BUNNY HELP!!! PLEASE SOMEONE

[Taemini]

Hello all, I have a 15 year old Netherland Dwarf bunny named Muffy. Shes been with me more than half my life and I love her dearly which is why I am here begging for help. Around last December she started having a lot of what seemed like dandruff. Upom closer examination she had lessions on her back and on her hind legs. I’ve brought her to the vet many times and they ruled out Mites but have yet any clue to what she has. Im worried sick for my girl. She does not seem in any pain. But now she has scabs and some are pretty bad, her fur even falls off around them. Has anyone have this please help! It is at a point where I must consider putting her to sleep in fear that I might be prolonging some serious pain. The only other thing I can say is she has a lump kn the back of her neck which is firm and has white cracked skin with a black middle. Please if any has ever seen this please help me and my bun give her the best final years

[jerseygirl]

Hi Taemini

15 yrs old is a great age for a bun! I hope you are able to give her relief for whatever this is.
Despite being told it’s not mites, I would still really push for getting some Revolution to give anyway. It wouldn’t hurt and sometimes they get “false-negative” when testing for mites. Or it may be a less common mite they didn’t screen for.
Did the vet test for fungal or bacterial skin conditions?

There is also a type of dermatisis that can present as a secondary condition to auto immune disease or certain tumours.

The only other thing I can say is she has a lump kn the back of her neck which is firm and has white cracked skin with a black middle.

Is this fairly new? Does she have dark fur or the very tips of her fur are black? ie. Could it be the new fur coming in? I know that can feel like a lump sometimes.
Or does this look more like a scab? Is there a smell?

{{{Muffy}}}

[Azerane]

Hi there Jersey has made some great recommendations and I really don’t have anything additional to add on top of that. 15 is an amazing age for a bunny, I hope you and your vet can get to the bottom of the cause and get her fur and skin back to good condition

[Taemini]

I have given her Revolution for a month with no results, now im giving her Baytril which makes her more active and happy so theres is definitely some sort of infection somewhere. The lump is the first thing that came out. At first I thought it was scar tissue due to her mate. But upon further examination it was not. The first treatment of baytril I give her the lump became smaller. Now though it is big again and the black middle appeared recently. Before it was just white and dry cracked skin. It’s not new fur it looks more like some sort of liquid that dried. I thought it was possibly dry blood but it doesnt react when I try to clean it. The doctors did an examination and they didnt find anything from the sample they took. Although I think they were just scanning for mites. I’m stumped and it really stresses Muffy when I have to bring her to the vet so I don’t want to bring her again just to be told they have no clue again.

[jerseygirl]

Taemini, I just moved your topic into the House Rabbit Q & A section.

Are you able to upload a photo of this spot on her neck?

[Taemini]

I tried uploading the picture but it keeps saying maximum 500kb not sure how to fix that

[photos added by jerseygirl]

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Taemini on 8/04/2018 10:18 PM

I tried uploading the picture but it keeps saying maximum 500kb not sure how to fix that

You’d need to resize the photo to get it to 500kb or less. Or upload to a photo hosting site then share a link to it. 

Ive sent you a PM. 

[Wick & Fable]

Based on the photos, treatment history, and medical history, I think a fungal infection (ringworm) should be discussed with your rabbit savvy vet. Ringworm is a fungal infection. A common route of the infection presenting itself is when a rabbit becomes immunosupressed, as mentioned in earlier replies.

While you can do a culture and wait to see if it sprouts to be fungal, it would be worth discussing with your vet to try topical/oral antifungal to see if there’s a difference. I don’t think either are steroidal so it should not do harm in trying if it’s not fungal.

Topical antifugals include:
Silver sulfadiazine (cream)
Clotrimazole (liquid)

Oral antifungal include:
Itraconazole

… Ringworm can spread from one area outwards, and in more intense cases of immunosupression, it will pop up in other areas, not linked together as a huge patch.

If there is currently cracked skin that’s showing occasional blood, I recommend silver sulfadiazine more than clotrimazole. In my experience, clotrimazole is more effective, but can be drying, while silver sulfadiazine is moisturizing. I have both and my Wick, who gets ringworm pretty regularly, I use clotrimazole and then switch to silver sulfadiazine, depending on if the skin patch looks overly dry.

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.

