My rabbits hair is moulting and more

Question
I have had my rabbit for 5 years, she is a white darwf bunny and
she lives inside. A few weeks ago her hair started moulting and
coming out on her back and she also has become a lot skinnier
then normal. For a few days she was not going to the bathroom
but now she is going but not as often as she used to. Also she is
eatting and drinking but not as much as normal. Please tell me
what i should do and if I should bring her into the vet.

Thank you

Answer
Dear Mariel,

As long as the fur is growing back in normally, the fur loss itself is nothing to worry about.  Rabbits have a LOT of fur, and when they shed it can seem to last forever.

The important things to do are:

1.  Brush well daily with a fine-toothed flea comb to remove all loose hair.

2.  With moistened hands, rub the bunny back and forth to remove loose fur.  You'll be amazed at how much will come off on your hands when they're wet!  Just roll off the felt by rubbing your palms together, discard it, and repeat until most of the fur is off.  Do this every few days until the shed cycle is complete.

3.  Provide bunny with unlimited grass hay, plenty of fresh water, and fresh, wet greens to keep intestinal contents full of fiber and liquid.  This will help keep any ingested hair from impacting and causing irritation (blockages are extremely rare).

If you do see bald patches or irritated skin, please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

for more information.

Her inappetence and lack of poop production are not normal, however.  They could indicate that she's ingesting a lot of hair from shedding, which can cause intestinal irritation, or it could be an entirely unrelated health problem causing her GI tract to slow down.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

and find a good rabbit vet to help you here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

A very common cause of GI tract slowdown is incorrect diet:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

followed by dental problems:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

Please read both those articles to see whether this might be what's causing the trouble for your bunny.

Hope this helps!

Dana