Hair on bunny’s back falling out. Help Please!!!

[rayjacksonart]

Hi, my name is Rachel and I am new to this group. I have 2 bunnies – male and female – both fixed- that I adopted from a rescue group. I do not know how old they are.

The smaller male bunny, I have noticed in the past fews days, is losing is hair on his back! It started behind his neck and seems to be spreading. I tried to look up some info online – and I saw that mites could cause this – but it doesnt look "dandruffy" really…I mean I can see the pink skin when i push his hair back and it looks a little dry. His ears are clean as a whistle and then other rabbit doesnt seem to have any hair missing. Also, some of the hair looks a little short – almost like its been "cut" or chewed??

Is this just molting? I have had them since March and havent had this problem. I want to know if all is ok or if i should take to the vet. I had a checkup for them a few months ago and all was well. I can take pictures too if that would help.

Thank you so much!!!

 

Rachel

PS The girl rabbit(Piper) mounts the boy rabbit (Jack) sometimes and bites his neck a little, and they groom each other so i didnt know if that could cause it.

[skunklionshow]

When my buns first started molting I was totally freak out.  I honestly thought they were going bald.  B/t me and buns, we seem to pull out kinda full clumps (that didn’t shoud right), so at time they look like they have thinning patches. 

[Sarita]

It certainly could be molting – try brushing him daily. When some of my rabbits molt it does give strange patterns to their fur. The only way you can really check for mites is for the vet to do a scraping of his skin – you won’t really be able to see it with the human eye. Is he scratching more than usual?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Welcome to our group Rachel! It sounds like Piper is over grooming and biting at the fur on Jack’s neck. I would try to limit her mounting him (her display of dominance) so it has a chance to grow back and the skin to heal, otherwise some long term problems can occur. If that does not help you may want to take Jack to a bunny savvy vet for diagnosis and treatment. Have they fought at all and did the rescue bond them or are you the one bonding them? There are also many other skin maladies that can cause hair loss and even mental distress as well, which Piper could be causing. Also, how long have they been bonded? Have they always been like this?

[rayjacksonart]

They were bonded when I got them – they had been at the rescue group for 2 years and lived outside. They told me that the two were dropped off together and Piper was pregnant. She had the babies and none survived. They are fixed now.

They always groom each other – mostly Piper grooming Jack. She is DEFINETELY the dominant one. Even goes to links to nip at him when he cuddles up to me on the floor – then mounts him! I honestly don’t notcie her mounting him THAT often though….but then again I am at work for 8 hrs a day. But when I am home I don’t notice it too much. Not an everyday thing.

It seems to me though if it were mites of some sort – wouldnt Piper have them too? I havent noticed Jack scratching more often either. I am just puzzled. If she IS grooming him too much, how do I stop that?

Thanks for the advise so far! I am keeping an eye out and may take him to the vet soon if it worsens.

-rachel

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm, that is a tough one if you are not there to spot the behavior that is causing it. I am wondering if it is over-grooming as a rabbits tongue is rather like sandpaper and you can imagine how that might feel on sensitive skin like a rabbits. It seems to me that there was a problem like this that was addressed in an earlier thread. I am going to see if I can find it. I am going to have to think about the best method to stop it, if one of our other wonderful mods doesn’t stop by and offer their input. : )

[Gravehearted]

The sores aren’t open are they?  If so, you need to get him into the vet.

Hmm, yes if it were mites they both would have them.  It can also be a sign of an allergy to fleas, which my bunny Viktor had and it left him with a bald irritated spot. Although, some bunnies do get bald spots during a heavy molt.

Have you seen Piper aggressively grooming Jack? Overgrooming is often a sign of stress, has anything changed lately? 
Some bunnies really like to lick and need an outlet – so a stuffed animal can sometimes help.

This is the best article I’ve seen on fur loss and has some more information for you: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

Please let us know how it’s going!

