Bonded Pair Overgrooming….I’m at a loss!

[JuliaBunny]

I have a bonded brother-sister pair who have been together since the day they were born. Despite my efforts, the male continues to overgroom an area on the the female’s face, leaving it red and bald.

The two have a large living area packed with toys. They receive fresh hay every day. An hour minimum of “living room run time.” I have also heard that an overgroomer could be stressed/tense, so I try to massage him every other day.

Still the overgrooming continues.

Any suggestions?

P.S. – I’m new here, I apologize if this is a post seen many times!

 

 

[JuliaBunny]

Also, I’ve heard Neosporin without pain relief can be used on bunnies. I have a generic version of Target simply called “antibiotic ointment” and says “original,” nothing about pain relief. Is there an ingredient I need to watch out for?

[mocha200]

You might want to try Neosporin without pain relief like you said, or Bag Balm could help too. But if it is red and iritated i would take her to the vet to get it checked out. You could try getting a stuffed rabbit to put in there cage so he will maybe lick that more then her. I know my rabbits love to lick stuff like that. Rabbits should have at least 3 hours of play time a day, so maybe you could increase there play time. It also might help him get his mind off grooming her so much.

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome! I am sorry to hear your bunny is overgrooming. It can be especially frustrating. Before going into any environmental or stress issue, it would be good to rule out any medical issue. Make sure your bunny doesn’t have any teeth issues or something that he is trying to “soothe” himself from physically. Make sure that his sister doesn’t have something physically as well that he is trying to clean/heal via licking. You might want to have them checked out by a vet if they haven’t seen a vet since this started happening.

Oh, and regarding the neosporin (without pain meds)—after you put it on, you don’t want to let her back with her brother for about 20 minutes or so it can be absorbed into the skin before it gets licked off.   The generic kind WITHOUT any kind of pain reliever is fine.   The best way to really tell is read the ingredients of the Neosporin without pain relief and compare that to the store brand

Mocha is right — rabbits should get a minimum of three hours of run/play time. So the next few questions are NOT to make you feel bad or to expose what you are doing wrong (or right!), but just to us help you find solutions.

1.Does the male groom all day, and if not, what times of day do you notice him grooming the most?
2.Where in the house is their cage/pen?
3. On average, how many hours per day do they get playtime?
4. What time of day do they get freetime out?
5. What kind of toys do they currently have?
6. How large is their permanent confined area/pen/cage?
7. Do you have other animals? If so what are they?

[JuliaBunny]

1. He doesn’t groom all day. I have another pair (I do foster care) who have never had a problem with overgrooming. I’d say they groom about the same amount every day.
2 & 3. Their cage is in my room. Their night-time play pen is also in my room. During the day, they run in the living room. Usually I have time to get the bunnies more run time, but because I work and have other fosters to exercise, I cannot always give them more than an hour or so out.
4. The bunnies come out during the day, then later at night. If I am especially busy that day, they only play at night.
5. These guys have lots of toys in their cage: several pieces of cardboard for chewing (some are in fun designs like zig zags), I’ve attached six plastic rings to the side which the male LOVES, a stuffed bunny to groom, and a hard circular piece of cardboard to throw/chew on.
6. I don’t know the exact measurements of their cage, but it is a two story with enough room for both of them to lay/stretch out comfortably without getting in each other’s way.
7. Mama bunny, another pair, and a little bunny guy I rescued from Hollywood.

[Author]

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