fur problem

Question
Our 2 year old minature, lop-eared rabbit suddening has a spot on upper back, behind head that has shortened fur and red spots.  At first we thought she got injured when she got loose in the house last week, but the fur seems to be shorter and more red spots.  It looked like a little cut at first, but now looks suspicious.  She is eating and acting fine.

any ideas?

Answer
Dear Donna,

If the spot is rather round, it could be a ringworm fungus.  This is easily passed between humans and other mammals, so if you have school-age children in the house, that's the likely source of the infection.

Fortunately, it's easily treated with topical fungicidal cream from your trusted rabbit vet (don't use any over-the-counter remedies without vet supervision, as many products safe for humans are NOT safe for rabbits).  

Another possibility is mites.  These are best treated with Revolution (selamectin) from your vet.  You can read more about this here:

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

and find a good bunny vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

You'll need the help of a good rabbit vet to get a positive I.D. on the problem, and then the vet will be able to properly treat it.

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana