Bald spot next to mouth

[Moonlightbunny66]

The bunnies go back to the vet in about 4 weeks (not rabbit savvy) but I just noticed this bald spot next to Muffin’s mouth. There’s a vet that’s *possibly* rabbit savvy in my area, we could make an appointment but it would be booked in a few weeks. Do you guys have any idea what it could be? It’s really hard to look at that area. I searched it up and it says it could be dental problems but I’m not sure. I can’t tell if it’s a bump or not.

[Wick & Fable]

There are scent glands under the chin, but honestly I am unsure how they present…. I just know chinning is the rabbit thing, haha. That bump, I hope is just a scent gland. I’ll defer to other members for that question particularly.

Regarding dental problems, the reason this connection is made is because dental discomfort typically leads to the rabbit drooling (it lubricates the mouth and soothes any pain). When rabbits drool, like humans, it will leak out the sides of the mouth. For rabbits, the moisture of constant drool will cause bald spots. It might be because it’s the very beginning stages, but based on the first photo, the bald spot looks very neat and clean, making me wonder if it’s more just shedding of fur there? The skin looks relatively healthy too. Usually drool-caused fur loss, at least when it becomes a significant problem, looks much more messy.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks for the info! Here’s another photo. There’s another little spot right under his mouth. I know it’s bad quality, so hard to get a good photo. ):

I heard about the drooling, not sure if they checked his teeth at the vet a few days ago. He eats well though. Could it be from drinking out of a water bowl? He has a more rounded chin, rather than pointed.

[LBJ10]

Is the dark spot a scab? Reminds me of a lesion caused by syphilis.

[Moonlightbunny66]

It does feel like it could be a scab. It’s hard to see because he has big cute cheeks.

[LBJ10]

I doubt a non-rabbit savvy vet will be able to help you with this. It could be an abscess, it’s hard to tell from the pictures. But considering the location (corner of the mouth), an atypical case of syphilis seems like a good candidate. When I say atypical, I mean a case that affects the face.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you. I called more vets today, found one an hour and a half away that may take Muffin (waiting for a response). The one closer was taking appointments for late October. :/

[Moonlightbunny66]

I have an appointment for Thursday to see a vet. They said they don’t specialize but they see a lot of rabbits and I saw a review that says they treat gi stasis. Hopefully they’ll know what it is. I can’t seem to find a vet that specializes in rabbits.

Also update on his mouth, not sure if it’s from his greens today, but it looks green on the bottom of some parts of his fur around the scab. Could be infection? I don’t know… He doesn’t like when I touch it. It looks more like it’s from his skin rather than leafy greens staining his fur. He eats great still, not sure what’s going on.

[LBJ10]

Hopefully it isn’t an abscess.

[Wick & Fable]

It’s probably veggie staining. In my experience, the skin looks visibly and texturally unhealthy when something is amiss. Now having exposed skin is generally a risk factor for eventually getting an infection, simply because if the skin gets scratched and opens up, things might get in the wound, just like with humans. Also, places that tend to be moist are very attractive to bacteria, so fungal infections like ringworm can manifest. Regardless, the skin looks still pretty healthy, and the fur loss isn’t too bad, so I feel like, if there is something going on, this is a pretty early stage and early intervention is really effective for many skin-related illnesses.

I would continue to monitor the spread of fur loss and the quality of the exposed skin.

For just one case example, my Wick had ringworm that started at the mouth which then triggered his syphilis to become symptomatic. It’s hard to draw the line to when the fur loss was fueled by one of the other, but I’ll do my best.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcxIXl6lGLx/ —> This is some fur loss more so on the cheek as a result of ringworm.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeQHFOXlPHB/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeWkZdoFcs6/  —> This is ringworm that clearly spread further on his other side. For reference, the fur loss started at the mouth, and literally traveled that far to his shoulder/neck. Characteristic of ringworm, the fur grows back when it shifts from one place to another.

…. Syphilis scabs aren’t Instagram attractive so I couldn’t find any, but the scabbing that ends up being kind of yellow is very much shown thru Medirabbit’s site. A lot of the images are graphic, in terms of showing some facial scabbing, protrusions from scab formation, and just growths that look quite uncomfortable, so be careful: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syph_gen.html

— All examples above are months into both ringworm and syphilis symptoms, so I would not worry about them spontaneously appearing in the next week or anything. Just an FYI for what those obvious signs are and to communicate with a rabbit-vet if you see any early signs.

 

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thank you Wick for the info and photos! I’ll keep that stuff in mind.

We’re going to the vet tomorrow, the vet said that it looks like an infected cut from the photos. But can’t be sure until Muffin is seen in person. The vet said that Muffin would be treated with antibiotics orally if it is an infected cut.

[Moonlightbunny66]

But the bald spots must be from something right?

[LBJ10]

Yes, the bald spots are caused by something. That’s why I initially thought perhaps syphilis or something similar.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Update: I’m back from the vet with Flamazine cream to apply to Muffin’s chin once daily, and Sulfatrim to give orally: 2ml every 12 hours for 10 days.

The vet suspects that Muffin has dermatitis, so we’ll see if this treatment works. She offered to do a swab so they can see what bacteria is affecting him. But it’s very expensive, so we decided to do this treatment and get the swab if Muffin’s chin isn’t getting better.

The vet checked his teeth and said the back molars are a bit pointed because bunnies chew side to side. She said if this is the cause then we can get it fixed.

I kinda wish that we just got the swab done because my anxiety is telling me that Muffin is dying… Overreaction? He’s eating, drinking, pooping, and hops around. So it’s not like he’s very ill. I’m just worried about him. I’ll have to watch and see if the medications help it all clear up.

[Moonlightbunny66]

(She also told me to keep his chin dry and watch to see if it gets wet)

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