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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BEHAVIOR Male bunny pulling out fur, may be more complicated then the norm…

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    • 5cats1bun
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        he had started on his shoulder a few weeks ago, and everyone told me he might be bored even though he has everything under the sun except for a friend. I am in the room with him a lot and give him lots of attention but not enough for him I guess, though he recently met my neighbors bunny so i don’t know if any of that has to do with it. I wake up and go visit him in the morning and give him his morning raisin treats, as he lifts up….his chin all the way down is chewed up now as well.  completely bald in these spots. Do you think he needs a friend (I have a very small place with 5 cats but he does have his own room. ) I know it’s not fleas, he has plenty of chew toys even though he is not much of a chewer. Also…he was "kinda of" neutered, his other ball was up in his belly area so he needs another surgery. Any thoughts?


      • Gravehearted
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          Hi Amy – welcome to BinkyBunny.

          Bunnies don’t generally pull out their own fur like that out of boredom, but it can sometimes be stress related. Do you actually see him pulling out the fur? Is he shedding a lot right now? Bald patches can sometimes develop during a heavy shedding, but those will start to grow back in a week or two.

          Is the skin you’re seeing at the patches irritated, red or crusty at all? Any sign of dandruff or flaking? It may be mites, since they can’t be seen unless under a microscope. I’d recommend taking him to a rabbit savvy vet if it looks irritated at all.


        • 5cats1bun
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            I have seen him start to chew on his fur and stop him, his surrounding fur (around the bald spots) is always wet now. I am wondering about the mites…I’m always wondering y so many people have said they thought he was bored cuz that seemed a little silly to me (but rabbits are funny creatures!) he is just as friendly and his usual self other then the one thing. it was a little red right around the edges of this new giant bald spot that came out over night but the rest was all smooth skin and it is no longer irritated.


          • Scarlet_Rose
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              Welcome. Wow poor guy, can you book an appointment with a vet? They might be able to spot something that us humans might not be able to see. Does he have any toys? What kind of litter do you use? Do you have towels or anything in his cage that you wash yourself? I ask about the towels because many bunnies are allergic to or react poorly to detergents and perfumes. What type of litter are you using? I know this may take a bit, but can you describe his environment? Has this been a recent event or has this always happened? What is his background story?

              Sorry for all the questions, but to better help you figure it out, the more info the better. : ) If it is irritated, you might want to try some 100% pure aloe vera gel in the interim until you can get him to a vet to check it out.  If it is behavioral some adjustments may need to be made to his environment.


            • 5cats1bun
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                hi! (thanks for the welcomes!)

                 ok lets see, he has been living with us probably since june, prior to that …we are is 5 th home and last at only 1 1/2 yrs old.  He has a bedroom to himselfand a 3 level Nic cage (with a door that lets him get on the bed too!!!). he has one little bath mat in his cage and a blanket but i haven’t changed the laundry soap since we got him. I do have to cut his teeth every 10 days or so (which is kinda stressful for him, he is not very tolerant of being picked up, thats the only time i do pick him up cuz he doesn’t like it)he does have plenty of toys, but generally notto interested in them…occationally he will fling his keys and play hide & go seek with me! Then there was that whole weird half neuter that took place (but that was 2 months ago), he met the neighbors bunny a couple of times and humped him to no end (which is why I wonder about the friend thing cuz this wasn’t happening before that), as for the vet I won’t be able till saturday (my next day off and I don’t drive so I have to find a ride), i may look for another vet cuz the one at this place is the only one who really deals with rabbits and didn’t seem to know a terrible amount (he even had the nerve to hand me a sheet about info on rabbits that said you can buy a rabbit at a pet store or breeder not mentioning any shelters/rescues, that annoyed me). I think he just knows the basics….now i have to go back and double check to see if i got all the questions


              • Scarlet_Rose
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                  Hmm, it sounds like he has a lot of stress in his life but I can’t say that is the definate diagnosis. Do you have his cage in an area where there is a lot goin on? You might want to try moving it to a quieter place. Gosh it is hard not to have a car, I know, but I think it would be worth the effort to have this checked out by a vet. If the vet can’t find any mites etc. then I think I would start to change his environment some or you might want to try it now. Is he a shelter bunny by chance that came from a troubled past?

                  I would so be annoyed too if the vet didn’t mention a shelter!


                • BinkyBunny
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                    Welcome Amy! What do you mean by half neuter? And you said he was with another bunny. How long ago? Are you sure he is a HE?
                    I am just double checking that this behavior isn’t really a nesting behavior (typical for females – either pregnant or false pregnancy)


                  • 5cats1bun
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                      Rocky is a boy,  one of his testicals never dropped and the vet didn’t have any proper tools at the time that he was under to do that additional surgery and didn’t want him under for to long being that he is a rabbit. which would be a spay like surgery do to where it is. I payed $200 for him to come home with one ball!!!I’m not really sure what to as far as his envirnment, those other homes were before we got him, he was in one home for over a year living in a cage in the kid’s room with no attention and the last home the woman had him for only 2 weeks cuz her other unneautered male didn’t like him (they were thrown in a cage together, smart….). I don’t remember what the other 2 homes were, the woman that had her before these people had him for 4 months and I assume the other for 2. When we got him his teeth were growing up his nose and into his tounge. the 3 months we;ve had him has become a wonderful bunny, his room is quiet (spare room). He has been very happy and relaxed but now doing the pulling fur thing he seems more or less like himself still though,oh and the the other bunny came down 2 times for about a half hour when my neighbor was excited about her new rabbit !


                    • osprey
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                        Rocky is what is known as a cryptorchid (you can see more info here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptorchid )

                        One of his testicles never descended out of the abdominal cavity, so the neuter would require opening the abdomen like a spay and removing the testicle internally.  With only one testicle, he is still able to impregnate a female, and I would assume he still has most of his male hormones intact, although I am not sure about that.  Around here, the cost of a cryptorchid neuter is actually higher than a spay, perhaps because they are less common.

                         


                      • superbunbun7
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                          i need help too coz m bunny (male) is pulling out his fur and i dont know why plz help!


                        • Sarita
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                            Welcome Superbunbun7 – please start a new post – we ask that members don’t pull up and reply to old posts – feel free to PM me if you need help posting.

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                        Forum BEHAVIOR Male bunny pulling out fur, may be more complicated then the norm…