Greasy looking fur???

[Lily the Holland Lop]

 This may not be an emergency question, but it has gotten me extremley curious! I had purchased a Holland lop rabbit from a breeder on Saturday, and being only about 6 weeks, her ears had just lopped. (Yes, 6 weeks is early but the breeder waits until the rabbits can eat and drink by themselves consistently for about 2 weeks, and my rabbit happened to do so). I am aware that it’s normal for a rabbit’s fur to be thinner around the ears, and on the nape of the neck, although hers looks slightly different. It still is thin, though it looks slightly damp/greasy. Though the texture feels the same as the hair on her body, it looks very different. The hair on the body is fluffy and plush, while the hair appearing greasy is point like, clumped together almost. I can definitley post a picture when I figure out how, for I am new to this wonderful forum! One posibility of reason for the greasiness is my intoroducing new foods. I have given her the tiniest bit or romaine lettuce and banana. The banana not exceeding one slice the thickness of a penny, and the romaine not exceeding half the size of a playing card. Another reason could possibly be her vitamins, the Oasis Vita Drops. The instructions say I should double the doses for a young rabbit. I thought this would be a good health booster, but maybe it’s over providing the vitamin that produces her skin’s natural oils? I dont know. I take her off the banana, the romaine, and the drops incase it was those which were causing the greasy fur. The last reason may be that I drooled on her, totally by mistake though. I was laughing extremley hard at a weird angle, therefore some saliva escaped my mouth and she ended up being right underneath me. The saliva landed at the nape of her neck, where it apears greasy. I took a paper towel and dampened it to remove the saliva, and I was sure I got it all off for I even smelt the area once it was dry, and I smelt nothing foreign. This happened 2 days ago though, and the fur is still greasy looking. The rabbit, Lily, is on unlimited amounts of Oxbow young rabbit food, (it said to supply unlimited amounts of food on the packaging for rabbits under the age of one year) and a half and half mixture of Oxbow alfalfa and Oxbow orchard grass. She’s a great eater, her appetite hasn’t changed at all. She cleans herself often, and she also drinks her fair share of water. Her poos are completley normal, dry and appearing like peppercorns, and her urine is a dark yellow, which is normal as well. I always examine her skin for flakiness, and her ears for waxy build up, but they’re always completley clean. She tends to get little “eye boogers”, little dried up eye goops at the corners of her eyes which I clean out every other day or so but they’re nothing too imprtant. Does anybody think this issue is worth taking to the vet? Is there something at home I can do? Please and thanks, I’d greatly appreciate all of your feedback! 

[MoveDiagonally]

Welcome to BB!

At 6 weeks I would not be feeding fruits or veggies unless you’re sure the mother had them. Baby bunny tummies don’t have the right bacteria to digest these things and it’s recommended to start introducing them slowly at 12 weeks. Vita drops are not necessary at all and I wouldn’t use them. Your bunny really just needs unlimited hay, water, and pellets right now. I would eliminate the extras for now and see if that helps her coat at all.

Here are some wonderful links with info about bunny diet:
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/
Its recommended that you read through the main article in the second link and not just skip to the list. Lots of useful info there.

As for a vet visit, it’s ALWAYS a good idea to take a new pet in for a check up. This will give your vet a chance to start getting to know your bunny and YOU a chance to start getting to know your vet.

Here’s a “Insert Picture” tutorial:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/114117/Default.aspx

[jerseygirl]

It’s possible the breeder used a topical treatment on the bun. That’s the usual spot where it’s applied.
Not being with litter mates or the Mum, it’s not going to get cleaned off in a hurry either.

Even if its drool (lol !) it’s not an area the bun can groom itself.

Welcome to BB : )
Hopefully you can get some pictures of your new little one up. We love piccies!

[Bam]

It could, as Jersey says, be some kind of droplets against f ex mites (very common in rabbits) or internal parasites. It could be a routine pro-active treatment that the breeder gives before the bunny-baby is shipped off to its new home. Droplets like those are applied at the nape of the neck because the rabbit cant get to that area. The droplets then spread out slowly over the skin of the animal, like a very thin film, taking care of many sorts of skin-parasites a rabbit can have, or it is absorbed into the rabbit’s body to have a systemic effect on parasites. You could ask your breeder.

