Bun losing fur on his face. :( Help!

[SnuggleBunny]

Hello! Thanks for reading my post! I’m really hoping someone out there can help.

I have a dear, sweet 11-yr-old senior Spotted Rex bunny (male, neutered). His name is Marty. He had a bout of head tilt and vertigo about 6 weeks ago (yes, history of E Coniculi) for which I took him to the vet, did a course of meds, etc. He’s also had an on and off irritation in his left eye that I’ve also been taking him to the vet for (really, with Marty getting older it seems like we’re there all the time… ) His eye flared up again at the same time as the head tilt. The tilt and vertigo have amazingly cleared up (thank the bunny Gods!!!!!) but his left eyelid intermittently gets puffy. In the last year, he’s had cataracts develop in both eyes, and I’ve read that that itself can cause irritation, so maybe that is just something that can’t be fixed?

He has, in the past, had a bit of baldness under and around that left eye, which the vet attributed to the tearing/slightly white discharge from the eye. However, in the last couple of weeks, this baldness is spreading. He’s got small patches of baldness on the head now, between the eyes, under that eye, and last night I discovered that he’s got a hard, scabby area under his left eye too. Poor baby. I do NOT see him scratching it.

At the last vet visit, among the medications they gave me was Silver Sulfadiazone cream, to apply the the skin around the eye. I tried it, but it only seems to make the fur loss worse! It gets caked up at the base of the hair strands and then the skin flakes up and falls right out. (And yes, my vet has flushed out that tear duct several times. Last visit, he was not able to flush it but they didn’t want to force it.)

Marty does have some areas where the fur has been growing back, so that is promising, but there is fur loss now in OTHER areas on his face. I thought the silver cream was maybe too much of an irritant for him so I’ve tried using a little coconut or vitamin E oil to moisturize the area, and I must say that does seem to help.

I researched whether this might be a situation of fur mites, but I don’t think so. The pictures I see online don’t look exactly like what I’m seeing on him — fur mites make the skin look dandruff-y, whereas this is more like large flakes at the base of the fur. Also, he’s not an outdoor bun, has been a single bun for 1.5 years (since his bondmate passed). The only time he has been even in the same room with other buns was when I boarded him with a bunsitter 6 weeks ago (which was when the head tilt happened).

I’m reluctant to take him back to the vet yet again because they’ve seen him several times for this already and nothing seems to really fix it. Also, since my baby is SO darn old, I’m wary of strong medications unless it’s life-threatening; could do more harm than good. I’m just really concerned about the hair loss and now that scabby, red area under his eye. I love my vet but I almost feel like they don’t know what else to do except tell me that Marty is really old and prescribe more meds.

I must say that otherwise, he’s a happy, snuggly bun–loves to eat, drink, poop, and snuggle. He seems very happy but just looks like hell!

Please, anything? Thoughts? Advice? Have your buns experienced this?

[Wick & Fable]

Wick recently got over (though its re-emerged; couldn’t be helped due to the longevity of spores) ringworm, which sounds like what your vet was treating for, considering you were given silver sulfadiazine and hearing your descriptions of what’s occurring. If it is ringworm, what’s currently occurring is the infection is spreading, causing fur loss along the way. I recently made a comprehensive post about Wick’s treatment that you may find informative: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/163981/Default.aspx

I do understand that the silvadine (silver sulfadiazine) can seem to cause more fur loss.Typically, the idea is to apply it around the perimeter of the affected area and try not to glob it on elsewhere. This will inevitably lead to fur clumps getting glued together, which I would need to pry apart and pull/cut off of Wick, but the cream itself works to treat the infection so it doesn’t spread any further. In my post, I mentioned that I had to begin selectively applying the cream and topical treatments because as you observed, the treatment can cause additional fur loss because you’re applying it to the roots. It’s a balance; the fur on the perimeter of the fur loss area are presently affected by the infection, so you want them to get treated. The consequence is that that may cause the fur to fall out. Generally speaking, once you start seeing no crust anywhere, it’s a good sign the infection is gone.

Fur will naturally grow back as the infection works its way out and out in a circle; hence ringworm.

Considering there are multiple patches, I’d ask a vet to examine a fur strand to identify it is indeed ringworm, and if it is, ask about getting a prescription for itraconazole, which is an antibiotic used to help fight off the spread of the ringworm fungal infection. Additionally, since your rabbit may be a bit weaker, a probiotic to pair with the antibiotic would be helpful.

Itraconazole is very well tolerated and Wick actually loves it more than any other antibiotic I’ve ever given him.

Also, if it is ringworm, you’ll need to clean a lot of your rabbit’s environment. The spores stick around for a while. Once a rabbit because less immune-supressed, it should be able to naturally fight it off. Wick couldn’t because he’s young, so it’s back again, but alas, I’m just treating it like I did before. I suspect your rabbit has been immune to ringworm but the recent course of medical treatment caused the immune system to weaken, making the rabbit vulnerable to the infection.

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.

[Wick & Fable]

*** I will say add that silvadine is used to treat other things aside from ringworm. Your vet may not have thought of ringworm, but maybe suggest a test since the baldness is spreading. I went on a bit of a tangent above because ringworm is so fresh in my mind right now. It’s definitely possible your rabbit does not have ringworm. Just my thoughts if he were to have it though.

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.

[SnuggleBunny]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! I got Marty an appointment Thursday at the vet. I’ll ask the vet about the possibility of ringworm. Thanks also for the info about the silvadine cream!

[SnuggleBunny]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! I got Marty an appointment Thursday at the vet. I’ll ask the vet about the possibility of ringworm. Thanks also for the info about the silvadine cream!

[SnuggleBunny]

UPDATE:

I brought Marty in to the vet a few days ago. They washed his face with some kind of solution, and it really seems to have helped. The scabby patch (under his fur) on his face is now GONE and he is just starting to grow fur back on one of the bald patches. They gave me an eye cream, an anti inflammatory and an antibiotic. They said he had a skin infection (didn’t say which one) and eye infection. So he’s looking a bit better and seems in good spirits. The only bad news is, the vet said his eye is bulging (which I only now fully realize — I thought it only looked that way bc it’s bald all around that eye), and that could indicate a growth or tumor behind that eye. Vet said if that’s the case, he could possibly remove the eye and tumor, but at Marty’s age were not sure if that’s a good idea.

So, I’m loving him up, giving him his meds religiously, and we go back for a follow up in 2 weeks!

[Wick & Fable]

Sending you vibes!! I’m glad there’s improvement from the solution, and also that your vet was able to make an evaluation about the eye bulge.

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.

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