Bunny chewed dewlap off, help please.

[Melvin101]

Hello everyone, my bunny Luke is about 17 months old. She usually has a big dewlap. Well last night she pulled out her dewlap and I noticed a patch of skin under her chin, now granted the last time she did this I didn’t look under her chin. I was wondering is this normal or should we be concerned? Have anyone of you dealt with this before? Any help would be greatly appreciated. (She got a nice little banana treat for being such a good girl for the pictures.)

 

[JBun]

Is she spayed and did she try and build a nest with the fur? How does the skin itself look, normal or any signs of a problem with the skin?

 

[Melvin101]

Is she spayed and did she try and build a nest with the fur? How does the skin itself look, normal or any signs of a problem with the skin?

hello, she is not spayed yet, we plan on spraying her after the new year. She actually did not get a chance to attempt to build a nest, I was there when she pulled her dewlap out and I picked it up right away in fear of her trying to ingest it. Her skin itself looks healthy? No lesions or anything like that, minor irritation where she ripped the dewlap out but that’s all.

 

[JBun]

It most likely was a false pregnancy then. Intact does will think they're pregnant when they aren't, will pluck fur and try and build a nest thinking they have kits on the way. This behavior can sometimes last several days until hormones settle back down. So she may attempt to try and build a nest again.

Medirabbit: false pregnancy

 

[Melvin101]

Thank you so much!

 

[John Wick]

I agree that false pregnancy is a likely explanation. I will mention that if signs not better explained by false pregnancy occur, it may be a fixation on the spot due to an underlying health condition either proximal to that spot, or just in general. Some rabbits will overgroom/pluck themselves in response to illness.

 

[Melvin101]

I agree that false pregnancy is a likely explanation. I will mention that if signs not better explained by false pregnancy occur, it may be a fixation on the spot due to an underlying health condition either proximal to that spot, or just in general. Some rabbits will overgroom/pluck themselves in response to illness.

Thank you! We will definitely keep an eye on it and monitor in the coming days/weeks

 

[lionheartchans]

It’s very important to get your female rabbit spayed as soon as possible to lower the risk of ovarian tumors. Both girls I have ever had have died of tumors. I think if I got the spaying done earlier for my first baby (I got it at 2.5 years), maybe i wouldn’t have lost her at 3.5 years old

 

[Melvin101]

It’s very important to get your female rabbit spayed as soon as possible to lower the risk of ovarian tumors. Both girls I have ever had have died of tumors. I think if I got the spaying done earlier for my first baby (I got it at 2.5 years), maybe i wouldn’t have lost her at 3.5 years old

I’m so sorry for your loss