Perpetual Shedding in the Rear!

[ZooLady]

Hello…I have a three year old neutered male rabbit that has been shedding on his back end for a year!  However, his behaviour and health are perfect.

This happened once before to a more severe degree and the vet confirmed he had fur mites.  Treatment followed and his fur cleared up beautifully.  Now the shedding is back.

However, after returning to the vet we discovered there were no longer any fur mites but the unusual shedding in the bum, lower back area returned.  As a preventative and possible treatment for mites that escaped detection I applied an anti-parisite ointment (monthly) but the odd shed still exists.

Is it possible this is just a strange shed that my bunny is unique to?

I would post a photo but my camera is missing at the moment.

[MooBunnay]

When he sheds, is he hair-less in the back? Or does a coat continue to grow back in? And what amounts of fur is he shedding? If it is big chunks of fur, or if your bunny has no hair back there, then I would assume that it is a more serious issue. My bunnies are always losing at least a little fur all the time, but they always have a solid coat of fur. I am sorry to not be of more help but I have not encountered this type of issue before. The rescue I worked at did have a baby bunny come in a few months ago that was totally hair-less except his feet and ears, but eventually with a good diet all his fur came back. Could you explain a little bit about your bunny’s diet? Is he good with eating his hay?

[ZooLady]

Thanks for taking the time to respond nonetheless. No, he is not going bald on the back. There is just obvious chunks of fur being shed, but there must be a lot of it growing in as well. It just looks very mottly. He is all black, but the fur in the back looks all messy, grey and white. (The undercoat colors showing)

They are fairly large chunks–one inch in diameter, but he still has a lot of fur back there nonetheless.  I guess it gets quickly replaced!

In terms of his diet, he eats better than me, haha.   He has hay all the time–the majority timothy hay with a small spattering of alfalfa.  He eats dark leaf vegetables (spinach, kale, bok choy, romaine lettuce, red and green chard, escarole, turnip greens–yes I am being thorough here I know.., yellow long beans, carrots, broccolli.  Each morning he gets a large plate of at least two different kinds of the aforementioned veggies and in the evening a small dishful of rabbit pellets.  I find completely feeding him veggies gives him runny buttons, so I give the pellets as the second meal.   Of course the hay is always present and he always eats it all.

[jerseygirl]

His diet sounds pretty great. Do you see him grooming this area alot?

Other things that might cause the shed are:
Seasons that are unusual may trigger a strange molt
Overly warm environment
Light (daylight & artificial)
High humidity (which may foster bacterial infections)
Other parasites
Genetics (unlikey…)
Hormones

Maybe get his skin tested there for other parasitic or bacterial infections and go from there. The seasons trigger hormones to start normal shed, so seasons out of whack can cause some weird shedding, but also any hormonal issues could trigger shedding.

Do you have to give him butt baths due to runny poop or is this managed thru diet?

[ZooLady]

I never see him grooming his bum–I don’t think he can reach that far, which could be why it is so mottled.

I don’t usually need to give him bum baths–I check about once a week to see if he needs anything cleaned, and of course he hates me for picking him up!

I also have a dehumidifier in the room he stays in.  I’ll use it a little more if you think humidity might be a possible cause.

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