Bald Spot Problem

Love your rabbit
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
kherrmann3

kherrmann3

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
6,466
Reaction score
10
Location
Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA
OK, so, I decided to groom Toby this evening. He has been super-fluff lately, so I figured a little grooming would be OK. There was one patch of fur on his right hip that just keep coming and coming. I kept brushing it, and before I knew it, Toby has a bald spot. What the heck?! I wasn't YANKING on his fur, either. I was just gently brushing from his shoulders and down to his bunny-butt. Why would all the hair fall out of that ONE area so easily? It was coming out in tufts! I mean, I know he's shedding and some areas come out before others, but should he have gone bald in that spot? I got a lot of hair off of him, though. Here are some pictures of the grooming session!

Before:


After:


You can see where his hair has been brushed... The darkest area around his bum is where the bald spot is.


Extra fluff (my poor bathtub!) You should have seen the amount that came off my clothes! :shock:


Close-ups of the bald spot...




Any suggestions? I swear I didn't yank his fur out! The skin is white and healthy-looking, no blood or redness (I saw one TINY little area, but nothing even note-worthy), and he did not seem to care. The bald spot is less than the size of a nickel.

 
I don't know about his breed, but Bo gets bald spots now and then where he's molting. You should see hair return there in a couple of days ... keep an eye on it.
 
*sigh* This morning, you can totally tell where I brushed him. The fluff didn't want to come out of his upper body, so he looks pear-shaped. He's got a tiny-butt and a huge upper body. I might start calling him "Sven" in reference to those ginormous Swedish body-builders that you see on T.V. (and cringe). I can see it now...
:muscleman:

*Dramatic male-announcer voice*

"Toby: The Bun with the Exploding Fur", tonight at 9:00 on the Discovery Channel.:pullhair:

*eyeroll*
 
Did Sven already molt out there? or is he molting back to front? Bo molts front to back, and Clover molts top to bottom. Tony molts everywhere.......


 
There's no set "area" where he molts first. I tend to notice him ONLY molting on his sides to his bum. I would assume he would shed from his spine, then outward. As I said, I only notice the tufts around his bum.
 
My bunny molts this way. He actually has a bald spot right now. His butt was looking all ratty, with big tufts of hair sticking out. So I groomed him yesterday just by hand. I was pulling out the tufts(the came out without any real pulling, basically they fell out when I touched them). The hair kept coming and coming and soon there was a bald spot.

He only really sheds this way close to his butt/tail. He has never had a bald spot anywhere else. Doesn't seem to affect him and the hair starts growing back in a few days.

Just becareful not to tug too hard when pulling the hair out. You dont' want to damage the skin if the hair isn't ready to come out.
 
I did that to my poor Scooter a while back. She had two HUGE bald spots when I was done with her. I think she was a little embarrased. Don't worry - it grows back fast!
 
I think sometimes the softer the fur the more likely to get bald spots when molting.

Clover and Bo get them but Tony really doesn't. He has 2 big uneven patches on his neck right now tho LOL!
 
yeah that happens to Muffin all the time. I get that shed ender going and don't know when to stop until it's too late! if it looks red or inflamed, put a little triple antibiotic ointment on it (like neosporin, no pain killer).
 
YES! The antibiotic ointment helped Bo when he got a couple of spots that were looking a little too pink. I overzoomed with the zoomgroom.

Now, I try not to brush as much or often when they are shedding.
 
I know I am going to get yelled at for this one... :( I normally don't brush Toby, because it is a dangerous and sometimes bloody affair. He HATES all the brushes I have, and will even hide when he hears the grooming storage box open (it's the same stupid storage box as the treats... but HE KNOWS!). I grabbed him and put him in the empty tub on my lap and brushed away! I think I might try to do so again today (just work on his upper body). He looks so funny right now!
 
He's POIFEC!!

Have you tried the rubber mitten groomers? We have them for scrubbing the horses during baths and they LOVE them..... Now granted, our horses, bunnies, dogs, cats, and even the goat and sheep love to be brushed......

anyhow, maybe if he thought you were petting him?
 
Just wanted to add that my little Dutch, Nibbles, has patchy molts (with small bare spots) like this, too. The 1st time she started shedding that way, I was very worried, but it turned out not to be mites - just the way she sheds. I do keep a close eye on the little bald spots, though - and have noticed that I can see the pink spots turning dark (because new fur is about to come in) within a couple of days. (Like your guy, she's black with some stray white patches.) It's when fur *doesn't* seem to be coming in that I get worried... has only happened once, and it turned out to be OK (no mites or other problems).

It's best to keep a lookout for potential trouble spots, but it sure sounds like you're doing the right things... and (like Bo said), if you can fool him into thinking that he's being petted, that's more than half the battle!
 
Haha! You could have Berry-Boo, by Toby is my little baby boy! :p I'm Mama and no one else compares to me! :D He may be small, but he is four pounds of fluffy fury!
 
I wish I could have her! My niece is going to Wisconsin this coming week too!!! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh I have a meanie hubby who says NO MORE! :X
 
lol, make a deal with hubby. No more bunnies after four! lol Indiana isn't far from here lol Just a couple hours!

(Will's sisters live North of Detroit, MI, and it takes us 3-ish hours to get to the Illinois/Indiana border when we go there.) :p

Just a road trip away! lol :bow *taunting*
 
We were almost killed when he came home to find a kitten.....

of course now he plays with Diesel....... LOL!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top