair that would fall so easily off of him! :shock:


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## slavetoabunny (May 3, 2010)

The furminator does do a good job on the coat, at least with my rexes. I usually run the furminator over the coat for a while and then pluck.


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## BrittsBunny (May 3, 2010)

*slavetoabunny wrote: *


> The furminator does do a good job on the coat, at least with my rexes. I usually run the furminator over the coat for a while and then pluck.


Aren't rexes the least harry too? LOL

Well I just saw the price on the furminator and I think I'll just deal with the plucking as of right now...just dropped $44 dollars on play pen I bought today


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## butsy (May 3, 2010)

butsy JUST finished molting. plus she hates getting brushed. i just pulled it out with my hands for like, a month haha


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## undergunfire (May 4, 2010)

I purchased a large Furminator for grooming school (more expensive then the small cat sized ones) on Ebay for $15 with free shipping, FYI - so, you might want to take a look on there before paying $40+ for one in stores .


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## BrittsBunny (May 4, 2010)

*undergunfire wrote: *


> I purchased a large Furminator for grooming school (more expensive then the small cat sized ones) on Ebay for $15 with free shipping, FYI - so, you might want to take a look on there before paying $40+ for one in stores .



Golly I see a whole list of Furminators for a good price on there! But which one can you use for a rabbit? 

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_nkw=Furminator&_trksid=p3286.c0.m301


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## undergunfire (May 4, 2010)

I'd use this one for your little guy :biggrin2:...

http://cgi.ebay.com/FURminator-blue-small-medium-deshedding-brush-dog-cat-/260590341484?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cac650d6c


Can't beat $10 flat for a Furminator! I did buy one and it is legit, not a knock off!

ETA: changed my link....you want this one out of CA rather then China, I'd think LOL.


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## bunnybunbunb (May 4, 2010)

Heck, I need one of them Furminators! Not only is Lady a shedder but Winnie is a Pom with SOOO much fur. I brushed her tonight and got a puppy xD I have a undercoat rake or something to that effect. I forget exactly what it is called. It works great for lady but not 100% for Winnie. Winnie is very sinsitive with brushing, too. Does the Furminator pull much? Any little pulling and Winnie starts yipping.

I get stuff from Hong Kong off ebay often and I have never had trouble. I even bought aquarium plants from overseas and had no problems. It does take longer for them to arrive but if you use people with 99% or so rating you rarely have troubles.


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## BrittsBunny (May 4, 2010)

*undergunfire wrote: *


> I'd use this one for your little guy :biggrin2:...
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/FURminator-blue-small-medium-deshedding-brush-dog-cat-/260590341484?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cac650d6c
> 
> ...



Saweet! That's a great deal! :yahoo:Thanks so much for posting a link!

But how does it work? Does it need batteries? If so, what kind?


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## Brandy456 (May 4, 2010)

Please, Please do not shave him/her.
I had this bright idea to do this a while back on Babii and the slightest mistake in the stroke and it's super noticeable. Took a long time for it to grow out and look decent again. (but she changed her color  )
I'd say just rub her with a damp cloth (it'll attract dead hair) and rough it out.


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## undergunfire (May 4, 2010)

The Furminator is basically just a blade on a stick - no batteries needed....you just brush!


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## BrittsBunny (May 4, 2010)

*undergunfire wrote: *


> The Furminator is basically just a blade on a stick - no batteries needed....you just brush!


Kind of like what I use to thin out my horse's mane...it's called a "Solo Comb" and it's basically the same thing as the Furminator.


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## undergunfire (May 4, 2010)

*BrittsBunny wrote: *


> *undergunfire wrote: *
> 
> 
> > The Furminator is basically just a blade on a stick - no batteries needed....you just brush!
> ...


Exactly....kind of like that !


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## BrittsBunny (May 4, 2010)

*Brandy456 wrote: *


> Please, Please do not shave him/her.
> I had this bright idea to do this a while back on Babii and the slightest mistake in the stroke and it's super noticeable. Took a long time for it to grow out and look decent again. (but she changed her color  )
> I'd say just rub her with a damp cloth (it'll attract dead hair) and rough it out.


I am not going to shave him, but I am going to get the Furminator since it might *help* the process of molting. Believe me, I don't want to ruin his pretty coat either...but as of right now, he looks like a mangy rabbit that is just shedding out.


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## JeffS (May 5, 2010)

My Pancake and Riley shed quite a bit. Riley's finishing up his second shed of fur for just this spring.

I've considered having Pancake's fur shaved short because it's so thick and it's obvious that she is sometimes uncomfortably warm. Lately her coat's thinned out enough that she seems okay.

As far as brushes and combs, I've tried a variety. I tried a brush, a slicker, a shedding comb, and a furminator clone (they're all the same). None of them helped, and in fact I found out that it's terribly easy for some of these tools to scratch and cut my buns. I couldn't believe how thin and sensitive their skin is.

(Pancake has long, thick fur (up to my first knuckle on my index finger) and Riley's is a bit shorter and much thinner.)


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## pamnock (May 6, 2010)

My 2 primary concerns are the fact that I've seen rabbits suffer from shock and hypothermia after being shaved. I know of one Fuzzy Lop that was shaved at the vet - they cut it up quite a bit and it died shortly after. I know of an Angora that succumbed to hypothermia after being shaved. The skin also tears very easily, so rips are common.


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## undergunfire (May 6, 2010)

I agree...I have had to shave a cat at groom school and it was so scary due to their delicate skin - I can't imagine shaving a rabbit if you don't know how to properly use a clipper.


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## BrittsBunny (May 8, 2010)

*pamnock wrote: *


> My 2 primary concerns are the fact that I've seen rabbits suffer from shock and hypothermia after being shaved. I know of one Fuzzy Lop that was shaved at the vet - they cut it up quite a bit and it died shortly after. I know of an Angora that succumbed to hypothermia after being shaved. The skin also tears very easily, so rips are common.


Eeeeeek that's horrible! :shock:Well Wrangler is almost done with his molt, so I am not going to worry about a furminator at the moment...I guess I really don't need one. Thanks for the information...but can rabbits get hypothermia in a warm climate like Florida? Our winters can get very cold (in the teens), but most of the time throughout the year it is hot and humid.


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## Demismith (May 12, 2010)

I have a shedder, similar to furminator, it dosen't shave off the fur. Very useful though, I would even reccomend it for rabbits (although practise on a pet first)


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## BrittsBunny (May 13, 2010)

*Demismith wrote: *


> I have a shedder, similar to furminator, it dosen't shave off the fur. Very useful though, I would even reccomend it for rabbits (although practise on a pet first)


Thanks for the recommendation! As for right now, I am just going to let nature take it's course...meaning, I am just going to stick to him molting out and me plucking and brushing!


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