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illness???

22 11:25:02

Question
I have had my rabbit for almost 3 yrs, he is my first real pet and never found any need to take him to the vet since he's always seemed healthy. I try to bathe him as often as i can because he smells and gets urine on his fur. About a week or so ago i noticed flakes on his back and there is less fur in the area, i went to the et store and they told me it was probably dandruff and that i should try the dry bath instead. I did not do it right away to see if his natural oils will fix it first. Today i noticed what looks like a small scab in the area and possibly like he could have been bleeding. I am terrified and do not know what i would do if something were wrong with him. I want to take him to the vet but would like to get an idea how serious it is before i spend a lot of money if it really is only dandruff.

Answer
There's a lot of different reasons your rabbit could have dandruff, you could read about them at http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#skin

The scab could be from scratching.

A vet would generally do a skin scrape to make sure it isn't ringworm or mites and then decide on the treatment from there.

You might want to have him checked anyway, he shouldn't be peeing on himself so that you have to bathe him, he could also have a urinary tract infection.

Kim