Need Opinions After Bad Vet Experience (Fur Thinning, Over-Grooming)

[Raelinn & Gus]

Maintenance and Housing
Is your bunny housed indoors or outdoors?

• Indoors

Does your bunny live with other bunnies?

• Lives separated in X-pen but in same room as free-roam rabbit

If yes, are they bonded?

• No

If you rabbit spends time outside, are wild rabbits around?

• N/A

How much exercise does your bunny get per day?

• In large X-pen, able to run around but could probably benefit from a larger space, tbh

How often do you clean the litter box?

• Once a week

How often do you groom your bunny?

• Not once so far, full transparency

Spay/Neuter
Is your bunny spayed/neutered?

• No, but he is scheduled to be neutered next month

If so, for how long?

• N/A

If not, why not?

• We just got him about a month ago

Are you aware of reproductive cancer risk in females? If not, please read about it here.

Pooping and Diet – Very Important
What does your bunny eat normally:

• Once a day breakfast of spring mix and pellets, unlimited hay and water

How much hay and what type?

• Orchard grass, unlimited

How much pellets and what type?

• Large handful (he’s a rex), Science Selective Adult Rabbit Food

How much veggies and what types?

• Organic spring mix, two large handfuls

How many treats and what types?

• Occasional banana chips, occasional timothy hay treats, typically gets just a pellet or two by hand

Anything else not listed?

• No

When was the last time your bunny ate? (If > 12 hours ago this is an emergency, contact a vet ASAP)

• Like twenty minutes ago

What was the last thing your bunny ate?

• Hay and breakfast

When was the last time your bunny pooped? (If > 12 hours ago this is an emergency, contact a vet ASAP)

• Within the past hour or two

How did your bunny’s most recent poops look (round and firm, misshapen, small and hard, soft/mushy, runny, etc.) ?

• Round and firm

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this bunny?

• A month

In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?

• Thinning fur on back of neck and ears, since we got him a month ago. Dry fur on butt.

How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?

• Few weeks

Have you consulted a vet?

• Yes

Have you started any treatment for the symptoms?

• No

Was your bunny physically ill or injured when you got them?

• Not that I know of

How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?

• Remained the same

Explain your situation in detail. (Please explain what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)

• When we got Maxwell, we noticed he had what appeared to be thinner fur on the back of his neck and ears. The problem hasn’t worsened, but after examination we decided it was enough to be worried. His fur on his butt is also very dry, almost brittle. We took him to a non-rabbit savvy vet as she was the only person within an hour drive who even saw rabbits. Upon inspection, she said he didn’t have ear mites nor visible “physical parasites”, but said she didn’t know what else could be wrong other than the latter. She advised us to give him a full bath and a round of Revolution. This is where I had an issue. I searched the forum and found everyone says under no circumstance should a bunny be given a full bath, only a butt bath if necessary. I got bad vibes during the whole appointment, she was pretty judgmental in general (making comments about chewed up carrier) and during the examination wasn’t really giving him a good look over other than ears and spreading fur to look for physical parasites. Outside of that, she was quick to rush us out the door and just gave me the general impression that she either doesn’t see rabbits often or doesn’t like them. Maxwell almost fell off the examination table and she made no attempt to help him. Anyways, just trying to explain why I really don’t trust her opinion or her in general for rabbit care; I know this isn’t normal, I used to take Gus to a rabbit-savvy vet and they never treated us the way she did.

 

• Our best guess is that Maxwell needs a good brushing, maybe a wipe down with a damp cloth or something similar, and possibly some more time outside of his pen. The hair thinning isn’t extreme – just barely enough to be noticeable. He doesn’t scratch more than our other rabbit, Gus, does – he just licks and paw brushes more. We think he may be stressed from the move, or stressed due to not having more space, but he had this issue from before we got him. We have no idea what his living conditions were like prior, but he has definitely been socialized with humans and not around other rabbits. We have yet to act due to our opinions differing from the vet, and want opinions from others who may be more knowledgeable. We are in search of a (preferably) detailed care plan or thoughts/comments on what the best course of action is.

 

• Unrelated side note I would like to make – if you have seen my other posts you will notice we have had numerous other rabbits outside of Gus. We have done bunny speed dating through a rescue who had a “if it doesn’t work, bring em back” program. First we tried with Lily, an albino angora; then a bonded pair of rex sisters, Marnie and Sophie. The latter were rescues from a bad home and the shelter agreed to work with me. This time is different however, as I moved to CA and got Maxwell. All in all we have had numerous failed bonding attempts and are trying our best to make this one work, if it doesn’t, I am fully prepared to find a healthy and happy home for him. I just wanted to make this note as without context it kind of appears as if I’m just cycling through rabbits irresponsibly. Gus just hates other bunnies, but we are hoping he will bond with a male.