[jerseygirl]

Thanks for your insight, Wick! I agree this looks like fungal infection. There is a patch on the ear in second photo that looks like ringworm too. The ears are a common spot for it to appear also.
I was just reading up on ringworm on rabbits some more. It is possible for a bacterial infection to also occur at the base of hair folicles. That can lead to abscesses.
The skin can also become thicker and tougher with ringworm infection.

ETA: This page discusses fungal infection and shows some images. You can see just how extensive it can become. 

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Fungal/Fungal_en.htm

[Taemini]

? Muffy has a a little bit around the mouth not to the case of the link but similarly. My poor girl I will contact my vet asap. I do have a question do you know if its contagious I have another bunny hes around 1 year and a half. He doesnt show any sign but Im worried for him

[jerseygirl]

If it does turn out to be ringworm of some other fungal infection, at least it’s treatable so don’t despair!

Unfortunately, it is pretty contagious but it is uncommon for rabbits to develop the skin condition. The really elderly, really young or ill rabbits would be morelikely to develop the condition on the skin.

It’s even possible your other bunny already carries it without symptoms, and that’s how Muffy contracted it. Or she could have carried it for years herself. Rabbits can just be carriers and then other pets and humans end up with visible condition. Children or immuno-compromised adults are more susceptible.

Im not certain if vets oral antifungal meds for other rabbits in the home. They may only treat when symptoms present. As Muffy is so elderly, they might suggest just topical anti-fungal treatment only.

Since you did see reduction in lump when she had baytril, you could ask the vet if it’s worth doing another round of baytril along with fungal medication. In case there is secondary infection. Baytril does have some anti-fungal properties so it’s also possible that came into play.

[Taemini]

Thanks so much for the info. Im bringing Muffy to the vet tomorrow and hopefully ill get an answer ill keep you guys posted

[Wick & Fable]

Fungal spores are everywhere and can survive on pretty much any surface. That’s why when a human family contracts ringworm, it’s notoriously difficult to treat because you need to wash and cleanse the entire home, fabrics, surfaces, etc.. I think if your other rabbit has not shown symptoms, he has demonstrated his immune system can fight off the spore. Since your other rabbit is going through something else, her immune system is occupied and that may have lead to the spores evolving into skin symptoms.

Wick’s ringworm reoccurs when he gets teeth problems, so it’s plausible.

I will mention that one past user posted about a skin infection that was plaguing their rabbit. It ended up being a tumor growing on the rabbit’s liver, which was weakening the immune system, making the rabbit very susceptible to fungal infections. It is worth treating the ringworm it it is indeed that, and if you find it comes back or isn’t stopping the spread completely, thinking about whether natural age or something else is hindering her body’s ability to fight the infection off.

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.

[Taemini]

That makes a lot sense. At this point I wouldnt be surprised that she would have other problems except it doesnt seem like it. My previous bunny and her mate passed away 5 years ago from a tumor on his lungs. I’m a bit more familiar with those but its really her skin that seem to be the issue. The vet had the same idea and she didnt found any lumps or anything else on her lungs. But like I said I wouldnt be surprised if she did have something else somewhere at her age.

[Taemini]

Hi everyone got the result back from the vet and it is a negative for Ringworm. The only other option is doing a biopsy which cant happen as she wont survive the procedure. At this point im at a lost. Other than the skin problem she is happy. So unless someone here has any other ideas I dont know what to do. If I can trouble you guys for some help in maybe recommending something either food, oil anything that is not hard on a bunny that I could do to soothe the dry skin that would be of great help. As for the lump on her neck when I checked her today the lump crack and I was finally able to see that the black stuff was dried blood. So for the next few days im gonna wipe the area a bit in order that it can heal. I put some flour on it a bit as it was bleeding a fraction (similar to when you get a scratch) im up for any advice and suggestion to help my old girl live the remaining days of her life as comfortable

[jerseygirl]

Mmm…. Honestly, Id still want to treat with an antifugal cream anyway. Have you tried Silver sulfadiazine cream on these areas?

[Q8bunny]

Or even tea tree oil?

[Taemini]

Hi all just wanted to let you know that we finally figured it out. Muffy was severely allergic to the bedding I was buying. When they ran out I had to buy a big bag of another bedding and noticed she was getting better. Now shes almost all healed and as happy as ever. Thanks all for the help

[Q8bunny]

That’s great news. It always amazes me that buns have allergies to products, just like we hoomins.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awesome!

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