Quick Hair loss around the eyes!!

[blumhk]

Hi, I’ve got two bunnies Liam (brown) and Aries (white). I’ve had Aries for a while and just got Liam about a week ago. Yesterday my bunnies were fine, so I went to work overnight and when I got home this morning Aries had lost fur around his eyes. I’m freaking out a little and I don’t know what to do or chalk it up to whether it’s stress or illness or fleas. I did upgrade Aries to the largest living world cage and gave his old one to Liam for overnight housing, otherwise when I’m home they get to run freely around my room. His behavior is completely typical, energetic and playful boy. His appetite is good too. Both boys have bonded well and Aries is even a little protective of Liam. I called a few vet places and one vet didn’t believe it was an emergency, but I’d be devastated if I could have helped him and he passes away… any advice or suggestions would be prefect! Thank you!

The picture is fur loss. The second is both babies.

[Sirius&Luna]

I don’t think it would be fleas if it’s only around the eye area.

I don’t think it’s an EMERGENCY but I do think you should take him to the vet for a check up, especially if you’ve only just got him. Are his eyes runny or infected looking? It’s normally pretty obvious if a bunny has an eye infection. Is his nose runny?

The other thing that concerns me slightly is the fact that you only got one of them a week ago, but they’re bonded. That’s very quick, and could possibly lead to fights down the line. I wonder if the other one is even pulling out his fur with aggressive grooming? What was your bonding process for them?

[Wick & Fable]

Posted By blumhk on 12/09/2017 8:30 AM

Hi, I’ve got two bunnies Liam (brown) and Aries (white). I’ve had Aries for a while and just got Liam about a week ago. Yesterday my bunnies were fine, so I went to work overnight and when I got home this morning Aries had lost fur around his eyes. I’m freaking out a little and I don’t know what to do or chalk it up to whether it’s stress or illness or fleas. I did upgrade Aries to the largest living world cage and gave his old one to Liam for overnight housing, otherwise when I’m home they get to run freely around my room. His behavior is completely typical, energetic and playful boy. His appetite is good too. Both boys have bonded well and Aries is even a little protective of Liam. I called a few vet places and one vet didn’t believe it was an emergency, but I’d be devastated if I could have helped him and he passes away… any advice or suggestions would be prefect! Thank you!

The first picture is his fur loss. The second is before the fur loss with Liam.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

The pictures are blurry, but it looks irritated to me. Is there any weeping?

[blumhk]

His eyes were damp, but not anything besides normal. His fur was a little hard (not crusty, but felt like hair spray crisp) around the eyes. He has been sneezing a bit too today. His eyes don’t look infected though.

As far as the bonding process, both were kept in a cage in the living room without being able to get to each other for a day, then I let them out to explore each other and Aries dominated Liam for about a day. I kept them out there until yesterday before moving them both back to my bedroom because the central heat went out and hasn’t gotten fixed so I use a space heater for my room.

[jerseygirl]

It may be a case of one rabbit overgrooming the others eye (barbering). Or there is more weepiness or gunk but Liam is cleaning it up for Aries before you see it.
If it is constantly wet, that can cause some fur loss.

[blumhk]

If that is the case, should I keep them separated for a few days?

[LBJ10]

Could be a URI since you mentioned sneezing. You may not be noticing a lot of weeping because it’s getting “cleaned up” right away.

[Author]

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