Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
My rabbit is shedding now and i read a article from some site that says hair balls killed many rabbit. How can you tell if your rabbit has a lot of hair in it's stomach? or how do you prevent it?
Hair Ball
- Thread starter Kawaii608
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Spring
Well-Known Member
Hair balls are usually a result of GI stasis.
Sometimes a rabbit can have poops strung together, but not sure if there's any other way to see how much hair is in the stomach.
Lots of brushing is a good way to minimize the fur that's being ingested. You can use a brush or even wet your hands a bit and pet her.Make sure she is getting a lot of fluids and eating lots of hay and if you feed them to her, green leafy vegetables. You could also begin to introduce a tiny amount of plain canned pumpkin if you notice poops being strung together. Start out giving her small amounts and then gradually increase.
Sometimes a rabbit can have poops strung together, but not sure if there's any other way to see how much hair is in the stomach.
Lots of brushing is a good way to minimize the fur that's being ingested. You can use a brush or even wet your hands a bit and pet her.Make sure she is getting a lot of fluids and eating lots of hay and if you feed them to her, green leafy vegetables. You could also begin to introduce a tiny amount of plain canned pumpkin if you notice poops being strung together. Start out giving her small amounts and then gradually increase.
Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
what do you mean by strung together? And why would a rabbit want to eat it's fur in the first place? can't it just not eat the fur?:?:?:?
Spring
Well-Known Member
Sometimes a group of poop wil lbeattachedtogether with hair. It almost looks like a necklace. The pumpkin will help clear that up.
They ingest the fur when they are grooming. They don't purposely eat it, but they ingest a lot as they are grooming and licking their fur.
They ingest the fur when they are grooming. They don't purposely eat it, but they ingest a lot as they are grooming and licking their fur.
Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
that means every rabbit ingest a lot of hair a day becuz they groom everyday. OMG my rabbit is shedding now and i just wasted it becuz something spilled and for about an hour my rabbit was grooming itself. What is canned pumpkin? where do i get it?
Spring
Well-Known Member
Yes, rabbits do generally ingest quite a bit of hair, but it usually isn't a concern unless a GI slow down occurs or they ingest a large amount of fur.
Your rabbit will be alright. I would just brush him and or pet him with damp hands every day, maybe twice a day or more.
You usually can get pumpkin at the grocery store. It needs to be 100%pure pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie filling and no spices or anything added.Just plain canned pumpkin. Remember though if you are going to feed it to her to start out by introducing it in a little amount because it is new.
Your rabbit will be alright. I would just brush him and or pet him with damp hands every day, maybe twice a day or more.
You usually can get pumpkin at the grocery store. It needs to be 100%pure pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie filling and no spices or anything added.Just plain canned pumpkin. Remember though if you are going to feed it to her to start out by introducing it in a little amount because it is new.
Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
i'm not so worried about introducing new food to my rabbit. For some reason she always eat everything i give her. Is there something i can do to get rid of the shedding fur fast becuz i'm been combing her for hours each day. It's very tiring.
naturestee
Well-Known Member
I'd recommend using a rubber cat/dog brush like the Zoom Groom. It gets off loads of fur very quickly, much more than other brushes I've used. Petting with wet hands works pretty well too.
Then just make sure she's eating lots of hay and eating and pooping normally. Small amounts of canned pumpkin (the 100% pure stuff, not the pumpkin pie mix) can help also. The only way to tell if she's getting a blockage is if she stops pooping,unfortunately.
Then just make sure she's eating lots of hay and eating and pooping normally. Small amounts of canned pumpkin (the 100% pure stuff, not the pumpkin pie mix) can help also. The only way to tell if she's getting a blockage is if she stops pooping,unfortunately.
Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
I typed in zoom brush at petco.com, and found many results, i'm not sure which one is the good one.
I have this brush.
Doesn't work soo well.
Doesn't work soo well.
Hi there,
This is a zoom groom:
http://www.thecatconnection.com/page/TCC/PROD/HLTH-BRSH/GRM-0592/AFFIL/SEK
You can get it atmost pet stores - look in the cat or dog section.
All bunnies eat a lot of fur, but you have to make sure they are also getting unlimited timothy Hay to help them pass the fur (so they don't get clogged up). The timothy hay works to push the hair they eat out of them. Also, when they are shedding, just make sure you brush them often - maybe once a day, and when they are not shedding, like once a week or so. This will help cut back on how muchfur they eat.
Also, other recommended pumpkin. You can find this in a can in the baking section at the grocery store. People use it to make pies, but just make sure you get the kind where the ONLY ingredient on the can is 100% pure pumkin. (There are some that have sugar and other things added, and you should not get that one).
____________
Nadia
This is a zoom groom:
http://www.thecatconnection.com/page/TCC/PROD/HLTH-BRSH/GRM-0592/AFFIL/SEK
You can get it atmost pet stores - look in the cat or dog section.
All bunnies eat a lot of fur, but you have to make sure they are also getting unlimited timothy Hay to help them pass the fur (so they don't get clogged up). The timothy hay works to push the hair they eat out of them. Also, when they are shedding, just make sure you brush them often - maybe once a day, and when they are not shedding, like once a week or so. This will help cut back on how muchfur they eat.
Also, other recommended pumpkin. You can find this in a can in the baking section at the grocery store. People use it to make pies, but just make sure you get the kind where the ONLY ingredient on the can is 100% pure pumkin. (There are some that have sugar and other things added, and you should not get that one).
____________
Nadia
Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
Thx for the help, are you sure that zoom brushwork? it doesn't look that useful to me. And i tried looking online,neither petco or petland seem to sell it. Do you think the store might have it?
I have about 4 different kinds of brushes to be honest. Different kinds of bunny fur requires different kinds of brushes. I like the zoom groom the most for when the bunnies are shedding - it's really really good at trapping all the loose fur.
I also just pluck the fur off of them gently. I'll sit the bunny on top a table where they can't get down, and just slowly move my hands over them plucking their fur gently. The loose fur comes off. Then I'll use the brush for a bit to grab anything I missed with the plucking.
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Nadia
I also just pluck the fur off of them gently. I'll sit the bunny on top a table where they can't get down, and just slowly move my hands over them plucking their fur gently. The loose fur comes off. Then I'll use the brush for a bit to grab anything I missed with the plucking.
____________
Nadia
Kawaii608
Well-Known Member
i do the plucking thing too. But it seem to never end, and my rabbit is always on the floor so i have to bend down which kinda hurts my back after 30 mins to 1 hour of not moving anything except for my arm.
canela_2004
Well-Known Member
our rabbit vet recommended giving lots of fiber,unlimited hay at all times as well as lots of good chew toys such as organic apple branches, lots of green, leafy veggies, and things like that to help with "hair balls". Kahlua recently went through that and we were able to get her better pretty quickly and she is now on papaya tablets every other day to help with prevention.
