# How often does your bun scratch?



## Jenk (May 8, 2009)

I'd like to know how frequently other bun owners observe their bun(nies) scratching (the neck/face/ears region) on a daily basis.

It's entirely true that I've lost my objectivity on the issue, having gone through a drawn-out mite situation. Now I cringe whenever I see them scratch. (We've chemically treated our home for the third time yesterday. Last night, one of my buns was scratching quite a bit at her neck, face and ears. I felt spastic; my husband was quite calm. )

Thank you,

Jenk


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (May 8, 2009)

I know my buns do it quite a bit in just the few minutes I am in the bunny room handing out treats before bedtime. 

I can understandyour concern, last year we had a big flea problem with the dogs and everytime a bun scratched I was checking it for fleas.


----------



## Jenk (May 8, 2009)

*Wabbitdad12 wrote: *


> I know my buns do it quite a bit in just the few minutes I am in the bunny room handing out treats before bedtime.


My problem is that I can no longer remember how much "normal" scratching they did before the mite issue became obvious (last Oct.). 

Thank you, though, for letting me know that they do so "quite a bit." That makes me feel a little better. 


> I can understandyour concern, last year we had a big flea problem with the dogs and everytime a bun scratched I was checking it for fleas.


_Exactly_. It's as if you never know if the current scratchis (or the next one will be) caused by a parasite that couldturn your world topsy-turvyall over again.


----------



## JimD (May 8, 2009)

At least once or twice or thrice a day....whenever they're grooming it seems.

It varies as to how much they scratch....sometimes just a bit....other times they really seem intent on getting to it.

And they're always concentrating on the neck, face and ears. 
I figure that might have to do with the fact that that's the only area on their fuzzy little bodies that they _can _scratch.

MooShu probably grooms and scratches the most. It seems like she's always shedding or molting though.
She also had a real problem with dry/flaky skin. I thought it was mites at first, but proved not to be.
I started giving her black oil sunflower seeds and observed a marked improvment in her coat and skin condition.


----------



## Spring (May 8, 2009)

My guys depend. Scratching is another way to clean themselves, so don't be alarmed!  It's not always just for itchies! Perfectly normal behavoir.

Honestly, I wouldn't even give it a second thought unless I saw them preoccupied with scratching to the point of flakey skin, inflamed skin or bald patches. A few scratches never hurt anyone!


----------



## Jenk (May 8, 2009)

*Spring wrote: *


> Honestly, I wouldn't even give it a second thought unless I saw them preoccupied with scratching to the point of flakey skin, inflamed skin or bald patches.



_Aaahhh_...That's how it started, though: Our one bun began scratching more frequently; within a week's time, I noticed that he had flaky skin, inflammation and some areas of fur loss (in between and behind his ears).

Sadly, a skin scraping and a skin biopsy didn't reveal the mite type. (I've learned that certain mites--e.g., grass mites, straw itch mites--are basically impossible to even view under a microscope; we we had to treat blindly.  The intense scratching subsided between mite-treatment doses, so we're positive that a _very_ small parasite was the cause.)


----------



## BlueCamasRabbitry (May 9, 2009)

I sometimes catch them scratching. I usually see it when I'm around them for a long time, like when they're outside and all. 
I don't think they do it everyday, but normally I'm only with them for an hour total a day (horrible, I know) when I'm feeding. 

I always say "Hey,


----------



## Lolpigs (May 9, 2009)

I totally understand that loss of objectivity with scratching, my gpigs had a case of mites over the last few months.

Basically, look to see if they are trying to scratch their skin off. If they aren't and they stop and go do something else then they are fine I think.

If they have a real urgency about what they are doing, worth a revolution dose to be on the safe side


----------



## Numbat (May 9, 2009)

Inky and Tug don't scratch too often, sometimes when they're grooming themselves. Maybe 3 or 4 times a day but I'm obviously not around them all day. Don't worry, a few scratches won't hurt.


----------



## Jenk (May 9, 2009)

Do your bunners also tend to do the head shake thing when (right before/after) scratching their ears? I notice that my guys will flip their heads 2-3 times (sometimes) just before/after an ear/head scratch.

Again, I know that my objectivity is _shot_. My guys have been on Revolution treatment for months (don't ask). Their current dose "ends" (will be "ineffective") by next Thursday. We just chemically treated our home for the third time (don't ask) this past Thursday. There shouldn't even have been mites living before the third house treatment. 

It's overkill, but my parents were reluctant to visit until we killed every possible parasite in the environment. (They've health issues that make themselves overly susceptible to pathogens: viral, bacterial or parasitic.)


----------



## JimD (May 9, 2009)

*Jenk wrote: *


> Do your bunners also tend to do the head shake thing when (right before/after) scratching their ears? I notice that my guys will flip their heads 2-3 times (sometimes) just before/after an ear/head scratch.


yep:nod


----------



## Jenk (May 9, 2009)

*JimD wrote: *


> *Jenk wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Do your bunners also tend to do the head shake thing when (right before/after) scratching their ears? I notice that my guys will flip their heads 2-3 times (sometimes) just before/after an ear/head scratch.
> ...



Commonsense (and a vague bit of memory) tells me that it's normal; but still... _*sigh*_

I hadn't sat on the ground with my rabbits for about 5-6 months'--if you can believe that. (My hubby has braved it all this time, since he never felt bites but did feel a bit itchy when this issue started last Fall.) In the past two days', though, I've tried to be more brave and have started sitting/lying on the ground to be near them. I've missed that level of contact so much!


