Has anyone seen this before?

[HoneysBuns]

 I’m not sure if this belongs here or the rescue section, but my foster rabbit Marlin has had a strange absence of hair on the left side of his face, and it seems to have morphed his face and cheek. I was wondering if anyone has any idea what this could be or has seen this before. He will be check by a vet when he is neutered but I’m not sure when that is yet, and the foster coordinator is trying to get appointments for him and his siblings bumped up a couple weeks. His skin seems to be healing and I think I’m beginning to see baby hairs, but as of now he has no whiskers on that side of his face and it seems to make him more protective of that side of his face.

Thanks in advance!

[BinkyBunny]

Is he around other bunnies? This could be from overgrooming of another bunny. If there is an abscess or something in that location (in his teeth), another rabbit could be just trying to fix it by grooming the heck out of that area. It could also be due to a form of a fur mite.

Was he like this when you took him in, or has this happened afterward?

[Monkeybun]

If he has an abscess, he really needs to have it seen to immediately, and not wait for the neuter. it may in fact make it so he can’t be neutered until it is dealt with.

[HoneysBuns]

 He came to me with it, but I don’t see an abscess or anything, just a loss of hair and it seems like there might be some fur regrowth. It just seems like the cheek without the hair is a little bit…smaller then the other side (hard to explain!) But when looking at him face on, his nose seems a little lopsided. Oh and he is no longer around other rabbits (for about 3 weeks or so) but at the shelter he may have been, since I heard this particular shelter just puts the rabbits in a horse stall and feed whatever small animal food they have (hamster food usually! and no hay :/)
Thanks for all the input, I’m going to email the foster coordinator and see if we can get him a vet appointment soon.

[HoneysBuns]

Oh and I don’t think its a fur mite since I never see him itch the area, or itch in general.

[RabbitPam]

I can see the size difference clearly, and it almost looks like part of his cheek is gone, like a popped balloon compared to the other side.
First guess is he was in a fight with another bunny quite a while ago, and it’s healed over and is growing the fur back now.

Other idea is that he had something done there medically and you need any records he may have with you so your foster info. for him is up to date for the new owner. Otherwise, get a vet to look at it to make sure it’s from the past, not a current issue.

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