Rabbit Tearing Out Neck Fur

[MadamVassago]

My 3 year old male rabbit has been tearing out all the fur under his neck. His neck is nearly bald. I have no idea why he is doing this. We take him to a rabbit Vet and he had no idea what it is either. We suspected that he may have mites, but he doesn’t.

If anyone is having a similar problem, or if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

 

[jerseygirl]

I haven’t heard of males doing that, only females. Could it be a stress reaction? The other thing I thought is worms. Could he have picked up worms and can feel something beneath the skin? Is your rabbit on it’s own or with another? What’s his medical history? 

Edit: Also, it the fur in this area often damp?  Does your rabbit carry extra weight?

[MadamVassago]

Bibbins is an indoor rabbit only. He is the only rabbit of the house. I don’t think it’s stress. He pretty much owns us! He sleeps on the couch with my husband and I. He scratches our legs when he wants pet. He’s never caged – he’s free-roaming 24/7.

He doesn’t get into anything bad. His fur isn’t ever damp – He has a bad tooth problem and that causes him to have a runny bunny nose!  But he has no respiratory problem at all – no infections or anything. And he is never cold – I know they can tear out their hair to make a nest, but he sleeps in luxury, believe you me.

And he is not overweight at all!

 

[jerseygirl]

Oh wow, is he ever handsome! And puppy too!
I really am mystified as you must be, other than the obvious, mange mites, fleas etc.
I have heard of tooth problems causing drooling and then that fur getting wet… Is the troublesome tooth one of the upper ones.
Sorry I’m not much help, hopefully one of the other members has experiences something like this. It couldn’t hurt to treat for mites or fleas I guess, even if you can’t see them. What is the bald skin area like? Reddish? Flaky skin?

[MadamVassago]

Even though the vet found no parasites or eggs, we did treat him for them. And yes, it is his upper teeth! (His name is Bibbins, btw)

His upper teeth are very twisted and he has to have them clipped every month. We never noticed any drooling from him, but his nose needs wiped every now and then.

His bald neck skin doesn’y appear to be rashed or irritated. It’s just soft pink, bald skin.

 Really bizarre! He’s been doing it for about a year  now.

And I really appreciate your time, maybe you will end up helping me.

[jerseygirl]

Well I do like to problem solve but I may end up causing mmore confusion I fear. Bibbins is so beautifu;. Is he a japanese harlequin?
How long has he been having to get his teeth clipped? I do still wonder about a nervous/stress reaction…
One thing you may be able to ask your vet to do is test some of the affected skin and some off the hair from the site.

Edit: from the looks, he and the dog get along ok.  Does the dog groom Bibbins sometimes?  Is the dog the only other animal in your household? How long have he and Bibbins co habited?

Another thought is he might be over grooming himself here for some reason.  Does the area get wet after he drinks from the bowl?  Often it does and they groom there to dry it up. Perhaps he does this for too long, or drinks excessively so has to groom there more often.

[jerseygirl]

More questions  

Do you see him pulling the fur, or just find it gone, hair strewn about the place?

I just read this as possible cause for hair loss.  Not necessarily hair pulling though    

Hormone imbalance
This is not often seen in rabbits, but is one possible cause of fur loss in any mammal. If your vet suspects this is the cause of your rabbit’s fur loss, s/he may wish to take a blood sample and send it to a laboratory for analysis of thyroid function, and other endocrine systems.

I found this here: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html#hormone  It might be worth you looking over to see if anything fits.

Edit: And this: en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/mal…g-hair.htm  (again the stress factor – though you may not be able to pin point a stressor, an underlying medical condition or hormone imbalance may cause tress reactions.)

 

[Sarita]

Madam, he’s beautiful! Have you done any bloodwork lately on him as well? I’ve heard that as well about the hormone imbalance. The only other thing I could think of is that it is nerve related (not nervousness but nerves)…just something that came to mind – I’m not sure that would be relevant in his dewlap area but I know sometimes that it happens with rabbits in their feet area that they lose the sense and start chewing away at their feet.

[MadamVassago]

Thank you so much!

It could be nerves – you’re right. I’m going to read up on that! Thank you!

[MadamVassago]

We may get blood work done on him Monday. He has to get his teeth clipped anyway. I’ll have my husband ask the vet about it. And Bib has always needed his teeth clipped. They grow so long and out of control that he can’t eat. He won’t chew on any wood chews or toys we give him. He just loves to be around us and get pet/massaged, haha.

 

Mona and Bibbins are BEST pals. We take in a lot of animals. We have guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, and birds. We’re rodent-loving people. None of them have any parasites though.

 

He MAY be over-grooming. The Vet said once that maybe his teeth are so sharp and long that when he goes to groom himself he’s cutting his fur away. We do in fact see him removing the fur. He stands on his hind legs and pulls on it.

 

Thank you for those links!

[mrmac]

Sorry I cant offer any help, but I just had to say how ADORABLE Bibbins is!!!!! I hope you figure something out! Bibbins stop pulling your fur out your scaring mommy!

[skunklionshow]

He’s so handsome!  I know that some people that have chronic teeth issues decide that it’s best to remove the teeth rather than having to deal w/ the constant trimming.  I think Scarlet Rose knows more about this?

I think it might be behavioral/psychological.  I agree w/ the whole neat freak thing.  It may be that his fur gets uncomfortable from drool or drips and then he feels the need to pull it out.  When it’s psychological, it often just means that the area is irritating and that’s their only available response.  Make sense?  If that’s the case, it’s mostly tx’d w/ anti-anxiety drugs (i.e. prozac), but I’m not sure if that’s true w/ bunnies.  I know that’s what they use w/ dogs & cats.