----------



## JadeIcing (May 9, 2009)

*JimD wrote: *


> *Jenk wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Do your bunners also tend to do the head shake thing when (right before/after) scratching their ears? I notice that my guys will flip their heads 2-3 times (sometimes) just before/after an ear/head scratch.
> ...



Ditto. 

Not couting fosters 5 out of 8 do.


----------



## Jenk (May 9, 2009)

*JadeIcing wrote: *


> > *Jenk wrote: *
> >
> >
> > > Do your bunners also tend to do the head shake thing when (right before/after) scratching their ears? I notice that my guys will flip their heads 2-3 times (sometimes) just before/after an ear/head scratch.
> > ...



My guys are definitely scratching more than 2-3 (or even 4) times per day. Mind you, I do peek in on them a bit, especially on the weekends. And I (and Hubby) hang out with them for about an hour each evening. So maybe that's why we see more frequent head shakes/scratching?

At this point, I wouldn't say that anyone is scratching as if his/her life depended upon it, which is how Pink scratched at the onset of the mite issue.


----------



## mouse_chalk (May 9, 2009)

My bunnies are always 'in the shower' - that's what we call it when they do any sort of grooming, cleaning or scratching etc...

I see them scratching themselves all quite often, and it never concerns me. Now when Dotty had the funny scabs around her mouth that looked like they were spreading to her nose and ears, she would scratch quite carefully, and deliberately in the same areas over and over again- really slowly. (She had a full run of tests that showed it was nothing more than some random reaction to something and the scabs just healed over on their own). If I saw something like that I'd be concerned but it all seems like fairly normal scratching to me 

They all do the head-flicky thing too. Sometimes I see the uppy-eared ones doing it after a nap, almost like they're trying to 'wake' their ears back up into the upright position!


----------



## Flashy (May 9, 2009)

Mine seem to scratch more than some other buns do, but they don't actually seem to have any problem, and it is just a cursory scratch and then they carry on. It's invariably round their neck or ears, but right now most are moulting. their skin doesn't look problematical, and on searching I can't find any sign of fleas or lice on them so I'm just going with them being fine unless something else comes up.



> 'Commonsense (and a vague bit of memory) tells me that it's normal; but still... *sigh*'



Trust yourself *nods*


----------



## Jenk (May 9, 2009)

*mouse_chalk wrote: *


> My bunnies are always 'in the shower' - that's what we call it when they do any sort of grooming, cleaning or scratching etc...


"In the shower..." _LOL!_ I love it!


> I see them scratching themselves all quite often, and it never concerns me.


That's a comforting thought, really.


> They all do the head-flicky thing too. Sometimes I see the uppy-eared ones doing it after a nap, almost like they're trying to 'wake' their ears back up into the upright position!


"Head-flicky thing..." Another good term to nab.  My Cali boy seems to doa more emphatic head shake; maybe that's because he hasthe biggest(obviously upright) ears. 

:biggrin2:


----------



## Jenk (May 9, 2009)

*Flashy wrote: *


> Mine seem to scratch more than some other buns do, but they don't actually seem to have any problem, and it is just a cursory scratch and then they carry on. It's invariably round their neck or ears....I'm just going with them being fine unless something else comes up.


Another comforting fact.  I like the idea that they "scratch and then...carry on." I could say that's what my guys seem to do. They do scratch/head shake often (IMO), but no one's repeatedly dropping to the ground within minutes' to scratch vigorously.


> Trust yourself *nods*


Yes, Mama Flashy. :biggrin2:


----------



## mouse_chalk (May 9, 2009)

*Jenk wrote: *


> > They all do the head-flicky thing too. Sometimes I see the uppy-eared ones doing it after a nap, almost like they're trying to 'wake' their ears back up into the upright position!
> 
> 
> "Head-flicky thing..." Another good term to nab.  My Cali boy seems to doa more emphatic head shake; maybe that's because he hasthe biggest (obviously upright) ears.
> ...


Yes, that makes sense, because when Dotty does her head-flick, it's much more pronounced, because she's a big bun, and she has HUGE ears! It's actually been known to wake me up on occasion because when she does it, her big ears flap about and hit each other lol! :biggrin2:


----------



## Jenk (May 9, 2009)

*mouse_chalk wrote: *


> Yes, that makes sense, because when Dotty does her head-flick, it's much more pronounced, because she's a big bun, and she has HUGE ears! It's actually been known to wake me up on occasion because when she does it, her big ears flap about and hit each other lol! :biggrin2:



_LOL!_ I don't usually wake to hear Pink doing it, but I have woken to hear him slurping water like a horse.  

Last Wednesday morning(3:45 am), I woke to the sounds of a bun (Zoe) repeatedly changing positions in her litter box. I guess the crunching of hay is enough to alert me to a digestive problem, which is a good thing despite the lost sleep.


----------



## BethM (May 9, 2009)

Mine do seem to scratch quite a bit. Sometimes, I see them scratching so much, I get worried about mites and such. But I haven't found any problems so far.

Tobi shakes her head a lot, and that worries me. Last summer, she suddenly had a watery eye, so we took her in to the vet. Turned out, she had some sort of ear infection. It was fairly mild, and she got some medication for it. She was actually allergic to the medicine, so we had to go back for something different, which was labeled for yeast infections. Her last treatment of that was the day before we left on our honeymoon, but she seemed fine when we picked her up from the sitters. For a couple months, she did shake her head less, but she has gradually increased again. So I worry a bit now, every time I see her shake her head. She hasn't had any other symptoms, though.

I totally understand your concerns!


----------

