please help, rabbit is balding around chin and mouth areas

[marilyn_t99]

Hello everyone,

I have noticed bald spots around my rabbits chin and mouth areas. He is a 9 year old male rabbit, and it has never happened before. I first noticed the balding spot under his chin, but upon further inspection it also appeared on the front of his neck and also near his mouth. The skin feels slightly rough and dry. He is okay with me touching it.

Is it possible that it is ear mites? hoping to hear a second opinion. i have provided pictures below, thank you!

 

[JBun]

Check water and feeding bowls to make sure the chin rubbing on those or the chin consistently getting wet from the water bowl, isn't the cause. Also rule out any bunny friends(if your rabbit is bonded) overgrooming the area.

If it's not either of those, the most common cause of fur loss around the mouth and chin, is from a drooling issue due to dental problems. With your rabbit being older, this is certainly a good possibility.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-an... most common causes of,face, and a head tilt.
A fungal or bacterial skin infection is another possibility. So if you can't find something that may be causing the fur rubbing off(or being groomed off), you'll likely need to have your rabbit checked by a knowledgeable rabbit vet, particularly for a thorough dental exam.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Teeth
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
To me, the fur looks pretty clean for it to be from drooling, so I would be looking closely for anything in your rabbits environment that could be rubbing the fur off.

 

[marilyn_t99]

Check water and feeding bowls to make sure the chin rubbing on those or the chin consistently getting wet from the water bowl, isn't the cause. Also rule out any bunny friends(if your rabbit is bonded) overgrooming the area.

If it's not either of those, the most common cause of fur loss around the mouth and chin, is from a drooling issue due to dental problems. With your rabbit being older, this is certainly a good possibility.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-an... most common causes of,face, and a head tilt.
A fungal or bacterial skin infection is another possibility. So if you can't find something that may be causing the fur rubbing off(or being groomed off), you'll likely need to have your rabbit checked by a knowledgeable rabbit vet, particularly for a thorough dental exam.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Teeth
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
To me, the fur looks pretty clean for it to be from drooling, so I would be looking closely for anything in your rabbits environment that could be rubbing the fur off.

thanks for the reply, i do notice that when he drinks water his chin is wet. What type of water /food bowls do you suggest?

 

[For the love of rabbits]

This happened to my boy it was caused from drinking from his bowl so he has to have a water bottle..he can't dry his chin and stays wet.. soon has I changed it his fur grew back..I have giant bunnies however this don't happen to all my buns..

 

[JBun]

It would have to be consistently wet most of the time, to cause fur loss like that. If it's not, then there's something else causing the fur loss.

If you think it is the water bowl, you could try different types of water bowls to see if any make a difference, maybe a lower sided one. I would only go to a bottle if nothing else worked and the wet chin was causing a skin condition. Rabbits usually can't drink as well from a bottle. Also with your rabbit being older and not used to bottles, he would have to be taught how to drink from one, but also may struggle to do it. So water consumption would need to be closely monitored to make sure he's drinking enough each day.