Self harming

My 5 year old by Elidore has been self harming by plucking the fur from his throat ( he has no dewlap).

He did this last year in November and it wasn't mites or any other parasites. I got bitter spray and that stopped him last year. This year, he licked the spray off even though its rank ( I tasted it ). By nature he is quite anxious and paranoid as he was abused as a young bun before I adopted him. I think his past haunts him. yesterday is when he started plucking the fur. The day before that he was racing around at top speed in fear, stamping and making nasal noises in fear but why i don't know. I know stress causes stereotypies like plucking in avians but I can't think what has stressed my wee man. Its also strange that he did this around the same time last year.

Has anyone any adivce or expereince of this?

Thanks

bump

Is he using the fur he's plucked to line where he's sleeping? Perhaps he's cold so he's trying to make a warmer nest?

Sorry thats the only suggestion I have.

God not really any advice maybe consult a vet??

Bekkie looked after a self harmer called Lily a while ago, i think Tickles has her now... i shall point them in this direction.

xxx

hi yep Lilly did self harm herself ( bekkie knows more) but we have had her a good few months now and have had only one insident so far which was a minor one (fingers crossed it stays that way).
We have found she does get anxious when there is a change in routine ie feeding at different times or if there is alot of noise etc etc she doesnt like it much and will run about manic like.
Also she loves lots of mental stimulation and toys especially chewy ones like willow rings sticks.This i guess keeps her from thinking about fur pulling
Plus lots of run time she isnt keen on coming in or been picked up so i do keep this to a min.
I bet bekkie will say she loves cuddles lol. Maybe she doesnt like me .

Must point out Bekkie and her lovely other half did do all the work on her before she came here.

Thanks Indie and Tickles

He is definatly not using the fur for nesting, Tempest, its strange but I can't find the fur anywhere and his poo's are normal so I'm not sure that he is ingesting it either.
His routine hasn't changed but there must be something about this time of year that he doesn't like as he did it this time last year. Perhaps its the weather. Its so warm here and sunny, maybe global warming is upsetting him. He's got all sorts of toys and willow things and he gets to free range daily for 2 hours as well as living a big run where he can dig, play etc. He has a big cuddly wifie too so I cannot for the life of me see what it could be.

My bun Leo does this sometimes. The first time he did have a minor mite infection but not where he was pulling the fur from, I think it was just the stress that was making him do it. He doesn't have mites any more but still sometimes pulls fur out from his back legs and lower abdomen. He has dental problems so it is mainly just when his teeth start bothering him.

Oooooh, I'm here!!
Lily was a self harmer, but kinda went through phases with it. She seemed to stop once we got her paired up with Ozzy though, but Tina just said she did have a another go.
She used to pull her fur out her dewlap and made it so sore it would bleed

Oh Tina, She was never keen on being picked up here either! I must come see the little monsters again soon Can't belive how much Dylan is like his Dad!

BunnyBekkie said:

Oooooh, I'm here!!
Lily was a self harmer, but kinda went through phases with it. She seemed to stop once we got her paired up with Ozzy though, but Tina just said she did have a another go.
She used to pull her fur out her dewlap and made it so sore it would bleed

Oh Tina, She was never keen on being picked up here either! I must come see the little monsters again soon Can't belive how much Dylan is like his Dad!

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Did you ever try and treat her or doing anything to get her to stop?

Fifibutton said:

Did you ever try and treat her or doing anything to get her to stop?

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We bathed it to keep it clean, but that was it. Like I said, she stopped when she was paired up with Ozzy.