The saliva-theory seems a little less likely to me because since you cleaned it up it should’ve dried by now and not look greasy.

Is there any flakiness of the skin underneath at all or redness? Does it seem to be itching? (This would be seen as the bunny more or less frantically tries,in vain, to get to the area in question, sometimes even falling over backwards in it’s efforts to groom itself there.)

[jerseygirl]

Thanks Bam- great explanation re treatments. I was slack. :p

[Beka27]

I would contact the breeder and inquire about this. It does sound like it might be some type of treatment that he was given right before you picked him up.

When you contact the breeder, tell him that the back of your rabbit’s neck has some type of greasy substance on it, and ask SPECIFICALLY if he was given a treatment. If so, then I would go a step further and ask if it was a preventative treatment, or a treatment for something that had surfaced (mites, parasites, etc…), and WHAT med he was given.

You need to know this info so if symptoms come up, you can tell your vet that, “Yes, he had ‘mites’ at 6 weeks old. He was treated by the breeder with ‘such and such med’, there were no signs of mites for ‘X number of weeks’…” OR “He was given a preventative treatment at 6 weeks old with ‘such and such med’…”

When you talk to the breeder, also ask if he was getting any veggies when he was with his mama bun. I don’t think it’s necessary to wait until 12 weeks to start basic veggies if he was exposed to them as a baby, or if you’re feeding such a teeny tiny amount, just so he can get a taste of it. Romaine should be fine, I would not give ANY fruit just yet tho…

The vitamin drops are unnecessary.

Do you have a rabbit vet yet? He should go in for a “new bunny exam” within the next month or so, sooner if you feel that there is something wrong. The vet will do a general check-over, look at his ears, eyes, teeth, palpate his belly, get a baseline weight on him, sex him (even breeders can “mis-sex” baby bunnies”), and answer any health/diet-related questions you may have.

[Lily the Holland Lop]

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! This feedback is excellent, and really very helpful. The topical treatment is a great possibility. I had contacted the breeder through e-mail, and am now just waiting for a reply. Also, no flakiness or redness at all on the bun either. I spend most of my time with the rabbit since I am currently on summer break, and from what I can see she is not trying to clean the specific area at all, though she does clean herself overall. As for the fruits, never again until she’s 12 weeks old! The breeder had actually mentioned exposing the mommy rabbit and her litter to vegetables, so I don’t believe that to be a problem, but I’ll wait until she’s 12 weeks old anyways! And yes, I had contacted different veterinarians before picking her up and have decided on the one that would suit both the Lily and I, making sure that the vet is rabbit savvy and not too pricey! I am actually on the verge of scheduling an appointment, we’ve just been so busy! I’ll definitely get some pictures onto BB in the next couple days, Lily’s growing so fast sometimes I don’t recognize her in the morning! Once again, thanks for all of your insights!

[justwildbeat]

Since others have answered your question, I just wanted to say congrats on getting Lily. Also be sure to take pictures, they grow up so fast (no joke!).

[Lily the Holland Lop]

Thanks so much! Really loving the bunny lyfe (: And taking as many as I can, you’re definitely right about that!

[jerseygirl]

Avatar pic is tiny pic but I can see a whole lot of adorable already. Most definitely share some photos!

[Lily the Holland Lop]

Aw, thanks from bunny and I jerseygirl! I’m not quite sure on how to do so, other than posting albums on my profile and selecting the setting for everyone to view. I’ll post a question on the technical stuff section of binkybunny.com and definitely find out if there are more ways to share the photos!

[jerseygirl]

I just took a look.
Good Lord she is cute!

p.s. there is a How To guide in the Tech section. You’ll find it in the pinned topics.

[Bleu]

Hello! I was wondering if this “greasy” problem behind your bunny’s neck/ears have improved since this question was posted. My bun is experiencing the same exact thing. I thought maybe it was because I’ve been petting him (he LOVES pets behind the ears) and I don’t think it’s a big problem but just wanted to see what happened with Lily. Thank you!

[Bam]

Hi Bleu!
This is an old thread and we ask members to not revive old threads. This is so as not to cause confusion on the forums.

Please feel free to start a new thread on this topic, though. You do that by clicking the “Add Topic” button to the upper left in your forum-section of choice. If you can’t make it work, please PM me or one of the other forum leaders and we’ll help!

I’m locking this thread now.

[Author]

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