Miffy missing her chin fur

Hi there,

I’ve been to the vets multiple times about my rabbits chin, she seems to be pulling the fur out of her chin, there’s a bald patch. Two of the vets I’ve seen seem to suspect that it is a ulcer, but then just proceeded to put her on pain medication and anti-biotic. She’s completed the course it goes away and it comes back? I don’t know if it’s because she’s hormonal(not spayed), a behavioural problem or it is Infact an ulcer? She seems to be happy in herself otherwise, just licks and grooms the area often. I have given her some painkiller just in case. Could I please get a second opinion on this? Thanks

Here’s a photo : https://imgur.com/a/tS7kRb2
I cut the fur shorter around the area so I could see

I would go to a different vet for a second opinion. Can your vet refer you? Only a vet can diagnose whatever the issue is here, and provide the correct treatment.

My suspicions would be an abscess and / or dental issues. Abscesses would normally be surgically removed, then treated with injectable penicilin (eg depocillin) over a prolonged time (probably months). Dental issues can cause a rabbit to drool, thereby causing a sore area around the chin or chest. Permanently damp fur will be irritating and may well fall out. Dental issues would probably require x-rays to determine how the teeth and their roots are affected, and what treatment would be required (often burring of the crowns, as often as required). Back teeth can't easily be seen in a conscious rabbit, so sedation may be required for that, and the x-rays.

A hormonal female may also pull out fur from their front to make a nest. Have you asked about getting her spayed? There's a very high incidence of uterine cancer in intact female rabbits (something like 80% at 4 years old), so it's in her best interests to be neutered.

Once you have a diagnosis and treatment plan, there will be others on here who can share their experiences.

Thankyou for your response!

I didn’t actually know if I could ask a vet to refer me, it’s difficult because I don’t live in an area with any vets that exactly specialise in rabbits only, there’s only generalised vets. I did ring another vets to enquire but they were going to charge £90 for a second opinion appointment which I was a bit reluctant to do since my rabbit has cost a lot in vet bills over the years as is. She has had dental problems and had her teeth filed before. The last time I went the vet had a good look inside her mouth and said that she will probably need a dental but refused to do it then since she’s quite a weighty bunny and she’s now classed as obese so it would heighten the risk of losing her in anaesthesia…I’ve changed her diet over the last few weeks onto pellets, hay and veggies only in effort to get her to lose weight but it doesn’t seem like she’s losing much if at all. But yeah I’m not sure it’s dental problems currently due to the vet having a look recently, but I’m worried it’s an absess that keeps coming back. I must have been to the vets 4/5 times in the past half year in an effort to get rid of the problem. Miffy is roughly 3 and a half / 4 years but i look after her as well as my mum. My mum doesn’t want her to have surgery/spaying and I think she’s worried she could pass away during surgery as it’s commonly known while spaying. I worry alot about my rabbit in general due to my anxiety but I also suffer with a chronic condition so it makes it super hard to keep on top of but I try my best.

I will see how she is over the next few days, if the problem gets worse she will probably end up going to the vets again.

She's still relatively young at 4. Her weight may be the reason she has a sore spot on her chin. Females tend to develop dewlaps, and obesity will make it bigger and more difficult to maintain that area. Slowly reducing the pellets will help, and weigh her weekly. Hay should always be available. Green veg are Ok, but carrots and apples won't be helping her lose weight. You don't want a sudden or rapid weight loss, as that will adversely affect her liver. Making her work for food will help increase her activity - so pellets could be put in a treat ball, veg placed in different areas, hay stuffed in toilet roll tubes, etc. How much space does she have?

Death under anaesthetic is rare in rabbits if you have a vet who is used to dealing with rabbits, although obesity will be an issue - so I would listen to your vet's advice.

What dental work did she have done before?

Yeah, I didn’t mean for her to get quite a big bunny. She’s a mini lop, but last time we went to the vet to get her weighed she weighed around 3.2kg. The vet said to aim for losing around 1kg if possible. I think the reason she gained so much weight is that my mum used to spoil her, feed her rabbit style museli and not proper pellets and treats everyday. I’ve strictly told my mum that we have had to stick to a specific diet now it order to help her and prevent further problems. I started off with a small amount of pellets and her museli and week by week I’ve added more pellets and taken away more museli to help her get used to the food. She’s pretty much ready to be on a diet of all pellets, hay and veggies now. The vet specified to give her an egg cup of pellets a day and for her to have green vegetables and hay. She has fresh hay everyday and I do feed her a small dish of vegetables, primarily made up of either parsley, mint, basil, kale, rocket, cucumber, spring greens, celery, broccoli or a mixture of these a day. I no longer feed her anything containing a lot of sugar e.g - carrots or fruit, while she’s on the diet. She’s an indoor rabbit and stays in her cage while my parents are at work but when they’re at home she has the front living room to herself (she needs to be supervised as she chews often and finds herself in places where she shouldn’t be, we try to block these off with cushions etc but you know what rabbits can be like lol) I have bought her toys to chew but she tends to be quite a lazy rabbit and enjoys lounging about rather than being active so this could be contributing to the problem. (I think this is an area I’m kind of struggling with getting her to be more active, I have wondered about trying to chase her around the living room a little bit but I don’t want to stress her out and make her panic?)
She’s just had her teeth filed under anaesthesia previously I think possibly 2/3 times in the past. She was pretty good with everything, she needed it because she had stopped eating and her teeth were causing her pain back then. I’m hoping this new diet will also help her digestion and teeth.
I’m pretty vigilant for watching changes in her behaviour and I’m always worried that they’ll be something wrong. (She’s had quite the handful of different medications and critical care while she’s had her dentals and recovery).

She might be pulling fur from her chest as a sign of frustration at not being able to reach her rear end too well in order to eat her cecotrophs and groom herself because she is obese. Have you checked that her bum is clean ?

As well as bacterial infection of the skin at the effected site fungal infections can occur, has the Vet checked for this ?

The fur pulling might be partly hormone driven, as she is not spayed she is likely to have a lot of false pregnancies. This is very stressful for a Rabbit and she might be continuing to fur pull from frustration, not just from the hormonal drive to nest. Once she loses weight it really would be in her best interests to get her spayed given the high risk of Uterine Cancer in Does aged 5+

Dental problems might now be ongoing given her history, so it is something that the Vet will need to monitor on a regular basis.

The RWAF provide a lot of advice about Rabbit Health, Diet, Behaviour and Welfare. I would have a good read of the site and show it to your Mum too

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/