We had two hot days in a row, one was 32°C and the other was 36°C. Of course Buttons decided to drop most of his coat. Luckily I had purchased the Furminator for small animals and I already had the de-shedding glove.
I thought the Furminator would be able to get the thicker undercoat closer to his skin. It does just that. But Buttons doesn’t like being combed. His skin wriggles when it gets too close. Because it pulls hair out.
It’s also really hard to use on a bunny who is not sitting on your lap. It’s hard to put the comb on the right angle so that it doesn’t hurt.
I chose to use the glove for de-shedding, it does a better job and Buttons loves it. The Furminator’s comb doesn’t hold enough hair at one time to help Buttons, I’d have to stop using it every 10 seconds and clean it. In that time, Buttons would get bored with me and move away. With the glove, Buttons stays laying down and won’t move until I do.
The Furminator would be good for bunnies who lose hair, but not as much as Buttons. Or, after Buttons has lost his hair to the glove, maybe I’d use the Furminator to get the last little bits out.
Bunnies need their undercoat, as it controls the flow of oils around their coat. The Furminator removes the undercoat and this is not necessarily good. Look for brushes that remove the longer guard hairs or only the loose hairs, rather than remove the undercoat. A lot of people are turning away from the Furminator because of this.
I have written reviews on all of the available types of brushes that we can use on rabbits. It is in the Review Library.
Update – 23 Jan 2024
Buttons always seems to have his major shed in December and January. He constantly sheds throughout the entire year, but the end of the year is when he is shaggy and clumps of hair drop off. There is no brush good enough to help him, I have tried everything short of vacuuming him.
He stops shedding in February for about 2 weeks, and then starts again mid-March.
White rabbits will always shed more than coloured rabbits. It’s due to the lack of melanin in their skin and hair.