[rayjacksonart]

So, I was watching my bunnies this morning, and there Piper was, just licking away at Jack’s back. So, I think over-grooming may be the culprit. We have moved to a new place in the past month so I don’t know if this has caused stress for them. They have a hallway and bathroom but not as big of an area as the last place to run around in. I will be letting them out more – but what do you reccomend I do while I am at work and they are in their pin all day? Do you think maybe Piper is bored? I have toys in there but will put a few new things in today.

Someone mentioned a stuffed animal. Where can I find one tat I know will be safe for my bunnies to chew/lick on? Or will any kind do?

Thank you so much for everyones help – I am pretty new to this so it is always a learning experience for me when something new comes up.

-Rachel

[Gravehearted]

glad you were able to find out the balding is due to overgrooming and not a health problem. A recent move is likely the cause of stress.
Any clean stuffed animal should be ok. As far as toys go, bunnies really seem to love things to chew – some nice choices might be a phone book, a paper bag bag with hay, willow balls or tent/ tunnel.

I’d also recommend keeping an eye on the grooming situation, since you want to ensure that Jack’s ok. Hopefully it won’t get to this point, but sometimes people need to separate bunnies for several days and use some ointment so the bunny can have some time to heal.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Thank you gravehearted!

Rachel, I am glad that it is over grooming and not aggression related. Like gravehearted said, moving is a big cause of stress and I too think the toys will really help out. Something to get them exploring their environement.

[rayjacksonart]

So I put some new toys in their pin today, with some paper to shred, and I got them a little stuffed bunny. But…what happens (they have always done this so I don’t know – she must just be grooming him more now) is Jack will come over and just like crouch down and stick his head under Piper’s sort of saying like "groom me!" then Piper will do them same thing – its actually kinda cute cause its like no me! me! but anyway – I don’t know what to do… Jack doesnt seem uncomfortable but I also don’t think patches of hair missing on his back could be a good thing! What kind of ointment would I get for that? And no- the sores are not open – its just pink skin where the hair is missing.

Also, does anyone have advice on how I can make Piper see that I am not "competiton"? I think she sees me that way cause I just went over to pet Jack and she lunged and grunted. She doesnt like me getting down on his level and in his face. I think I said this, but she actually nipped him and then mounted him once when i was laying on the floor with him.

 

Thanks for all of the help!

[MooBunnay]

Hello!

The topic of overgrooming is actually what brought me to this site! One of my boys Kramer is a very rough groomer and was causing Juli to lose fur around her eyes. Is the baldness to the point where you can see her bald patches without moving the rest of her fur? If so, it may be to the point where Piper has become fixated on that spot because it is different from the other spot. It may be a good idea to place some divider type thing in their cage so that she cannot groom him for a few days while the fur grows back just a little so she won’t be so concerned with the one bald spot. If you CANNOT see the bald patches that well unless you separate the fur and they are relatively small, it may be molting combined with the grooming, and I wouldn’t be too concerned unless they bald patches start to get really big. I wouldn’t recommend putting any ointment on the area because that will cause Piper to become even more fascinated with the area and make the overgrooming worse. I would also suggest trying to make sure you keep your bunnies on a relatively normal schedule as far as feeding and exercise times because that reduces their anxiety, since they have trouble adjusting sometimes after a move.

Concerning Piper nipping you when you are petting Jack, she may also be asking for attention. A nip is one way a bunny gets another bunny’s attention to ask for grooms. Even if she nips and then scoots back when you go to pet her, she may just be a little jealous that Jack is getting all the attention, and wants some too. Even if you are totally equal with your time, they can get jealous! I have two bunnies that are attention hogs and if I stop the pets for just one minute I have a bunny scratching and nipping at me until i start again!

[SnowWhite]

I am having the same problem but with 1 bunny and she has itchy ears with a little wax inside. This normal or no?

[Paige]

Hi! BB members are advised not to reply to topics over 1-2 months old to avoid confusion
You can start your own topic if you would like!

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