Squeaks and Over-Grooming

[Samicles]

Nimmy is the most vocal bunny I have ever met, he makes honking noises and squeaks on occasion. He’s been biting this one spot on his back a lot recently and squeaks while he does it, if I scratch this area he squeaks then as well. Is the squeaking a good thing or a bad thing? He hasn’t moved away from me while I scratch that spot. 

He’s been scratching this spot a lot, to the point where his fur in that area is beginning to stick up in different directions. Should I check it out? Any ideas on what this might be? Is it a cause for concern?

I HIGHLY doubt he has fleas, he’s the only animal in my home and I hardly come into contact with other pets, and since I don’t like the cold I’m not outside frolicking or anything. He’s just now begun this ‘over-grooming’ yesterday. The only thing I can think of is his skin is dried out, he’s been sitting up on my windowsill a lot lately, he LOVES it. So I’m wondering if the cold is bothering his skin or something?

Should I bathe him, or at least dampen the spot that he’s been over-grooming? Do you think it’d help? I know you’re not supposed to bathe bunnies, so I’m not doing anything until I get some feedback. Thanks 

[LBJ10]

Bathing would just dry his skin even more. Are you able to get a good look down in there? Is the skin red or inflamed?

[Roberta]

Seconding LBJ, No Bathing.
Could be mites, those things can get in anywhere even from birds nesting under the eaves, a bag of infected hay, paper shopping bags etc. The other thing I was thinking was the start of a shedding phase.
For mites you can treat with Revolution Puppy and Kitten (which I use), also the Advantage small cat treatment. I wouldn’t use anything else though and some products are lethal such as Frontline(NEVER USE FRONTLINE)
If possible I would book a visit to your vet for a check up and they should be able to see whats causing the problem.

[Samicles]

Upon closer inspection (with good lighting) it appears the fur is very pale yellow, plus it feels like some liquid got on his fur and dried, if that makes sense. I worked around the fur and checked out his skin, everything looks normal and no mites that I can see.

He did break out of his cage last night when I wasn’t home (boyfriend didn’t lock the cage properly) so it is possible that he might’ve got something on him… Should I wipe it off with a damp paper towel and see what happens?

[Samicles]

And now I’m getting concerned, if there is some sort of liquid in his fur he most likely shouldn’t be ingesting it… Unless he laid down in his litterbox and got some fresh pee on him. But if his skin is dried out, I don’t want to dry it more by wiping it off with a damp paper towel… Oh! I’ll just trim the fur where there’s the yellow stuff.

[Roberta]

You should be able to use a damp cloth to just gently dab and stroke the area and get some of it off. Just try to get a good look to make sure it is not actually coming out of anything on his skin like a msll abcess. It’s unlikely but it never hurts to double check.

[Roberta]

Can you take a pic and load it ?

[Samicles]

I trimmed his fur already otherwise I would’ve been happy to upload a picture. I haven’t seen/heard him chewing on the spot since I trimmed it but I’ll keep an eye on it just in case it is an abcess of some kind.

[LBJ10]

Was the fur sticky/stuck together? If it was, it could have been causing a pulling sensation when he twitched his skin. That might make him want to scratch it.

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