Male Holland Lop pulling his fur out

Question
My male rabbit has been pulling his fur out. He doesn't pull it out to where he is bald, but he just pulls it out in an area kind of like a skirt around his back where he can reach. I have checked him and bathed him and can't find any mites, fleas, red spots, or dry patches of skin. We did however recently move and we put wood floors in. At our old house it was carpet and he would run around everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms that were tile. Could he just be really stressed out about the flooring? Right now we have to lay a blanket down to get him to come out of his cage.

Answer
Dear Melissa,

I've never known a rabbit to self-mutilate just from stress, but it does sound as if something is bothering him.  The area where he's pulling is often a refugium for mites, and you would not likely be able to see them.

I'd have him checked by a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

who may wish to prescribe Revolution (selamectin) in case this is due to mites.  Please also see:

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

for more ideas.

And then there's the possibility that the boy is a girl, and is pulling fur due to a false pregnancy.  But for now I'll assume he's been correctly sexed, and this is a skin problem.

Hope this helps.

Dana