is there such a thing as over-grooming?

[katie, max & penny]

I’ve noticed that Penny’s eyelids are completely bald. This is Maxs favorite spot to groom him/her so I’m assuming he’s licking up all the fur. The skin isn’t irritated. is this ok or should i scold him or what?

[Sarita]

Many times this is stress related and I know they have moved to a new place so it could partly be the stress of the move.

Also it could be boredom. I don’t think scolding is the right thing to do. Sometimes once the stress is alleviated the overgrooming will stop.

You could try to get them more active to keep him from grooming there.

Sometimes they recommend separating the couple until the fur grows back but that is the last thing you will want to do in my opinion since they are so bonded.

[katie, max & penny]

yeah, i mean max grooms her a LOT. like at least once an hour. but theyre completely free range during the day, so what else can i do to alleviate boredom? they have plenty of toys and i rotate the toys out. mostly they just cuddle up and sleep. I know that max is totally comfortable here now, but penny always seems stressed- could max be trying to calm her? i don’t know what to do to calm her down since she always runs from me.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

He may be trying to calm her-that sounds like a reasonable assumption.

Maybe the other members could weigh in…here’s what I might try;
If you have an e-collar from you spay/neuters-put that on her. I don’t think he could maneuver his face in there to groom and then that could give it a chance to grow back . If he can’t groom and it doesn’t grow back-it may not be hiim, could be something else. Anyways just an idea-wait and see what others think before tryingi t though

[katie, max & penny]

hmm i didnt get an e-collar from the vet, but i can easily get one from work. they look like they’re growing back some today. and she came up to me today as well. good progress!!

[bunnycutie]

ohhhh just wanted to add when we adopted out kitten from the animal protection league he licked our older cats head. right below the ears. until they bled. it was so gross. yuck! our older cat never grew his hair back….

[MooBunnay]

There is such a thing as overgrooming, and it is also known as “barbaring” – this is a response I compiled awhile ago because I actually had an over-grooming issue with my bonded pair. If the bald spot is causing an issue, there is also a section at the bottom on how to try to help Penny grow her hair back:

1) Sometimes barbaring is caused by stress. This can be reduced by giving your bunnies a very regular schedule, for example: feeding, cleaning, and giving them play time at around the same time each day.

2) Sometimes barbaring is caused by boredom. If your bunny has a particular toy he really likes to chew on, for example: cardboard or willow wood, provide a LOT of this for him to chew on and to play with. I gave my boy a couple big willow boxes (found them at IKEA!) and he has been having the time of his life chewing holes in them, and it keeps him distracted for a long time.

3) Sometimes barbaring can be caused by an irritation or bald spot on the skin. If your female had some type of irritation in her eye, it could have caused the male to start overgrooming, and now that there is a bald spot, he will become even more fixated on it.

4) Binkybunny found out that sometimes it is not enough fiber in the diet that can cause this. When I changed from one kind of hay to another that my boy bunny liked more, the barbaring stopped.

What to do now that there is a bald spot:

In order to prevent the male from continuing to fixate on this bald spot, you want to separate them for 2 or 3 days, just long enough for her to start growing some fur over the area. Then he won’t notice the bald spot so much and try to clean it. I did this by just using some NIC cubes to put down the middle of the cage, and put a make-shift litterbox on the side that didn’t have one. You want them to still be able to see each other, lay next to each other, and still be in the same cage because you don’t want to interrupt their bond. You don’t have to be very complex about it because its only for a short period of time.

[katie, max & penny]

well Penny’s eyelids are growing back thank goodness. She growing baby fuzz and she seems like she’s getting more comfortable with the new space. I think Max really was just trying to calm her- barbaring, like you said Moo. I don’t think I’ll have to separate them thank goodness since the hair is growing back.

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