hair and ears

Question
Hi!  I am a third grade teacher and we have a bunny as our classroom pet.  I've noticed since I returned from Christmas that she is losing small puffs of hair, I'm not sure where from, she is so fluffy.  Also, I think that the hair from her ears has thinned a great deal and her ears are scabby looking.  Is this normal or is there something wrong with her?  She is running around, eating, and acting fine.  She runs free all day in the room and plays with the children.  We love her so much, I do not want anything to happen to her.  They take such good care of her.  We use kitty litter in her box and feed her rabbit food from the store, as well as fresh veggies and fruits like carrots and apples.  I give her raisins occasionally.  She also has a box of Timothy hay that she plays in and eats.  Could any of this be the cause?

Answer
Dear Joni,

It sounds as if your bunny has the beginnings of mange, caused by parasitic mites.  This condition usually does not occur in rabbits who are not somehow stressed, so it would be a good idea to get her to a good rabbit vet for a full checkup, and for spaying if she is not already spayed.  Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a *very* high risk of uterine cancer.  Please read:

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

and for the mange, please read:

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

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please read these *very* important articles about classroom rabbits, too:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/classroom.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-10/classroom.html

I hope this helps.

Dana