Obssesive compulsive behavior?

[tomorrow264]

My female Dottie has licked or chewed all the hair off the tops of her toes. I first noticed about two weeks ago that one toe was bare but it looked fine so I just let it be. Now its to the point that just one toe has fur on it. They still look fine. They dont look iritated or anything. She also digs non stop and on any surface. Can rabbits have OCD?

 

[SweetSassy]

I would get her checked for mites.

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree. Overgrooming can be a sign of several things, but the most common cause is that there is an external parasite there that is bothering her, such as mites or fleas. There can also be abscesses and infection, and boredom is another cause. OCD is probably a possibility, but it is very rare, and there isn't much of anything you can do to fix it, so I would have a vet check for those things that are more common and can be treated before going to a diagnosis of OCD.

 

[tomorrow264]

I took her in and there is nothing wrong with her. The vet thought maybe bordom but I dont know what more to do to prevent that. Her cage isn't very big, 41 inches long x 24 inches wide, but she gets out 2 to 3 hours a day. She has cat balls, a rattle, and a wood toy thing to play with plus a card board box full of bedding to dig in/chew on and some toilet paper tubes. Once her brother gets neutered I plan to build them a big cage and rebond them. Think she misses him and thats part of it? Theyve been apart for a month and a half. Any thoughts or suggestion greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Saudade]

Hmmm how odd... I would have to agree that it seems to be something medical... Is the vet you visited a rabbit savvy vet?

 

[tomorrow264]

This is the same vet that i used for my other two rabbits i had in the past.

 

[katt]

does she do this when you are home or awake? i would wonder if it has a connection to her being left alone.

i only say this because my old rabbit trixie would do the same thing. she would lick/chew the fur off her feet. the vet couldn't find anything wrong and we shortly noticed she mostly did it when the house was empty.

we would leave the radio on for her to add some noise, and that helped some. mostly it was just a deal with it thing.

i would also wonder about a nutritient problem. like maybe she isn't getting something she is suppose to and it eating her fur to make up for it? could be way off here, but it is an idea

 

[tonyshuman]

It is possible that she really misses her buddy. However, I would worry a bit about her overgrooming him when they're put back together, unless they'll be in a bigger cage. Does she have a stuffed animal to groom? That may give her something to do--many bunnies will lick a stuffed animal to keep it clean, just like they would to a bonded partner. It's a really good thing to do for bunnies whose bonded partner has just died, or ones that seem lonely. A simple cheap toy should be fine. I got one that's made for dogs so it doesn't have much cotton in it, and it had squeaky maker things that you could replace--I just took it out (for a bunny at the shelter). It was only about $3.

 

[tomorrow264]

tonyshuman wrote:

It is possible that she really misses her buddy. However, I would worry a bit about her overgrooming him when they're put back together, unless they'll be in a bigger cage. Does she have a stuffed animal to groom? That may give her something to do--many bunnies will lick a stuffed animal to keep it clean, just like they would to a bonded partner. It's a really good thing to do for bunnies whose bonded partner has just died, or ones that seem lonely. A simple cheap toy should be fine. I got one that's made for dogs so it doesn't have much cotton in it, and it had squeaky maker things that you could replace--I just took it out (for a bunny at the shelter). It was only about $3.

I'll give her one of my kids stuffed animals and see if that helps. When I put them back together they will be in a much larger cage.

 

[tomorrow264]

katt wrote:

does she do this when you are home or awake? i would wonder if it has a connection to her being left alone.

i only say this because my old rabbit trixie would do the same thing. she would lick/chew the fur off her feet. the vet couldn't find anything wrong and we shortly noticed she mostly did it when the house was empty.

we would leave the radio on for her to add some noise, and that helped some. mostly it was just a deal with it thing.

i would also wonder about a nutritient problem. like maybe she isn't getting something she is suppose to and it eating her fur to make up for it? could be way off here, but it is an idea

She does it when I'm around but I havent noticed her doing it when shes out of her cage. I dont think its anything missing in her diet. She get good quality pellets, unlimited hay, alfalfa, and mixed greens.