Sick rabbit or normal shedding?

[Charlie_Bunny]

I’m worried about my bunny Charlie. He started shedding a couple of weeks ago, which I initially thought was normal. However about 3 days ago he started showing some bald patches and a swollen eyelid (only on one eye, just the top eyelid). The bald patches are not flaky, there are no “dandruff”. The skin does not seem to be irritated. The skin on the largest bald patch is slightly whiter than the other natural pink skin colour but otherwise it looks pretty smooth. Charlie is scratching a bit but not too much. He is a single bunny and lives indoor (free roaming) but goes to the balcony each day.

I took him to the vet a couple of days ago but the vet was unsure as to what was causing the hair loss and the swollen eye. He gave me the fur mite medicine Xeno (in case it’s Cheyletiella) but because he didn’t see flakes he wasn’t sure. I’ve administered the Xeno yesterday but I’m worried it could be something else. I’m keen to get your views, do you think it could be normal shedding and a coincidence that he injured his eye scratching, or do you think it could be something else like mites or others?

Charlie is eating and pooing normally. The vet examined his ears and they seemed healthy. Charlie seems to be a bit grumpier than usual (could also be because I took him to the vet) but otherwise no big changes in behaviour. Also one thing to note is that I live in London and these weeks have been exceptionally hot weather. When he is shedding I usually gently pluck the lose hair (he doesn’t like being brushed but doesn’t mind the plucking) but I have stopped doing this as I’m afraid this might create new bald patches. He’s losing a lot of hair, I hope he’s not ingesting too much of it.

Thanks!

Julia

[Terra]

It is possible to have bald patches mid moult, especially if you are helping the process along by removing tufts! The skin being whiter may mean the new fur is about to come through. I’ve never seen them stay bald for more than a couple of weeks though, so if something doesn’t happen soon there may be an underlying issue.

I’m not sure about the swollen eyelid, or whether it’s connected. As you said, it may be scratching. Did the vet check whether the eye itself is healthy and whether there’s a foreign body under the eyelid?

I hope his fur comes back soon x

[LBJ10]

It’s possible the eyelid thing is completely unrelated. For some rabbits, heavy molting can lead to bald patches. So if the skin looks healthy, then the first thought is always a heavy molt. Of course, there can be mites without a lot of irritation. But if you’re seeing the fur starting to come in, then molting is more likely the cause of the baldness.

[Charlie_Bunny]

Thank you for the responses! The vet looked at his eye but he didn’t check under the eyelid to see if there’s a foreign body. The eye itself looks healthy, there’s no discharge.

His eyelid is even more swollen now but it has stabilised in past couple of days. If it’s an injury from scratching, is there anything I should do or just let it be? Would antibiotics or anti inflammatory medication / creams help?

I think the hair is slowly starting to grow back on the smaller bald patch but not on the bigger one lower down his spine just on top of his tail. I’m checking the hair that comes off to see if I can see any mites but nothing obvious. In a week and a half I should apply the second dose of Xeno to the back of his neck but if the second bald patch doesn’t improve I’m tempted to apply the Xeno closer to that patch instead (closer to his tail instead of behind his neck). The vet said that the Xeno should be applied on the back of his neck so he doesn’t lick it and it will naturally spread to the rest of his fur. But maybe the largest patch is too far from his neck so the drops are not getting there… Do you think it’s dangerous to apply the Xeno closer to his tail? I think it will be hard for him to reach it and lick it but not impossible.

Thanks so much for sharing your views!

[Author]

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