Mini Rex fur

[agnesthelion]

So I went and visited the little mini Rex male again yesterday still cute as a button.

But question. His fur was shedding really, really bad. I mean, one stroke and I had a handful. Then i would give him head rubs and and my fingers would be covered!!

so I asked the shelter worker and she said it was nerves from him being in a new environment and that rexes normally don't shed like that.

Is she right? Or could this indicate a health problem? Or could he be molting due to time of year?

Thanks!

 

[MikeScone]

agnesthelion wrote:

so I asked the shelter worker and she said it was nerves from him being in a new environment and that rexes normally don't shed like that.

Is she right? Or could this indicate a health problem? Or could he be molting due to time of year?

Rexes DO shed like that, about twice a year. As we're going into Fall, this is a heavy shedding time, so I wouldn't be concerned on that basis. Sometimes it seems like the twice a year is for six months each time, but really the big sheds last a month or so, if Scone and Natasha were typical. Some years I've also seen a smaller shedding around mid-June and mid-January, but that's hit or miss.

Natasha is just finishing up, with loose fur just around her behind (which she HATES to have me pluck). You can see it in this picture, where she's expressing her opinion of Dad plucking fur:

She started shedding around late August this time.

 

[agnesthelion]

Okay thanks, just wanted to make sure it wasn't something abnormal and there is something wrong with him. But wow. Sure is alot of fur. Does it really fly around your house? I'm concerned about my hubbies allergies....I wonder if itnwould effect them? Agnes is molting but her longer fur comes out in clumps so it's not as flyaway, if you know what I mean.....

And by the way. Best. Picture. Ever! I would LOVE to get a bunny tongue picture of Agnes. They always make me smile!

 

[MikeScone]

agnesthelion wrote:

Sure is alot of fur. Does it really fly around your house? I'm concerned about my hubbies allergies....I wonder if it would effect them?

It does float around. Rex fur is short and light, and it just drifts away as you pet the bunny.

That said, I've never had any allergic reaction, and I do have allergies (but not to rabbit fur, apparently). I sneeze if I breathe in the fur, but that's more of a mechanical reaction than allergic.

 

[agnesthelion]

Good to know mike, thanks.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Mike is spot on about mini-rex shedding! It is that time of year and stress may be exacerbating the shedding. You should see my ceiling fans during shedding time!

 

[MiniLopHop]

Gary gets "cactus butt" and is seriously offended when I pluck it off. He's shedding now too. I think this time of year most buns go through it. Right now half of my rabbits are shedding. My furminator is getting quite the workout and I'm distributing papya tablets daily. Anyone with allergies avoids my house because fur is inevitable with our little zoo.

 

[ldoerr]

A really heavy shed is common with Mini Rex. I have had many that when I would groom them all of the fur from their backs and down their sides would come up in a mater of minutes. The new fur would be underneath, but VERY short (like 1/16 of an inch short). It gave me a scare the first time it happened. Some are more prone to molting that way than others.

 

[daisyandoliver]

Oliver barely did any shedding... he had a couple tuffs now and then that came off with brushing but besides that.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

When our mini rex sheds, she SHEDS. Like crazy. For so long. It seems like she's ALWAYS molting (ok, she isn't but just saying, she sheds alot). Our first mini rex Speckles hardly shed, so maybe it just depends on the bunny?