Overgrooming

[Flashy]

Cloud has been overgrooming both the Dopeys and they both have bald spots on their eyes with a little bit of soreness too.

I'm using Sudocreme on them both to hopefully stop it being sore, it fixed their heels really quickly.

Any ideas?

Mum suggesting smearing something really yummy all over them, lol, like banana, but we both know that's not practical, lol.

 

[ra7751]

This might sound odd...but it sounds like you have a "nurse" bunny. We have had several of them here. Remember that animals have a much more keen sense of things than we do. Our Hollybean, may she rest in peace, was a nurse bunny. She started grooming the eyes of one of her bonded mates. What we didn't realize is that she knew something we didn't....Squirt had a corneal abrasion that was getting infected. We thought "Bean" was overgrooming but it turned out she was doing what many animals do when the sense an infection...they try to keep it clean by licking the area. She knew Squirt was getting an infection and was trying to help her. We finally realized what was happening....treated Squirt...and the grooming stopped. Now, we know to look for things like this when we see an unusual amount of grooming between two of our rabbits. Might not be the case here....but it is just an experience that we learned something from.

Randy

 

[Flashy]

I'm sorry, that really made me laugh. Not about the animals, but about Cloud being a nurse bunny.

When I saw the first Dopey had a baldy bit and a small sore patch above her right eye, my first thought what exactly what you just described because I remember you saying it many times in the past, so I had a good look and thought I would keep an eye on it and watch for signs of problems. The other eye was also baldy, but not sore.

When I saw the other Dopey also had a baldy bit on the right eye I thought maybe this was too unlikely to be a coincidence, although I won't rule it out.

Cloud was a loner bunny for a year, then he bonded with the Dopeys and he expected them to groom him. Just recentlyhe has started grooming them and whenever I see him, it is always on their eyes. They also appear to be moulting, so I think this might be contributing.

I will bear in mind what you said, and like I say, it genuinely was my first thought.

Hollybean sounds liek such a cutie But I do have an image with her wearing a little nurses uniform, a bit like this. :bunnynurse:

Thank you for replying

 

[ra7751]

I love the "Nurse Bunny" icon. We also have a bun that is a "Gentleman's Gentleman". Change is a very young and large Angora....and he is a fantastic friend to an elderly special needs named Rocky. Rocky is a Holland Lop with severely splayed legs...only on one side. He gets himself flipped over every once in a while and Change has learned to help him get back over. Oddly enough, we have not had Change neutered yet and Rocky's health is far too fragile to risk surgery unless it is an emergency. We see it so many times....rabbits helping rabbits.

Randy

 

[Flashy]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw, that's just the CUTEST thing.

My dad was marvelling about the bonds bunnies form, and it's incredible how they do it. I had my own erm 'compassion' bunny, maybe? He could read my moods so well and do exactly what I needed from him it was incredible. Quite simple, rabbits rock.

 

[Flashy]

One of the Dopeys eyes has healed, the other Dopey is getting groomed by them both and her bald patch is now about 1cm diameter.

The vet saw it yesterday and said it's not sore, nor red and there are no problems, however, given the rapid speed with which they are making this poor dopey rather naked they are being split up. Back in June the same Dopey had a reaction to VHD and the other Dopey groomed her senseless and she ended up with a massive sore patch so I'm making a pre-emtive strike, lol.

I don't want this to get worse, and I want to have them separated for the minimum amount of time before bonding them back. I'm worried about the bonding, but I'll just have to take that as it comes. So for now, there is no Dopeys and Cloud, just Dopey and Cloud and Dopey. It's sad Dopeys are meant to be together.

They will be getting run time next to each other, and they will be swapped from cage to cage so they remember the other smells, and they will get supervised play. Ihope that within a week she has some hair on it and then I can't rebonding. How crap. Poor Dopey.