Rabbit losing fur

Q.    My rabbit seems to be losing a lot of her fur. She seems fine otherwise.  What could the problem be?

A.    Rabbits can suffer from similar skin diseases to those that occur in cats and dogs.  These include skin mites (treatable with several products now); fleas; fungal infection ("ringworm" as it's commonly called) and bacterial infection of the skin.  

Sometimes people worry about rabbits pulling out their own fur when it's in fact a natural behaviour they use to line their "nest" shortly before giving birth.   They do not necessarily have to be pregnant in order to show such behaviour.  It can occur in a condition called “false pregnancy” when the rabbit’s hormonal swings fool it into thinking that it’s pregnant. 

Mite infection is perhaps the most common disease and causes a great quantity of dandruff on the skin.  Your rabbit needs to be seen by a vet so that he can diagnosis the exact cause and prescribe appropriate treatment.  If your rabbit shares her hutch with other rabbits or guinea pigs, it would be wise to get them checked too.