Hello Everyone,

I’m new to raising rabbits so I thought I would turn to the folks here on the Café.
My rabbit is loosing his hair in one spot on his hip. He constantly licks at it and its not getting any smaller. I have already taken him to the vet and they gave a treatment that goes on once a month. It has been almost two weeks and its not getting any smaller.
I was hoping that someone on here could help before I take him back to the vet.

Thanks, Ryan

Hi Ryan,

We had a problem with one of our rabbits going bald and it was a form of mites. No idea why he all of a sudden got them or where they came from.

It started as a small patch and I thought he might have been shedding a winter coat. It got progressively worse though, until his fur began to thin and drop out over most of his body.

At that point, we took him to the vet and the vet had to give the rabbit a series of injections and the problem cleared up.

I don't know if that is the problem with your rabbit or not, I can only tell you what happened to ours over here in Ontario.

All the best with your hare

Rob

Ryan,

I thought of mites also. What did the vet say was causing it? Have you noticed the rabbit digging in that area? If the problem isn't getting smaller it still could be cured. It will take a while for the fur to grow back. If the bald area gets larger, then most likely there is still a problem.

Good luck!

Regan

Well I used to keep some rabbits so I thought I would like to offer my 0.2 cents here.

It's quite likely mites are your problem - is your rabbit scratching often? Is there any redness at the spot where it's losing its hair?

It's best though to consult with your vet on what's really happening to it. Best of luck!

Licking its hair can be dangerous to a rabbit. There can be fur balls getting bigger and bigger in the rabbit's tummy.

You might want to try blocking the area with a strong blue jean fabric. If your rabbit was wearing some type of outfit around part of its body blocking the certain spot from direct mouth contact, it might change your rabbit from wanting to nibble there. If your rabbit does keep up at nibbling in that one spot, there is good chance it is an itch. If your rabbit stops because of the fabric potection, it was probably just some habbit your rabbit picked up.

Try buying your rabbit wood pieces to chew on from a pet shop. Treats that can be hung on a cage are good too. It can help your rabbit from focusing nibbling on herself because of other activities.

Thanks guys for the info, the rabbit is taking antibiotics twice a day. Also the vet has used a product called revolution to hopefully cope with mites if that is the problem. Today we went and got a collar fitted although he definitely does not like it. He is to small to have one fit properly so we have to attach it to a harness. The only problem is there is now a chance that he will strangle himself. So we must watch him at all times when he is wearing it. Obviously this means we take it off at night. So there is no way of stopping the nibbling during the time we are asleep or away from home.
Does anyone have any other idea to help stop the nibbling? Oh yeah the bitter spray doesn’t work, I know its bitter ick, but he actually likes it.