Overgrooming?

[BiterBunny]

Bunny's snotty nose has mostly cleared up, but we have a new problem. I first noticed a small wet patch on his side and a small bit of missing hair about a week and a half ago. I figured he'd just accidentally pulled a bit too much out and it'd grow back.

We have been working on brushing and he lets me do it a bit more now, so he is not shedding very much.

The patch seemed to grow back in. But this morning I gave him his hay as usual (Any tricks on getting a rabbit to eat hay? I cut down his pellets, cut down his veggies, withheld pellets for a bit longer than usual, went a day without veggies, switched brands of hay, added a bit of alfalfa, added dried herbs. And he still is not much of a fan.) and noticed a large wet patch between his from and back legs on his right side. It's a LARGE wet patch and the fur is slightly slumped together as though he maybe laid in a pee spot? And a bit of a bigger patch of fur is missing (I think, I think it's more fur than just being clumped together.). I tried to gently brush out the clumped together fur, but he was having none of that. And with his snotty nose, I really don't want to try a bath and possible aggravate him.

Is there any reason he might be overgrooming/urinating on himself? His cage is clean, he has fresh pellets/hay/water, tons of toys (Wiffle balls, baby rings, multiple wood chews, seagrass chews, loofah chews, pumice, bamboo shredders, etc.), his litter box is clean and I haven't changed his litter in awhile (We did a switch from aspen to Carefresh brand fresh sorb, but that stuff absorbed as well as wet newspaper, so we switched back to aspen.). He's on fleece and towels with fleece blankies and beds.

Any help appreciated, thanks!

 

[LakeCondo]

I probably would wipe the area with an unscented baby wipe.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Some rabbits just arent big hay eaters. As long as your pellets have a good amount of fiber in them he should be fine. One of my bucks Chevy never eats hay and turns his nose up at it. He is on just pellets and hasn't ever had any problems.

Does he lay in his box alot? Maybe try finding an alternate hiding spot for him? Does he play with and like his toys? Maybe try putting a simple cardboard box or paper towel roll in his cage and seeing how he reacts?

 

[BiterBunny]

Okay, good. I was definitely worried about the hay. He nibbles it. He's super picky about veggies, too. But he's a a great lover of pellets.

He's terrible for laying in his box. But he's also stopped using it as faithfully as he was before he got sick. Now he lays in one corner a lot and seems to pee there.

He ignores most toys. I don't think he ever had any before he came to me. The only thing I've really found that he likes is crumbled up packing paper. He'll toss it around a bit.

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm not sure that's correct. Pellets don't have long strands of fiber the way hay does. Have you tried using hay cubes? The fiber there is in longer strands than pellets, but not as long as pure hay. I'd also grow him some wheat grass & any yard grass that you don't trim [like in a back corner] & produces seed heads on stalks. I'd try every brand of hay & 3rd cut hay rather than give upon it. Maybe you can never increase the amount consumed to the recommended 70% [by volume, not weight] recommended, but it should be something.

 

[BiterBunny]

I'm definitely not going to give up on the hay. We'll keep trying. He seems to be alright with this brand (Oxbow Timothy). But I'm very tempted to buy alfalfa hay next. Is it terrible for adult rabbits? Isn't it sweeter, maybe he'd like it more?

Is third cut better?

I have to run to the store today, so I'll pick up some hay cubes and see if he likes those better.

Our yard is pesticide free and we have a garden going, so we're out there tending a lot. I'm sure I have a pot where I could grow some wheat grass and give him some clippings from the yard. Is fresh stuff as good as dried stuff? Or should I dehydrate it first?

 

[BiterBunny]

Also, I have no idea what his issue was this morning. I was sick last night and slept through feeding him at his usual time, so when I woke up very early (Like 5am), I went ahead to give him food. And when he yawned, he had hair stuck in his teeth. He's no longer moulting and I am able to brush him pretty regularly now. He's not shedding enough to warrant hair in his mouth, but he is still overgrooming, I think. I pulled the little hairball out of his teeth (And am very proud of him! He didn't lunge for me at all.). And he's munching away at his pellets normally.

 

[candykittten]

you could just take the pellets away. I only feed my rabbit greens and hay

 

[majorv]

I would only take away pellets completely as a last resort. Unless you're diligent about providingall theright food to give your rabbit a well balanced diet hecould end up with health problems down the road. The nice thing about good quality pellets is that they have all thenutrients rabbits need. Keep trying different types of hay. You might find something he likes.

 

[LakeCondo]

Third cut hay is softer. It maybe has less good fiber but rabbits tend to like it better because it's softer. But I've found that one place's 2nd cut is as soft as another place's 3rd cut, so you never know. And 1st cut would vary the same way, which I guess some places' 1st cut is like straw.

I'd try any & all grass hay before using alfalfa [or clover hay]. This includes Bermuda grass, bluegrass, brome grass, meadow fescue, oat grass, orchard grass, ryegrass, wheatgrass.

I haven't fed Honey grass clippings because there are wild rabbits around here near the little lake & I don't want her to get parasites from them. I only pick things that are higher up that the wild ones can't reach, like the grass seed heads at the edges of the grass that I don't trim & the mower doesn't reach. And you should pick grass before mowing, not just gather what the mower has cut, at least if you use a gas mower,

Fresh is as good as dry. Refrigerate any you don't use right away. Of course if you want to feed grass all year, you'd need to dry some.

I plan to grow wheat grass in trays in my window sills all winter. Right now the trays are outside, but under netting so the wild rabbits & other animals can't get at it. It's easy to grow, even for me, who's had trouble growing grass. The wheat berries are bigger, a pot can be moved up from the ground, & you're planting less of an area. So I got a small bag of wheat, filled a tray at least 6" deep [with drain holes & an solid tray underneath] with good soil that's wet. You can soak the seeds 8-12 hours or just apply them dry & fairly thickly. Either push the seeds down so they're about half exposed, or add a little more soil to half cover them. Mist the top for a few days until germination. I'm not sure what's the best size for clipping the wheat grass, but I'm cutting off 5" when they get 6" tall. I haven't been doing it long enough that I have any idea how long each planting will last.

 

[LakeCondo]

Don't stop giving pellets. Dr Lucile Moore says in Rabbit Nutrition ... that it's virtually impossible for a pet rabbit to get the needed nutrients without them, ie at least a dozen different veggies daily.

For awhile people thought pellets weren't necessary [& some still say that] but the pro-pellets view is becoming more & more the norm, after seeing some of the medical problems in rabbits not getting pellets.