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Rabbits - Self Mutilation...

Sorry, never heard of that but my first thought would be a skin allergy of some sort. The other thing I might consider would be a displacement behaviour. eg- Deli our dali has an area on her back leg which she has licked raw and we think she started this behaviour because of the wart on her eye, which she couldn't get to. She still licks it occasionally, I think because it is now a habit, parrots do the same thing with feather plucking.
 
My Missy - mini lop - she was a bun owned by a "friend". Officailly I'm boarding her - but "friend" is never getting her back:oops::roll::lol:

Anyway - when she was a few months old she saw her brother killed by a fox. Missy (then called Misty) started self-harming. She pulled fur out & bit & scratched herself.

She's very poor sighted & has poor hearing - & the woman who owned her before my friend was at a loss what to do. She didn't want another bun, but Missy was clearly traumatised.

When she came to me, she was no longer biting, but her fur was still missing (she was spayed a year before). She lives with my bun Cracker & is fine:love:
 
My maddie has always pulled fur from her dewlap in one area (not nesting) and has on occasion nibbled it down to raw skin. Its only come to light recently that she had infected tooth roots on her bottom jaw, so my guess is same as Jacks-Jane - as a pain response. She couldn't "get" to her jaw so nearest was dewlap/chest.

Hope the poor bunnys owners get some answers.
 
My friend adopted a velvetten rabbit off me a few years ago and when his partner died he started licking his fur off and it got that bad that he would have had to have at least 7 skin grafts and he had to go back to the vets every other day to have dressings on. Unfortunately he had to be pts as it got that bad and he was in so much pain with it:(.
 
peanut pulled the fur around his hock and bit the skin when it hurt, and he is now pulling out his claws and biting the skin around them. its because they hurt him :(
 
I had a bunny here who did that , his owner was convince he had been attcked by his partner but after being able to record him with the cctv , we discovered exactly what he had been doing , Our vets took skin samples to see what it may be and found burrowing mites , he is now fine but if they have the burrowing mites sadly it can put stress on the heart etc .
 
My friend's adult male belgian hare once plucked fur and made a nest :shock:
A proper nest too, of built up hay and fur.
 
I know for a fact that the bun didn't have mites. He did however have blocked tear ducts(which had been treated recently) and very bad teeth (also dental work done on it), He was on quite a bit of medication and I've a feeling it will be the pain issue that caused the self mutilation more than anything else.
 
ok could someone figure this then my outdoor buns frosty and linus, she will groom him bald behind ears and back if for anyreason they have had to stay in, this is routine 6.30/7 am brekkie door open all day all is fine binkys flops etc fine shut it around 7/8 pm they are happy with this if were late for any reason boy do we get ignored :lol:

now if for any reason torrental rain etc they have been locked in for a couple of days she will groom him bald round ears and back i mean during the last few months we have discovered linus must have a bit of lionhead in him somewhere as he has a thin but really soft fluffy mane bearing in mind i thought him just to be a mini rex he looks very beautifull and cute when hes like this when shes been at him he looks moth eaten weve been keeping a close eye theres no fighting and he lets her do it, i thought it was mites at first but it not as i had him checked out before i moved, is it frustration of being kept in you think on her part?

sorry to hijack but while we are on the subject saves me opening another thread :oops:
 
Its an abnormal behaviour (stereotypic if continously repeated) in response to stress (the medical definition) e.g. a situation they are unable to 'cope' with (maintain homeostasis) for example, like Jane said, when they are in pain. They perform these behaviours in an attempt to 'cope' (by removing the stressor) so it could start with just a little nibble here and there but as the pain continues they are placed under more and more stress each time they attempt this coping mechanism so will get more frequent and more severe.

They can also occur when their environment is deficient in allowing them to exhibit their natural behaviour repetoire but from what you have said it seems like pain is the more likely cause.

Poor Bunny :(
Sorry for your friend/relative/collegue's etc loss
 
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