AboutLee Meyer (Mr.) Expertise I have 4+ years of experience with House Rabbits, rescue groups, and working with shelter rabbits. I do educational talks about house rabbits. I advise potential adopters, supervise bunny 'dates', fundraising/educational rabbit events, and help rabbit owners with their rabbits. I will answer questions about: general behaviors, body language, housing, toys, bunny-proofing, diet, spaying/neutering issues, nail clips, preventative measures, diet, and health questions.
To clarify, I will not discuss: anything that deals with rabbits for fur, food, factory-style breeding, deliberate or casual breeding by pet owners, or experimentation. I will not discuss how to poison wild rabbits you consider pests. My focus is solely on rabbits as loved pets. It is the reason I am a House Rabbit Society member as opposed to an ARBA member. If you do not view your rabbit the same way you would a pet dog or cat, please ask another expert your question.
I am not a veterinarian and cannot conclusively diagnose your rabbit. I do a lot of reading and have been exposed to many different situations across our six healthy rabbits, the shelter rabbits I work with, and my mother's rabbits.
IF YOU THINK THERE'S A PROBLEM, DON'T WAIT FOR A REPLY, GET TO A VET IMMEDIATELY!!! Sometimes what appears to be a small problem is life-threatening.
My advice with respect to medical issues doesn't take the place of a good rabbit vet. The House Rabbit Society has references on their site for vets they have researched. There are US and international links here for vets all over the world with rabbit experience: www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html
I recommend the following resources to all rabbit owners:
House Rabbit Society - online rabbit info (www.rabbit.org)
Book: Rabbit Health in the 21st Century 2nd Ed. by Kathy Smith
Book: House Rabbit Handbook 4th Ed. by Marinell Harriman
Experience House Rabbit Member since 2004
Discover Your House Rabbit organizer - 2006
Rabbit Adopter since 2004
HAWS Board of Education member (rabbits) since 2005
HAWS Rabbit Volunteer since 2004
Organizations National House Rabbit Society, Wisconsin House Rabbit Society, Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS), Education Board Member for Rabbits, Friends of HAWS
Education/Credentials BSEE, MSEE (Electrical/Computer Engineering), Marquette University
Expert: Lee Meyer (Mr.) Date: 7/7/2008 Subject: House Bunnies
Question I have a two year old male Mini Lop. A couple months back we got a Mini Rex rabbit. They currently share a cage and seem to get along without fighting. They are always cuddling together, eating together, and playing out of the cage together. My older bunny is seeming to bite his fur off from around his feet. I noticed today, that the hair right behind his head on the top has been thinned out as well. I do not think he could do that himself. I am assuming the younger rabbit has done that. I do see the younger rabbit grooming the older one quite often.
I am unsure as to why this is going on. Neither rabbit has ever been outside, and they are the only pets we have.
Is there anything we can do, or you think may be causing this problem?
Answer Hi
the term for this is called 'barbering'. Generally, rabbits may do this when they are bored. The most common solution is to give them more toys and play things, as they are very smart animals and need stimulus and things that keep them busy. Generally the rabbit being groomed doesn't usually mind as they may believe they are the more dominant rabbit.
Play items: empty toilet paper tubes, or these tubes stuffed with hay; plastic baby keys for teething (hard, not soft); wood chew toys; wicker balls, tents, tubes; diggy piles of cut up clean old cotton towels and tshirts (cut tshirt necks and sleeves totally open); little balls to move around; tennis ball;
Make sure they have lots of fresh hay to nibble during the day, especially if they are caged when you are gone. Also, make sure the cage is as big as you can get for them if they spend a lot of time in it together. With two rabbits it is good to have a double decker or triple decker cage with lots of area to stretch out without being cramped with the other rabbit plus litterpans and other items.
Lee
Another potential option is to separate them when you aren't home.
