Buck losing fur on paws

Question
Hi, my 7 year old Dwarf Lop buck has lost fur not on his actual front paws but the bit of leg above the paws (not sure what thats called -calf??) and the skin is clearly visible now. He has also lost a considerable amount of fur on the same place on his back paws. My girl, who is a huge Giant Lionhead Lop, 4 years old and lives in the same hutch with him, is not having any problems. Any ideas?

Answer
Dear Alex,

Fur loss patterns like this could be due to several things, but it's best to rule out mites, first.  Please read:

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

Both rabbits might harbor mites, but depending on genes and general overall health, both might not show symptoms of active infection to the same degree.

Is the skin on the exposed areas red, flaky or irritated?  If so, I would wonder if he might be drooling on his front paws due to molar spurs or other painful dental problem:

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

Saliva is caustic, and rabbits with molar spurs often show signs of baldness and sore skin under the chin and on the front legs where the drool has soaked into the fur and been groomed off.  It's certainly something to consider.

If the back legs are similarly affected, it's more likely to be mites.  But it also could be a completely different problem, such as urine burn, causing fur loss on his back legs.  This can be due to any number of urinary tract problems, including urinary tract infection, bladder stones, or other urinary tract problem, which you can read more about here:

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

I'd recommend getting bun to a good rabbit vet for examination, proper diagnosis and treatment.  You can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps him onto the road to recovery.

Take care,
Dana