Fur falling off around mouth

Question
My bunny stopped eating last week, so when I took her to the vet, he told me that I would need to force feed her pineapple and applesauce through a syringe, along with getting her to eat hay. Everytime I would feed her, I would try to wipe away any residue left behind, but she did not like being wiped with the damp paper towel and squirmed a lot.  The fur became stiff around her mouth and I tried to clean it, but now the fur is falling out.  She is my first bunny and I am very inexperienced on what to do for her.  What is a good way to clean her face and will her fur grow back?

Answer
Dear Jen,

The first thing to do is to find a vet who knows more about rabbits.  Force-feeding her pineapple juice is not going to help if she has ileus or dental problems that are causing her to be inappetent!  You can find a more experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Pineapple juice, if raw, contains protein-dissolving enzymes, which is probably why the vet wanted you to give the rabbit the juice: to help with a "hairball."  But this is rabbit medicine from the 1970's, and you need to find someone who is more current with rabbit medical issues.

Applesauce is not a good emergency food for rabbits, as it's loaded with sugar which can do more harm than good. The only *good* idea the vet gave you was to try to get her to eat more hay.  But that's not going to happen if there is something making your bunny not want to eat!

To find out if your bunny is sick, and what to do, please read:

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

One of the most common reasons for inappetence is incorrect diet:

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

and dental problems:

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

The result of chronic poor diet or pain/stress from dental problems can cause intestinal problems manifested as runny/mushy stool:

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

which can progress to ileus, if not treated:

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

The fur on her mouth may have fallen out due to the enzymes in the pineapple juice.  Just rinse the area well with clean water, dry it well (blow dry on low, if she'll tolerate it), and if the skin is irritated, a tiny, thin layer of neosporin (PLAIN, not with topical anesthetic) will help soothe and promote healing and new fur growth.  Stop giving the applesauce and pineapple juice, and instead feed her this emergency food:

Alfalfa-or timothy-based rabbit pellets soaked in warm chamomile tea until fluffy; add water until the pellets make a paste (a pudding-like consistency), and feed *carefully* via a large-bore syringe or dropper.  Squirt slowly and sideways into the mouth, just behind the incisors, so the bunny won't aspirate.  Give lots of time for her to chew and swallow.

In the meantime, find that more experienced vet and get your bunny there for a complete exam to find out the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms with ineffectual treatements.

Since you're a bunny newbie, I'd recommend joining EtherBun, a HUGE listserve (free) all about the care, health and behavior of companion rabbits.  For more information, and for a link to join, go here:

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

Hope that helps!

Dana