skin irritation

Question
I have an in tact male rabbit, i rescued two years ago, i recently took him indoors as a storm damaged his cage. since that time he has been quite happy eats and poops well and his personality has grown. I just started grooming him as he will now come to me allows he to pet him, pick him up etc. Late yesterday i noticed a clump on his back, sort of crusty, so I picked him up to check him closer seem he has a sore actually two areas on his rear that are sore one of them to me looks slightly swollen and hot to the touch. I have cared for sick bunnies before so i washed the hide area and trimmed his hair in that area so i could investigate and monitor the sore. I have never notice this before on him, but since grooming i have noticed his is a bit dry skinned. he has a very good diet pellets timothy wet greens fresh water i clean his litter daily and keep his are very clean in general. What could this be?

Answer
Dear Sue Ellen,

Without seeing the lesions, I can't really tell what they are.  Could be mange, or insect bites, or--if he's housed with other rabbits--the bite of the other rabbit mounting him in a dominance display.  If you can send a clear picture, I can be of better help to you.

Please also see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

and find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

who can examine him in person and diagnose and treat the problem appropriately.

Hope this helps.

Dana