# What does a molting rabbit look like?



## Tweetiepy (May 14, 2010)

Are they bald, are they like dogs and just horribly poofy, a bit of both?

I'd like to see pictures if possible.

How bad does it get and do ALL rabbits molt?


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## elrohwen (May 14, 2010)

All rabbits do molt, but how bad it looks is different from bun to bun. I've never seen Otto look really horrible, though he tends to look a little disheveled when he's really shedding - like his fur is a couple different lengths and a bit messy.

I've seen other bunnies who get tufts sticking out all over. Brushing helps, but some buns will always look a bit ridiculous when they're shedding.

I haven't seen any that molt down to bald patches, but I do know a rex owner who sees them occasionally on her boy when his fur sheds out faster than it can grow back in.


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## kirbyultra (May 14, 2010)

The buns I have seen molt do it in a somewhat subtle way. Other than the clumps of fur coming out when you pet them, you can't visually "tell" unless you're looking for loose fur. If you groom diligently to help them along, there can be bald patches. Some buns molt in bald patches too, but I haven't seen it.


My own buns look a bit fluffy when they start to molt and then midway through it they start to look less fluffy and their fur looks messy and sloppy. 

Sometimes they form a line in the coat between the old coat and the new coat growing in. Kirby has one right now (where the dull black and shiny black meet), and Penny had a very pronounced one a month ago (where the agouti met the lighter brown, there's a bald-ish line of gray).









Penny even totally different colors going. She doesn't look this brown now at all now that her new coat has grown in.


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## kirbyultra (May 14, 2010)

BTW, my Toby is constantly shedding fur and he looks normal. You can't tell at all until you put your hand on him. Your hand will be covered in loose white fur, but he looks like a normal bunny.


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## elrohwen (May 14, 2010)

I've noticed agoutis tend to get the really strong shed lines - you can tell exactly where the new fur meets the old fur. I can only sometimes see that on my other bun.


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## Kitty88 (May 14, 2010)

Chloe loses big tufts of hair at a time. I don't think I have a picture of it, but the first time she molted after I got her, she lost all of the long furs from the top of her head except for a thin line straight down the middle.....and in case you were wondering, yes, bunnies look VERY silly with mohawks.
She also works very hard to pull loose tufts out on her own due to her constant grooming, but then she builds loose fur up into a big fluffy hair ball which tends to get stuck right on her forehead.


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## YukonDaisy (May 14, 2010)

Ookpik gets a shed line that moves from top to bottom with a few tufts towards the bottom:




Her shed line is right down by her butt.

Newt gets tufts sticking out all over:




It gets even worse than in the picture. I have to pluck, pluck, pluck or his cage gets a lining of fur all around it, lol.

:biggrin2:

~Diana


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## kirbyultra (May 14, 2010)

One member, named khermann, accurately describes the butt shedding phenomenon as "cactus butt" LOL 

I personally can't resist plucking out a cactus butt when I see it. The buns are offended by my doing this because it means they've "missed a spot"


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## Amy27 (May 14, 2010)

lol I love the cactus butt! My buns also get offended when I do that and run off. 

Both of my rabbits look horrible when they molt. They look mangy and like I don't take care of them. I hate molting lol.


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## Flick (May 15, 2010)

Skyler is the king of molt! :faint:

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http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc43/velvetlop/Molt-8.jpg[/img]


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## AngelnSnuffy (May 15, 2010)

That is severe molt, wow, poor bunner, I remember that pic too!:shock:


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## hartleybun (May 15, 2010)

*Amy27 wrote: *


> lol I love the cactus butt! My buns also get offended when I do that and run off.
> 
> Both of my rabbits look horrible when they molt. They look mangy and like I don't take care of them. I hate molting lol.



lol - my rexes tend to do the cactus butt moult, with the occasional tufty face. my first buck, also a rex, used to look like he was wearing a tutu.

i do groom them but they really take offense. their moulting also seems to be ongoing. i dont get complete moults:?


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## AngelnSnuffy (May 16, 2010)

Here's a pic of Snuff's molt:
'line'-a molt is always in a line...


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## elrohwen (May 16, 2010)

I've noticed a lot of rexes with the cactus butt thing going on. Haha


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## MikeScone (May 16, 2010)

Scone seems to vary from molt to molt, with the Summer-to-Winter-Coat sheds in August-September being the worst. He's only had shed lines once, around his face. Most of the time it's just loose fur with occasional upstanding tufts, especially around his neck and backside. 

He's finishing up his Spring molt now, with just a bunch of loose fur left sticking out of his butt. As others have noted, he resents my plucking that out, but I can usually get away with it if I'm holding him and petting at the same time.


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## Nancy McClelland (May 16, 2010)

my Rexes tend to look like an out of focus picture while my other bunnies either go front to back or the funniest is I have two that go from bottom to top so they end up with a bunny mohawk.


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## Acacia-Berry (May 16, 2010)

Acacia seems to always be shedding!! Pick her up and pet her and you'll get some. When she really wants to be bad she molts completely in mid-summer when your face is all sticky and its humid and mid-autumn when its warm and dry inside so both times its super irritating to the face!! 
Akina is my mini-rex but I've n.e.v.e.r seen a molt I didnt think rexes even molted because of their lack of the overcoat!!


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## johnaka (Jul 5, 2010)

Tilbert, my Holland Lop, allows me to pluck the shed fur from his head, sometimes with ridiculous results like the Mohawk below. 



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## RAL Rabbitry (Jul 5, 2010)

It depends on the rabbits. My castor does molt so gently they don't look like they are molting. The otters, blacks and brokens look like a porcupine when they are molting. My Angus buck drops his fur like he is taking off his clothes. I thought it was a doe pulling fur to kindle the other day when I looked in his cage. There was fur everywere. I took him outside and plucked him.

Roger


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## Vicky1 (Jun 28, 2018)

Hi, can anyone help me? I’m really worried about Marley my mini Rex bun. Is this normal??? He seems more sensitive to touch than normal too. I’ve never seen a rabbit moly like this before


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## JBun (Jun 28, 2018)

Just a really heavy molt. It probably does make their skin more sensitive. Just try your best to keep on top of getting that loose fur off so your bun doesn't ingest too much while grooming.


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## doodlebugger (Jul 3, 2018)

Our rabbit is in a heavy molt right now and ended up with a completely bald spot. Our vet didn't have any concerns as long as the fur grows back in, and it did really quick. They can look crazy when they have a lot of fur and they are in a molt. As JBun said, make sure to do your best to remove the loose fur. We have a glove that has some little rubber nubs on it that we pet the rabbit with and it removes the fur. Be careful about using brushes or other tools unless you know it's safe for the rabbit, and don't do it too hard. Some rabbits are more sensitive than others when removing fur. We have a few who don't care, but one of our rabbits is very grumpy when you mess with his loose fur.


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