 

Thank you,

-Raelinn (as well as Gus and Max)

 

[Bam]

You’re quite right in that rabbits don’t need full baths and they shouldnt have a full bath except in extreme scenarios where the bun has gotten sth toxic all over its fur.

Revolution could help though, not all mites are very visible to the naked eye. Vets often treat with Revolution on suspicion. Even if a vet does a tape-test, they might not catch any mites with the tape, so that’s not a very good diagnostic method. Revolution is rabbit safe.

Brushing is good, esp if he’s shedding. You can wipe him down with a moist microfiber cloth if yiu think he needs it.

Could Maxwell have been given less than ideal food before you got him? Since rabbit hair doesnt grow continously like human hair, it can take a long time for new, better quality fur to grow in. They basically need to shed the old fur first and then new hair grows out.

Some buns really dont like other buns. Some hate other buns while they’re young, but grow out of it. Successful and stable bonding is statistically more likely with an M/F combination than a same sex combo.

[LBJ10]

Yes, you really shouldn’t bathe a bunny. There are a few extreme situations where one is warranted, of course, but the vast majority of the time a bath would do more harm than good. I agree with Bam that he could just have crappy fur that was the result of a crappy diet. It will take time for that fur to be replaced with healthier fur.

As for the thin fur, it could be mites… or it could be thin fur. Many young bunnies has thin fur around their neck and ears. But mites are difficult to spot and tests can produce false negatives, so there is no harm in treating just as a precaution. Revolution is perfectly safe for bunnies. Just don’t use anything with fipronil in it (ex: Frontline) because that ingredient IS toxic to rabbits.

[Raelinn & Gus]

Update to any who are interested:

I use this forum for help as I love the moderators and general suggestions we get, but always forget to update.

Maxwell is still with us! I made a separate post about bonding.

We decided to wait on giving Revolution mostly because we had issues in accessing it near us. His thin fur is definitely just his normal, and I think we may have been overreacting a bit on that front.

Since he has been with us and gotten on Gus’ diet (regular veggies, appropriate pellets, unlimited hay) his fur quality did improve! Still a little crunchy near his tail, but overall drastically better. I also think he was generally dehydrated, he acted as if he grew up with water scarcity (for a long time scarfed down water to the point I was a little concerned, has since evened out) so that may have contributed to fur quality.

We fully unfolded his pen so he now has a larger area, and I think his extra grooming may have been due to stress. After he spent more time with us, and had his pen enlarged, he no longer grooms any more than Gus does. We also made a point of not attempting to handle/socialize him and just generally leave him alone, which I think helped.

We had a second vet appointment as a follow-up/general checkup before his neuter, and she still couldn’t find any mites or fleas so we ended up not filling the Revolution prescription.

His neuter went great, total champ, acted as if he didn’t get surgery done within 24 hours. We had to shorten his pen for the recovery because he would run and jump around.

Overall: I think you guys were right, he just had a crappy diet/possibly not enough water before we got him. With time everything improved and now he is completely normal. I’ve been very overwhelmed so never began handling/socializing with him again, but am starting now, and once he is a little more comfortable with humans I think a good brushing will take care of his last crunchy fur bit. As of right now, he is very fearful of hands and runs away, and I think since he doesn’t have a major fur problem it is best to give him time instead of stressing him out via holding him down to groom. He has short hair and no issues with excessive shedding.

[BrunosMama]

I’m glad to hear Maxwell’s overall condition is improving!

It can be hard when you adopt from a rescue or shelter because its not always clear what the bunnies background actually is. Whatever previous environment that led to his poor fur and nutrition is probably what has also impacted his fear of hands and being handled.

When I’ve had a scaredy bun, I usually try sitting on the floor outside their pen a few times and just talk to them and offer a treat. Then, eventually when they start warming up, I will sit in their pen with them and let them come up and investigate on their own. If they get brave, they get a snack! 🙂 Slowly but surely, this can build trust and you can move on to trying pets.

 

[LBJ10]

I’m glad to hear Maxwell is doing better. Sometimes all they need is good food and a little love.

[Author]

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