Pls help my bunny

[abbypanda]

I have had my rabbit for about 3 years. It is a mini rex and when I got her she was a baby. So she is about 3.

Recently she started losing big patches of hair (within the last 4-6 months). We have not had this happen at all prior to this. There have been no changes in her lifestyle, cage etc. She just went bald. She acts fine. She does not appear to have mites. The skin is not bothered, it is not dry, it is not crusty, it is not anything. When it started, the hair quickly grew back. It has gotten worse, however, as it grows back and then she quickly has bald spots again. They are on the face and head and the sides.

I've read this can be nesting like a false pregnancy or overgrooming. I have not noticed her rubbing on her cage or doing anything to herself. I do sometimes see the other rabbit grooming her. The other rabbit in the cage is unaffected which makes me think its not a parasite or anything contagious.

I have her on the same food diet she has been on for 3 years, which is a pellet blend from my father in laws pet store.

I have a vet apt for monday. Here is a picture.
Thoughts?

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

So, she's a bonded bun? The male could be grooming her hair raw, we have a member that has that happen to a pair she can't break up, it goes away, but, when the grooming returns in excess, so does the bald skin. This could be it, but, you might see a vet to make sure. It's real hard to tell from the pic.


My bun had something that sounds similar to this awhile ago. A small bare spot, then, the hair is growing back. Weird. At first, it looked like it could be mites cuz of the dryness look. He seems fine, so not sure on your issue. Could be similar. Molting season is coming too, so depending on where you live, it could get worse real quick. Not looking forward to it, lol.


Hopefully, others will chime in soon.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

abbypanda wrote:

I have had my rabbit for about 3 years. It is a mini rex and when I got her she was a baby. So she is about 3.

Recently she started losing big patches of hair (within the last 4-6 months). We have not had this happen at all prior to this. There have been no changes in her lifestyle, cage etc. She just went bald. She acts fine. She does not appear to have mites. The skin is not bothered, it is not dry, it is not crusty, it is not anything. When it started, the hair quickly grew back. It has gotten worse, however, as it grows back and then she quickly has bald spots again. They are on the face and head and the sides.

I've read this can be nesting like a false pregnancy or overgrooming. I have not noticed her rubbing on her cage or doing anything to herself. I do sometimes see the other rabbit grooming her. The other rabbit in the cage is unaffected which makes me think its not a parasite or anything contagious.

I have her on the same food diet she has been on for 3 years, which is a pellet blend from my father in laws pet store.

I have a vet apt for monday. Here is a picture.
Thoughts?

thank you for the picture,yea-your mini rex might have some allergy issues,,i used seargents hot spot,,for summer mange on my sheperd,,but i would follow dvm instructions,,including diet--until you get a handle on this,,hay and water small amt. of pellets from the dvm...sincerely james waller:wave::rose:

 

[ra7751]

Couldbe a number of things. If she isn't spayed, it could be hormonal. Not necessarily nest building likea false pregnancy but a hormonal issue. It could also be nutritional. I would take a very close look at the pellets you are feeding and make sure there is appropriate nutrition. Stress can cause this condition. Even intestinal parasites can cause fur loss. I suspect your vet will doa skin scraping to check for ectoparasites just in case.

Randy

 

[pla725]

Could you put your location in your profile?

I agree with the others either nutritional or mites.

Do you feed your rabbit greens and hay? Pellets aren't enough.

 

[tonyshuman]

Fur loss has a lot of possible causes. With your description, intestinal parasites, overgrooming, self-mutilation, and other diseases that cause general loss of body condition (chronic ailments). A full exam by a good vet will help determine what's going on.

 

[tamsin]

Yep, I agree, there are quite a few possibilities so the first step is the vet ruling out parasites and other physical conditions. If that all comes back normal you can look at behavioural ones.

Does she have hay? Lack of that can be a big factor in rabbits that over groom themselves.

 

[Pipp]

james waller wrote:

i used seargents hot spot,,for summer mange on my sheperd

Don't even think about using this on a rabbit. :shock:

It shouldn't even be mentioned here. Over-the-counter products from companies like Hartz and Sargaent are very dangerous even for the pets their made for, in this case, dogs. You'll find these two companies are the subject of numerous complaints and class action lawsuits.


sas

 

[TinysMom]

I'll have to let a breeder know this. One of the breeders I've bought some top rabbits from - uses (and recommends) some of the over the counter spray for kittens. In fact, he treated rabbits with it while we were there (and has done it for years). He has won on the state and national level and is well known among breeders of his breed.

With that said - I wouldn't use those products on my rabbits. I've heard too much bad stuff about them and I won't use them on my dogs.

 

[abbypanda]

Thanks for the replies. We used to give hay but havent too much lately. WE do give fresh foods along with pellets, like veggies, fruits, etc.
I will get some hay and let u know what the doctor says.

 

[abbypanda]

Oh and they are both females they just have male names!

 

[MeAndB44]

Don't worry yourself to death just yet, skin problems have many different causes and if she has no other symptoms I doubt it's anything extraordinarily bad.

The only way to know for certain is the vet visit. I hope everything goes extra well!

 

[MeAndB44]

And I just thought I'd mention to ask your vet about the possibility of it being Cushings Syndrome. I'm not sure if rabbits can get it, but if they can she's losing her fur on the right areas. It's an internal problem that isn't contagious. It's also treatable.

Once again, I hope everything goes extra well!

 

[luvthempigs]

Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[tonyshuman]

That is true, it does sound a bit like Cushings. I'm not sure where rabbits lose fur in Cushings, but for hamsters (can be quite common in some hamster species) it's on the flanks--their backside, over the hip area. Cushings is an endocrine disorder that can have a number of different causes. I would really like to rule out other things, like mites, diet, cancer, hormonal behavior, etc, before going into a test for Cushings. The test is probably not very cheap as it requires analysis of the blood for different hormones. I know they do not typically do this test on hamsters because they don't have enough blood to safely take a sample for the test.