My bunny is sneezing and scratching and pulling out fur

Question
Hello Dr. Krempels.

My bunny, Norm, over a year ago started sneezing in the summer. His nose would get crusty and he would have occasional moisture in the eye area. At that same time, he would be scratching and pulling at his fur and there was fur loss.  Friends of ours had just "bunny sat" him while we were on vacation and they had cats.  We didn't know if this was related.  I took Norm to our vet and she gave him antibiotic drops and his fur grew back and he stopped sneezing and everything was all back to normal until this summer when I had our local pet store (very kind family owners)"bunny sit" him while we went away for a week.  When I went to pick him up his nose was crusty, he is sneezing and he is losing his fur all over again.  Does this sound like a seasonal allergy to you or could both of these things be related to the fact that he was in a place with other animals?  Thank you so much for your help on this!  :)

JoAnne

Answer
Dear JoAnne,

I can't see or examine Norm to know for sure.  But it sounds as if he's harboring a low-grade bacterial infection all the time, and stress is causing him to show clinical signs of it when you leave him.  This is not uncommon.

The fact that his eyes are also runny suggests that his teeth may be involved, and this really requires the expertise of an experienced vet who knows about rabbit dental problems and how to file spurs.  There also could be tooth root intrusion into the skull bones, partially occluding his tear ducts and causing the weeping.

Where does he pull out the fur?  If it's just under his chin, check the area for moisture and irritated skin.  This is a *classic* sign of molar spurs, as they cause drooling.  the saliva collects under the chin and on the chest, and the bunny pulls out the fur and scratches to stop the irritation.

If Norm is pulling fur from all over, and particularly the belly and sides, then it is possible that he is a *she*, and is experiencing false pregnancies. These will cause "Norma" to pull out fur in preparation for making a nest, and usually happens about every 21 days, once the cycle starts, though not always. (It can be sporadic.)

For complete information on rabbit dental problems, please read:

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

and for the link to that and sneezing/runny eyes (as well as other causes), please read:

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

You should be able to find an experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana