bald patch around scratch

Question
Hi There :)  I have a dwarf bunny named Snowflake.  The other day while we were playing I picked him up and noticed a slight scratch on his bell surrounded by a bald patch.  Not very big.  My first thought was mange until I noticed the abrasion was in a very straight line.  My question is would it be normal for him to lick himself bald around the wound?  OR  Can mange appear in a perfectly straight line?  Other than that, he is great.  He plays and barks with the dogs.  He gets his candy when he asks and he is very playful and outgoing.  I am having a problem controlling his house breaking in the first floor.  He lives on the second floor with me, but likes to venture down to see his dog buddies and hang out.  He has a box down there and he know what it is for because if anyone walks into the room he will jump in the box and act is all is cool.  But he seems to want to do his business in several areas immediately when he gets in there.  Specifically the dog's bed and their play-pen.  But also on the couch and chair.  he does the entire room within a minute.  Yet, upstairs he is no problem.  I hate him not being allowed to hang with his buddies because of his not using the box exclusively while he's down there.  We had once already had to run all three dogs to the vet for getting sick after cleaning up after him all the time, LOL.  That is why we don't allow him to hang with them.  I know he is very lonely because he is a very social personality.  Please advise.  Thanks  :)
AJ

Answer
Hi,

is your guy neutered?  If not, you should consider geting him neutered by a good rabbit vet, it will cut down on the marking he is doing outside the litterpans.  He's marking territory and trying to overmark the dogs' scents (chair, couch, bedding).  

Go to: www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet in your area.

I would get the scratch checked out by a good rabbit vet.  You really wantto make sure infection/abscess doesn't occur.  I would also consider putting some Bag Balm on there, or even Preparation H - both are good for helping rabbits' thin and fragile skin healing.  Double check the areas he roams, he may have scratched it running against something and you don't want that happening again if possible.

Neutering would allow him to hang out without marking so excessively.  He will do it a little but not nearly what he does now.  And I would put the box in the place he tends to mark the most.  You may need to put two pans out, but it's worth it it.  Often after neutering they will also mark in less places.  Give him a month or so after the neuter to see real behavior changes (takes that long for existing hormones in the body to decrease).

So he may still be able to hang out with them and be social while not marking things up so much.

Lee