He lives indoors and shares a cage with our pet guinea pig. They have been living happily together for as long as we have had them. The hair loss was sudden we first noticed a patch on wednesday 11th Oct then it doubled in size by Thursday, I took him to the vet but she was dumbfounded by it and said it didnt look like mites! He has put weight on since he was castrated and so the vet recommened that we put him on a special diet food, we also bought some hay from the supermarket the other day rather than a pet shop. The balding is very localised though it is no where other than the top of his head and in between his eyes. There is no redness or signs of irritation and he isn't scratching or rubbing any more than usual- so I'm stumped! Does anyone have a similar experience with this? and if so what should I do? the vet said to just keep an eye on him- does anyone know of a specialist in the Newcastle (uk) area?
2006-10-13 11:29:43 · 3 answers · asked by Nicola M 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
First of all, is your vet a rabbit-savvy vet?
If not, try to find one, ASAP... NO vet should just dismiss anything because they don't know what it is, they should take blood samples and skin cultures, and maybe keep the patient overnight for observation. Here's a useful link when it comes to rabbit-savvy vets, and I suggest that you change vets right away:
http://www.rabbit.org/care/vets.html
Second of all, under NO circumstances should a rabbit be living with a guinea pig, even if they've been getting along fine. Your cavy could be the reason that your bunny is "balding"... they can transmit fungi/bacteria/infections to your bunny which won't affect the guinea pig, but will affect the bunny. Another reason is that they could simply kill or harm each other. Diet problems could also pop up, because rabbits shouldn't have guinea pig food and vice versa. Here's an excellent site with even more reasons (and testimonials) on why bunnies and cavies should NOT be kept together:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/rabbits.htm
(it's also a great site for cage building, in case you decide to separate your animals--which you should--and need a second cage).
Good luck, I hope you've learned something!
2006-10-13 11:32:28 · answer #1 · answered by Eloise 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It could be alopecia areata. It's harmless loss of hair usually in a circular patch and it can grow in size and other patches may develop. My friends cat had this. I don't think there is a cure for it.
2006-10-13 18:42:47 · answer #2 · answered by flowergirl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pig probably pulled it out. http://www.rabbit.org
2006-10-13 18:32:37 · answer #3 · answered by sugarcarat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