fur patch with white clump ends falls out

Question
Hi,

My pet rabbit has had a patch of fur near her tail that falls out an alarming rate in comparison to the rest of her fur. When looking at the fur that falls out from that area, there is like white clumps of dead skin (i suppose) attached to it. She's always biting that area, and when touching the area, it's rough and bumpy. Is it skin mites? Or is it something else? Whatever it is, what should I do to treat that is at a minimum cost without endangering her life? Also, whatever it is, is there any danger to humans? Thank you so much for your help.

Best,
Clara and Tanya

Answer
Hi Clara,

It sounds like she could have some sort of skin parasite like mites that's causing her discomfort and fur loss.  Without a skin-scraping from a vet there's no sure way to know, but you could always treat for them just to see if it resolves before doing any further testing.  We use an anti-parasitic with our own rabbits twice a year just to prevent any issues like this and it's perfectly safe.  We use a 1.87% Ivermectin paste that we pick up at our local farm supply store.  It's actually made for horses, but a pea-sized amount works just perfectly for rabbits.  If that doesn't do the trick, you'll want to have her evaluated by a vet that knows rabbits.  Sometimes it takes a few treatments with the Ivermectin to completely get rid of skin mange or mites though, so once a week for 3 weeks might be necessary to see any improvement.  Best wishes!