Bunny plucking out fur

[Sandra828]

Hi there,

My rabbit had her spaying done 2 weeks ago and has been aggressive since. She's about 9 months old. I believe she is recovering as her mood seems to be improving gradually and has been eating normally again. However 2 days ago she started aggressively plucking at her fur around her spine till it began to bleed and she has a large bald and red spot on her back. I brought her to vet yesterday and the vet said her skin is healing well and gave her some melixocam. We decided not to put a cone on her as it was stressing her out and she chewed through it. So we've kept the home environment as quiet, warm and stress-free as possible giving her her own space. She seems to be improving however, she still seems to be biting at the wound and then licking it whenever she's reminded of it although not as aggressively as before. I'm not sure if she's healing properly because of it and I am unable to go anywhere near the wound to get a clearer look as the minute I try to push back her fur to have a look, she starts biting at the wound and I don't want her to hurt herself. The vet suggested I get a vest for her but I am worried if that will stress her out even more and she would keep trying to pick at her fur more because of it. My other concern is that once the vest is off, will she continue picking at her fur. Also, I'm not sure how long I should keep the vest on for her or how long would it be before the fur on her back grows back and her skin heals. Should I just leave her be and hope for the best? Any advise or suggestions please?

 

[JBun]

The vet may need to do a further investigation of what's causing this behavior. Self mutilation following a surgery, would make me concerned that something has happened internally that is causing significant discomfort and/or pain, that is causing her to target that one particular spot.

If a skin issue like fur mites is ruled out, you may need to have an ultrasound or xrays done, to check if there might be an internal problem causing the behavior. I know on occasion, that sometimes adhesions can form following an abdominal surgery like a spay. Maybe that's what could be going on here, or some other complication linked to the surgery. It could also possibly explain her aggression after the surgery, if she was in pain or discomfort from something like that. Another possibility is an injury sustained sometime while she went in for her spay. Nothing against your vet, but just bringing up the possibility because sometimes these things have been known to happen.

A pet shirt or something similar, could help. But ultimately you and your vet probably need to figure out what is prompting the behavior to begin with.

What dose of meloxicam is your rabbit on, is it twice a day, and what's your rabbits weight? Many vets that don't have a lot of experience with rabbits, often under dose meloxicam. So it might be your rabbit could benefit from a higher dose if the vet did under dose it. If this behavior is being prompted due to pain and the meloxicam isn't at an adequate dose, bringing it up to the right dose alone could help improve the behavior.

https://www.vgr1.com/metacam/