young wild bunny going bald

maomaochiu · Oct 9, 2008

Hi,

Our dog found a wild baby bunny a month ago, and we were able to save her from the dog. Since then, she's been living in a small cage inside our house (seperated from our two pet bunnies). She eats, poops and pees fine.

The night before last, we noticed a patch of baldness on her left upper hip, about the size of a quarter. We suspected mites and applied 'revolution' (i.e., salemectin) on her last night, but two more bald spots have shown up now.

Is there anything else we can do?? How long does it take revolution to work? we actually asked a local vet, but was recommended to turn the bunny loose.

We really want to save the bunny, especially now that she has lived with us for a month, and has devloped this illness, we are afraid that she won't survive outside for too long.

any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Leaf · Oct 9, 2008

Total baldness or possible moulting?

pipwin · Oct 9, 2008

Hi Maomaochiu,

I am not sure what the hair loss problem is with your particular bunny, but I do work at a wildlife hospital and advise people on these types of situations quite frequently on the phone. I would recommend not applying anymore of the mite treatments and turning the bunny over to a wildlife rehabber asap. You can go to this link to find one near your area, or try contacting your the Department of Natural Resources in your state.
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactA.htm#il

In general, Eastern Cottontails are independent when their eyes are open, ears are standing up, and are about 4 inches long. If your dog didn't injure him, and just found him on the ground or came across a nest, then he most likely could have been let go or put back in the nest right then. With cats: if a cat has the bunny in his mouth or scratches the bunny, it definitely needs to be seen by a vet or rehabber as cat saliva is full of bacteria that can be fatal without treatment. Regardless, you can't go back and change that, so don't beat yourself up over it... but the right thing now is for him to go to a rehabber that can help try to clear up the hair problem and get him back to the wild.

Hope this helps.

maomaochiu · Oct 10, 2008

Thanks for your advice. Our local vet said she could put us in contact with a local wildlife rehab person who could help us. This is the route we will take. Again, thanks for your advice.

NorthernAutumn · Oct 10, 2008

Just to add in here... My parents' cat Smokey was born outside and was finally ditched under a garage by his mom (never came back

)
About a month after we got him, he had lost the vast majority of his body hair... Many people thought he had mange, but because there was no other animal in the house, we just decided to wait and see...
Sure enough, in a month or two his coat grew in...

Maybe your wild bun has the same challenge, whatever it is.. I think it has to do with the transfer to indoor living...

Anyhoo, the wildlife rehabber will def'n be able to help you

Best wishes to the small one!