HELP HELP HELP!!! I overgroomed my rabbit and now he has a bald spot!

[matz7fox]

So today I was grooming Buckeye, and since he is shedding his winter coat he has LOADS of fur coming out. Buckeye usually doesn’t like to be brushed, so I give him breaks and treats inbetween. Since he usually runs always a little every time I thought nothing of it, it is also normal for him to have this much fur comming out (when he sheds he sheds a ton). Again, I thought nothing of it. I thought he was being typical Buckeye. However when I looked, he had a bald spot on his bunny bum! There was a little blood too. I was panicking. Just for reference I was using a furminator brush. I think I was too harsh with it. I feel like a terrible rabbit owner! Does Buckeye need to see the vet? Will his fur grow back? Will it get infected? I have too many questions. I’m still freaking out. I can’t believe I did this to him! Help!

 

[Hermelin]

The fur will grow back and accidents happens. One of my bunnies without grooming get naked spots.

 

[Catlyn]

Ooh, he's a gold-tipped steel, just like my Storm. He will also get outrageous naked spots, some have the tiiniest signs of irritation. I woud get you a pic of his elbows and outer ribs if he would only let me.
But the fur has never failed to grow back, eventually beginning to look something like this:

Sorry for the foggy pics, Storm decided to not stay still.

 

[John Wick]

Keep an eye on it, but it looks like it will likely be fine. Target grooming in other areas as to not further irritate that area. Too forceful grooming from the furbuster and similar combs are common, so just be more gentle and mindful next time.

Also for future reference, bald spots can be completely natural in molting -- it just means the fur has released before the new fur has had a chance to grow in. The concern here is primarily more on the redness/bleeding caused. If it was just completely healthy, non-irritated skin, I would not be concerned. See here for an example of a very healthy bald patch resulting from a molt: Bald Patch from Molt (Healthy)

 

[matz7fox]

Thanks for all the great advice! I’ll keep an eye on him to see how he is doing. Also, does anybody know how long it might take for the fur to grow back?

 

[Watermelons]

Please throw the furminator out. They should never be used on any species as they physically cut the animals hair. Those are blades and you are thinning the coat by cutting it out not just removing "dead" or shedding hair.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We had a mini Rex that would go bald on his neck when shedding twice a year--the spot would then fill in. I'd definitely get rid of that "furminator"--don't use anything that cuts--we even take our dogs in for nail trims as they are too big for us--the small one is now 178 pounds. I do trim our bunnies nails as they are smaller and my son holds while I cut.

 

[matz7fox]

Oh ok thanks, I didn’t know that the furminator cuts. I thought it was a little sharp but I didn’t know it actually cut the fur. The brush was recommended to me by someone else. Thanks for letting me know. I definitely won’t be using it again!

 

[matz7fox]

Update: His fur is starting to grow back a little! (Sorry for the bad photo)