Losing nose fur

[BrunosMama]

So over the last week or so, we have noticed Zane has growing bald patches on his nose. It’s getting pretty obvious now. He lives in a room with two free range bunnies, because we are starting a trio bonding process. We thought maybe one of the others was nipping his nose through his cage bars, but I don’t think that’s it. If that was happening, there would be tufts of fur laying around right? The three have not been fighting. In fact, Zane’s mood has picked up since moving to their room, as well as his appetite. He is our newest bun. We have only had him since November and he’s not a year old. So I was thinking maybe this is his first big molt? Do some bunnies lose patches of fur during molts? All of our other ones just get weird ridges and funky eyebrows lol. He doesn’t seem to be shedding badly otherwise, just right above his nose. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[BinkyBunny]

Do you have any photos?  (is it actually on his nose or more like on his forehead?)  If there are any red spots, it might be that the other bunnies are nipping the hair out (and with only nose hair, you wouldn’t see tuffs). I had a bunny rip another bunny’s lip and eye lid, so be sure to keep safe distance between the cages. 

   Also, it’s not unusual for some rough grooming.    Jack used to chew/pull fur when he groomed.  His partner bunny taught him not to do that by pulling away and not giving attention.  So they could be also trying to groom through the bars and that is the only place they can do it that way — so it makes sense that fur would be missing there via nipping or grooming. 

This is the time of year that bunnies do molt and it’s not impossible to start at the actual nose and not see it anywhere else, but it’s unlikely. 

So I am thinking this is something going on between the bunnies via cage bars.  You could find out for sure by putting some sort of wire netting around the base so they can sniff each other but can’t over groom or nip.  Bunny hair doesn’t grow back right away – it grows in spurts, so you may have to wait a while to see if that is the issue.  (Maybe by then they would be bonded). 

When Zane is in his cage and the other two come up  to his cage does he get territorial or anything?  Does he put his nose through the bars? Or put his head down to be groomed?   Just trying to get a feel for his behavior while he is caged and the others are out.  

[BrunosMama]

I will try to get a picture. He’s white with a black nose, like a Californian bunny, but his face is shorter because he’s got some Nethie in him. The fur patches are on top of his nose and going up the left towards his eye. He does not get territorial, no lunging at the bars, no attacking when the other bunnies come up. We have done one bonding date in our bath tub. There were a few licks and lots of cuddles/cuddles, no signs of aggression. The exposed skin is not red, just a normal pink.

[BrunosMama]

Here’s some pics. I circled his problem areas. His skin doesn’t show up well because its pale.

[Azerane]

It could be something going on between the cage bars, or it could also be a fungal infection like ringworm. Is the skin flaky at all or does the skin seem healthy otherwise? Any signs of bald patches in other areas?

[Mikey]

In the first picture, it looks like you can still see some very short fur in the bald area, like fur follicles (i think thats the right word). It really does look like it has been ripped out or chewed off, to me. Since the fur there is short, you wouldnt always see tufts of fur on the ground

[BrunosMama]

The skin seems fine, healthy and pink. There is a spot with super short hairs.

I will put some grids on the sides of his cage so little noses can’t poke through. I think maybe it’s a case of aggressive grooming.

[Author]

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