Chewing her fur?

[newtobunnies]

Hi there. I've recently noticed my rabbit had lighter fur where it didn't used to be, and upon closer inspection, the fur there is shorter. It's at the base of her tail, and it's a pretty big patch. The only thing I can figure happened was that she chewed her fur short. There's nothing she could've caught it on. I really don't see any problems with her, so I'm really confused as to why she would do this. Should I be worried?

P.S.
I checked for bugs or bumps, and didn't find anything. I couldn't get her to hold still long enough to see if she had a rash, though.

 

[Flashy]

Welcome to the forum

Is she moulting?

If she is barbering herself then that is the sign of a problem. It could be behavioural (like if she is bored, or if her accommodation is too small), or it could be health related in some way. a skin condition is possible, or pain somewhere. Has she had an operation anywhere recently? How much shorter is the fur?

 

[newtobunnies]

Flashy wrote:

Welcome to the forum

Is she moulting?

If she is barbering herself then that is the sign of a problem. It could be behavioural (like if she is bored, or if her accommodation is too small), or it could be health related in some way. a skin condition is possible, or pain somewhere. Has she had an operation anywhere recently? How much shorter is the fur?

She has not had any operations. The fur isn't very much shorter, it's only just short enough to get to the lighter part of the fur. I should hope her cage is big enough (it cost plenty); it's a medium sized hutch, and she's not a big rabbit. She doesn't appear in pain, and she lets me pet over the fur.

 

[SweetSassy]

Is she chewing or pulling her fur? Could she be pregnant?

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

What breed is she?

 

[tonyshuman]

It sounds like she's molting and the new hair coming in is shorter. I've never heard of a bunny giving itself a haircut like that.

 

[newtobunnies]

@ SweetSassy: I doubt she's pregnant, she's only 6 months old and we don't have a male rabbit.

@ SilverBirchRabbitry: She's a gray lop ear. Her mom was a cottontail, her dad a lop.

@ tonyshuman: I can only hope that's all it is.

Thanks to everyone, really. You're all very helpful :biggrin2:

 

[Pipp]

Is she stressed? How long have you had her? Does she have lots of hay and toys?

She could be going through her first molt at that age.
Are you seeing any loose tufts of hair on her, or is any coming out when you pet her? Is the shorter fur fairly shiny or dull? Moults can be from the bottom up, they can look like a saddle, and/or from the nose back -- they'll often get a little 'v' on their noses/faces. And/or they'll get little 'skirts'. At her age, it may not be as noticeable.

She is also at the 'false pregnancy' age where they pull hair to build a nest, but I'm sure you'd see the nest and they usually pluck from the chest.

PS: It's rare (many say impossible) for cottontails to breed with European domestics, are you sure her mom isn't an agouti-coloured domestic?


sas :bunnydance:

 

[newtobunnies]

Pipp wrote:

Is she stressed? How long have you had her? Does she have lots of hay and toys?

She could be going through her first molt at that age.
Are you seeing any loose tufts of hair on her, or is any coming out when you pet her? Is the shorter fur fairly shiny or dull? Moults can be from the bottom up, they can look like a saddle, and/or from the nose back -- they'll often get a little 'v' on their noses/faces. And/or they'll get little 'skirts'. At her age, it may not be as noticeable.

She is also at the 'false pregnancy' age where they pull hair to build a nest, but I'm sure you'd see the nest and they usually pluck from the chest.

PS: It's rare (many say impossible) for cottontails to breed with European domestics, are you sure her mom isn't an agouti-coloured domestic?


sas :bunnydance:

Actually, when I cleaned out her cage today I did notice a lot of loose fluff. I think it is just that she's molting. The last rabbit I had was when I was very little, so I didn't remember what it looked like when they went through that. Again, thanks to everyone.

As for her breeding, I'm not entirely sure. I bought her from someone who had told me her mother was cottontail and her father was a lop. Maybe she was wrong on the cottontail part, but there were some babies that were definitely lops, and some that were cottontail, or at least had the color and the upright ears.