[jerseygirl]

The teeth – molars!   Since your going to take him in for a trim – get this investigated further. I found this post in the FAQ section that I think you’ll find interesting. Be sure to follow the link 6 post down that Scalet Rose posted.
https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

As skunklionshow mentioned, removal or problem teeth may need consideration.

[jerseygirl]

Hope you can resolve this. Please post more pics of him – looks like he’s fast gathering a fan base here!

[Beka27]

What an amazing bunny! Is he part dutch?

[KatnipCrzy]

It might not be a bad idea to see if your vet can refer you to a veterinary dermatologist.  If the dermatologist rules out that a medical condition is causing this- then you can pursue the behavorial aspect that could cause the behavior. 

Bach’s Rescue Remedy could possibly help- it is a homeopathic flower essence extract that is believed to help anxiety.   I would be sure to ask your vet about this though- since the cause for the hair pulling is unknown at this point.

What a cutie though!

[RabbitPam]

He is so adorable!
I’m inclined to think it is related to his problems with his teeth. He may wipe drool, he also may be wiping the runny nose. I’ve heard that when there are two bunnies and one notices a boo boo on the other, it will groom and groom to try to get it off and end up pulling out fur. He may have irritated it, then try to fix it, then pull more, etc.

Are his nails trimmed, by the way? Just speculating here, but if they are also pointy they may be getting the fur out more easily than if they were blunt.

More pix please!

Oh, one new thought: If he is a free roam bunny and you have a dog, as much as they may get along it still may have him in a constant state of alert. Perhaps he could have a little hidey hole that the dog would never be able to get into where he can “get away from it all” and rest without worry. If it’s nerves, that may be soothing.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

*covers my rabbits’ ears* OMG *jaw drop* I think that’s THE most HANDSOME rabbit I’ve EVER seen!!!!!!

Let us know how the vet trip goes!

[MadamVassago]

That’s what my husband thinks, actually. Bibbins is such a proper little man.

[MadamVassago]

I know, look at his poor little teeth

:

See his neck? This is how it looked when he first started tearing out his fur.

 

[MadamVassago]

I have no idea what kind of bunny he is, besides that he is dwarf.

 

I wish I knew!

[MadamVassago]

He always has a runny nose – and you may be correct as to that being way he is removing it.

He’s not on alert really. He and Mona sleep together and she licks his fur. They’re like Tweedle Dum and tweedle Dee! You’ve never seen a more adorable pair. They’re MY animals and even I can’t stand how cute they are, lol!

Every morning Bibbins wakes up and goes into the bedroom and leans his head over Mona’s dog bed to see if she’s sleeping, and if she is, he scratches the side of her bed until she turns to look at him. HAHA!

 

 

[MadamVassago]

 

[jerseygirl]

Oh Ouch! Poor guy. Is that inflammation around his mouth or was he tucking into a strawberry or something?
Skunklionshow mentioned about tooth removal, it might be something to consider, they apparently cope quite well without them. I would strongly suggest asking your vet about this fur problem being related to his teeth issues.

He does look part dutch as Beka said. Tri-coloured Dutch? Not that common but they’re lookers! Let us know how the vet visit goes.

Edit to add: Oh yay more pictures! You must have posted same time. Def looks to have some dutch in him. I had first though japanese harlequin but now he looks the tri coloured dutch.  I can just feel everyones jealousy now!

[MadamVassago]

I have no idea! He’s dwarf – that’s all I know.

 

 

[MadamVassago]

Bib is white, brown, beige, black, and grey! his hind legs are a rish brown! He’s my rabbit son. lol

They have asked us if we wanted to have his teeth removed but wanred us that the anesthesia could kill him and we got really upset because we don’t want to risk his life. They said his molars are fine for now, but if they over-grow they have to come out.

 

Thank you – and everyone else for the wonderful comments on my rabbit! I’m glad everyone loves him as much as I do!

 

[MadamVassago]

Wow, Thank you!!!!

[MadamVassago]

Thank You!!!!!!!!!!

[Beka27]

Posted By MadamVassago on 05/04/2009 04:29 PM

They have asked us if we wanted to have his teeth removed but wanred us that the anesthesia could kill him and we got really upset because we don’t want to risk his life. They said his molars are fine for now, but if they over-grow they have to come out.

 

 

There is a risk to any surgery, but if you have a good, experienced vet who has done rabbit surgeries like this in the past, it should be a minimal risk.  Has he been neutered?  If so, he was put under for that procedure.

Is the problem his incisors or the molars?  Incisors can be removed with little problem and they adjust well to it, molars you would not want to remove unless absolutely necessary (like in the case of an infection).  Are you sure that was what your vet told you or maybe they mixed it up?  If he has molar spurs those can be trimmed down.

[MadamVassago]

Thank you!!!!

[MadamVassago]

No, he is not neutered. We never had a problem with Bib. He doesn’t spray and he’s not really aggressive at all. I don’t have any intention of breeding him. Rabbits, I believe are the #1 unwanted animal in animal shelters. Isn’t that sad?

[MadamVassago]

He and the dog were eating tomatoes, lol

[jerseygirl]

So cute about Bibbins and Mona!
“free vegetarian hugs”!  You’ll probably like this community – many “Veggies” here!

[MadamVassago]

My husband and I and all of our animal clan are vegetarians! Even our dog, Mona!

(We all sit around and eat watermelon, haha) Rabbits go CRAZY for watermelon if you haven’t already tried it.

[Author]

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