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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 14sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by Crashley.

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- 05/30/2017 at 5:12 PM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  Hello everyone! I am new to the forum, but desperate to tap your brains on what might be wrong with my bunny. He is a 2 y/o lop that we adopted 4 months ago. He was dumped at a pet store and picked up by a rabbit rescue. We were going to foster, but decided to just keep him and named him Flopsy. He is a fabulous bunny, very friendly and cuddly. A couple months ago we noticed some fur loss under his mouth that spread to his neck. It looked red and raw with scabs. As the area under his mouth and on his neck healed, the hair loss and redness moved up towards his whiskers. The vet thinks that the scabs are from him itching the area, which I have seen him doing. Here is what has been tried so far…
  
  Antibiotic injections
  2 types of oral antibiotics (Baytril and Sulfatrim)
  Douxo Chlorhexidine wipes (cleansing and anti-fungal)
  Tresaderm (triple antiobiotic ointment)
  
  Skin scrape was negative for fungus or mites
  
  He does not think it’s ringworm (would have showed in scrape and lesion is not circular) or syphilis. It does not appear to be drool since he is dry and it is moving upward.
  
  Next the vet would like to do a skin biopsy. I would like to get your feedback and take him to a second vet before taking such an invasive measure. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
- 05/30/2017 at 8:49 PM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  How often is he scratching/grooming the patches? How long have you tried each medication? Did the medication(s) show any improvement, seem to keep patches the same, or make the patches worse?
  
  Personally, it looks like ringworm. I would look for a second vet for a second opinion.
- 05/30/2017 at 9:11 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Personally, I would opt to go ahead and treat with anti parasitic med despite the results. Skin scrapes can give false negatives.
  
  Revolution would cover if it’s a type of mite. You’d need different med if ringworm. Hopefully the antibiotics would cover any secondary bacterial infection if that is at play.
- 05/30/2017 at 10:03 PM
  vanessa
  Participant
  2212 posts
  i agree with a second opinion. Id also want to try antiparasite like ivermectin. It is two injectiond or oral, 10 days apart. The oral is otc.
- 05/30/2017 at 10:21 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17259 posts
  I agree. False negatives are common with mites and treating for them won’t hurt anything if it turns out that isn’t what it is.
- 05/31/2017 at 7:29 AM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  Good morning,
  
  He is scratching at it daily, but not excessively… I’ve caught him sporadically itching with his front paws. Each medication we have used until it ran out (typically 2 weeks) and then went back to the vet for a re-check. There was some improvement in the original bare patches, but then it spread to other areas. Originally there was no hair under his mouth or chin, but that all grew back while it moved to his cheeks. What do vets use to treat ringworm? I really appreciate your response!
- 05/31/2017 at 7:32 AM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  Good morning,
  
  Thank you for the reply!
  
  I forgot to mention in the original post that he did treat him with Revolution in case the skin scrape missed a mite. Any other ideas? Would you move forward with a skin biopsy next?
- 05/31/2017 at 7:34 AM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  Thank you for the reply! I forgot to mention in the original post that he did treat him with Revolution in case the skin scrape missed a mite. Do you know if ivermectin is comparable with Revolution or would it be worth trying both?
- 05/31/2017 at 8:56 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17044 posts
  Revolution is a derivative of ivermectin and considered just as good/even better.
  
  Some rabbits’ skin react to chlorhexidine.
  
  Would your vet consider a systemic antifungal?
- 05/31/2017 at 9:17 AM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  I feel like he is open to suggestions. Would a systemic antifungal be an injection, oral or a different type of topical? What exactly is that?
- 05/31/2017 at 10:58 AM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  Since the first creams worked, I would stick to those. Sure, it moved, but it did show some improvement. It might be worth keeping up until you and the vet find a more permanent solution
- 05/31/2017 at 12:12 PM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17044 posts
  A systemic medicine is a med that you take by mouth or injection and that works in the whole body, not just locally. An antifungal medicin is what you use against ringworm. Ringworm is a fungal infection and has nothing to do with worms. You can read about it here
  http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-9/skin.html
  Scroll down to Ringworm. There are also antifungal ointments that might be better than chlorhexidine.
- 05/31/2017 at 12:28 PM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  Yes, I will definitely keep the current wipes and creams until we figure out something else. I could be just holding it off and it might get even worse if I take away the current treatment! Poor bun bun! Thank you
- 05/31/2017 at 12:29 PM
  Flopsy
  Participant
  7 posts
  Thank you, I will definitely bring up a systemic medicine at the appointment on Monday. I’ll do some more research on ringworm too!
- 10/07/2017 at 9:15 AM
  Crashley
  Participant
  372 posts
  Flopsy, did you ever figure out the problem. My bunny has the same problem. Looks just like those pics. I just came back from the vet and they said dermatitis. Gave me the same wipes and ointment. Except my ointmnet is called zosil. I didnt know about ring worm or i would have mentioned at the vets.
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