Hi,
I'm a new bunny owner and I'm new to this forum so please bare with me.
I've just rehomed a male French Lop who will apparently be 2 years old in the Summer.
He was being kept in a hutch outside (his previous owner did allow him in the house at times) and he's being kept as a house rabbit with me. He seems to be settling in fine (i'm in the process of litter training him) but he won't come out of his cage alone. This will be his third full day and the cage doors are permanently open (until I go to bed). I've tried to follow all the advice but he doesn't seem interested in coming out yet - I'm not too worried at the moment as it is only day 3. He seems happy when I pet and brush him and seems to be eating and drinking fine.
My main worry is regarding his neck. I noticed that he was grooming under his chin a lot (looks as though he is pulling out his fur) and when I've tried to get a closer look (very difficult as we have not yet bonded) it's all bald, red, and in places, crusty looking. He is shedding his winter coat and I did notice that some clumps of fur came out with dry, crusty, dead skin clumped on the end of them. He seems to have excess skin hanging down under his mouth and I'm wanting to know if this is normal - he is a rather large rabbit, about the size of a cat or small dog.
He drinks out of a water bowl and I don't know if that is making it worse. I had a bottle for him but he wasn't using it so swapped over to the water bowl dispenser that his previous owner had been using.
I have photos but I have no idea how to attach them.
Any advice would really help - it doesn't seem to be bothering him so I don't know if it's worth a trip to the vets. I've asked his previous owner and he said he hadn't noticed it.
Thanks in advance
I'm a new bunny owner and I'm new to this forum so please bare with me.
I've just rehomed a male French Lop who will apparently be 2 years old in the Summer.
He was being kept in a hutch outside (his previous owner did allow him in the house at times) and he's being kept as a house rabbit with me. He seems to be settling in fine (i'm in the process of litter training him) but he won't come out of his cage alone. This will be his third full day and the cage doors are permanently open (until I go to bed). I've tried to follow all the advice but he doesn't seem interested in coming out yet - I'm not too worried at the moment as it is only day 3. He seems happy when I pet and brush him and seems to be eating and drinking fine.
My main worry is regarding his neck. I noticed that he was grooming under his chin a lot (looks as though he is pulling out his fur) and when I've tried to get a closer look (very difficult as we have not yet bonded) it's all bald, red, and in places, crusty looking. He is shedding his winter coat and I did notice that some clumps of fur came out with dry, crusty, dead skin clumped on the end of them. He seems to have excess skin hanging down under his mouth and I'm wanting to know if this is normal - he is a rather large rabbit, about the size of a cat or small dog.
He drinks out of a water bowl and I don't know if that is making it worse. I had a bottle for him but he wasn't using it so swapped over to the water bowl dispenser that his previous owner had been using.
I have photos but I have no idea how to attach them.
Any advice would really help - it doesn't seem to be bothering him so I don't know if it's worth a trip to the vets. I've asked his previous owner and he said he hadn't noticed it.
Thanks in advance