Duncans “Appointment” and sudden itching

[Cottontail]

Duncan is currently at the vet for his neuter.  He still weighs 6.3lbs, and has been on a diet of 80-90% hay (most of which is timothy) with a little pellets and bits of celery or lettuce for treats for a little more than a week now.

He seems healthy for it but we did have some concerns this morning:

• Apparently there was confusion and not all blood work had been completed; just the e. cuniculi panel was done.
  The organ function and blood panel was completed this morning  Everything appears to be in normal ranges.
• Within the last 48hrs, Duncan has started scratching at his shoulders and neck.  He’s leaving his ears alone and not head tossing.  His ears still look clear and non-agitated.  He’s scratched at his shoulder viciously enough that he now has bloody scabs on it from his already-trimmed back claws. 

I combed him over really well last night and a bit more this morning, looking for fleas or any bity insects (or their droppings, eggs, etc.) but found nothing.   He’s not sure about combs and acts as though he’s never seen one before, so combing takes some time.   The area on his shoulders doesn’t appear inflamed (he has nearly-white skin there), and he seems to enjoy people petting him there, but he randomly and viciously kicks at his neck and shoulders…  When we got him from the shelter he was thinning a bit on the shoulders but we figured it was shed/stress-shed and possibly diet.  Also, nothing was found during his physical exam last week.  His coat is not as dry and stiff as it was 10 days ago when we got him, and feels softer to the touch now that he has steady hay, water, and AC.

Dr. B is going to check him over for indications of mites, fleas, or mange while he is there.. He said that he may have to do a skin scraping, but is considering a treatment of mites by a small shot of ivermectin.  I let them know I wasn’t familiar with it and asked about any side effects or risks from the drug (I already know the risks for the neuter itself.)  They assured me that they’ve never had any negative reaction with it and that it was a very gentle treatment.   I looked up the medication online and from what I see it is safe and effective when administered in the proper dosage: and the vet has already mentioned to me that they are very careful/precise when dosing it out… so now I suppose I have nothing more to do than wait for a call. 

They are going to wait to call me once he’s awake and about for at least an hour or so to make sure he’s fine from anesthesia.. and also to give them time for any examination/testing is needed on his neck; and call me once they have an idea of what is going on with him, if anything more is needed, and when I can pick him up.

[jerseygirl]

Hope the op goes well!

Do you think the shelter could have given him a topical treatment (or bath!) before he came home with you that’s only just irritating him now?

[Bam]

((((Duncan))))

When I read up on mange now with the poor Philippino bunny I found some stuff about burrowing mites that don’t necessarily give visible symptoms, they just drive the bunny crazy. You can read about them here: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html#burrowmange

They seem to be rare though and if he’s getting ivermectin, it will probably take care of the problem regardless of what evil parasites are the cause, but it does seem like Revolution (selamectin) is the drug of choice against mites these days.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sending Duncan some (((((Recovery Vibes)))))

[Cottontail]

Jersey – I had considered that maybe it was something he had before that was just now presenting, but looks like we got lucky.
Bam – Thank you for the link! I love to learn more about health concerns, and it’s been added to my list of bunny related information.
LPT – Thank you for the vibes!

MB – Whenever you get on here, thanks for today!

 

We have Duncan at home and he’s settling back in, albeit somewhat disoriented.  His itching problem turned out to be more fleas! I feel like a bad bunny mom, as I know how the fleas get in but am helpless to do anything about it until we move into our new place next month.  Apparently my poor Duncan is just severely sensitive to flea bites and will not stop kicking until he has removed the bite itself!   

We had a cat some years back that was allergic to fleas (and flea treatments), and presented in a very similar fashion: swollen bites and scratching until bloody, accompanied by hair loss.  The only treatment we could give him was bathing him with dish-soap and combing him out constantly if we had to treat for fleas; anything else resulted in a balding, itchy cat.  

Duncan does not seem quite as sensitive as that; as he has not had any reaction to the flea/mite treatment.  He hasn’t lost much hair, save what he’s removed by kicking/scratching, but he did give himself some impressive scratches and scabs.  We will retreat him in a couple weeks (along with Tilly and Zoey) before we move; followed by a precautionary treatment some weeks after to make sure that we’re still clear.  I don’t think he had many fleas on him as I did comb him out and failed to find any… The vet managed to come up with one or two while he was still out/drowsy from the anesthesia though. 

 

So long story short; Duncan is home safe and sound.  He was pitiful in the car ride home, making MB feel sorry for him and then burying his face in his towel.  He’s eating, drinking, pooping (a mix of small and regular poops), and toddling around in his cage/play-yard.  He’s got a good appetite but is definitely done for the day, poor baby.  He has 2 days of meloxicam, twice a day dosages starting tomorrow with breakfast. 

[JackRabbit]

Already sent vibes, but sending more plus go-away-flee vibes!

Adding such a good friend vibes too {~{~Megabunny~}~} (BB needs stickers!!)

[Bam]

((((((((go-away-fleas))))))))

I know Icelandic horses can be extremely sensitive to insects bites AND treatments, that’s why you see horses in burka-like attire here in the summers.

Kiss Duncan from me =)

[Cottontail]

My little Duncan seems to be doing much better this morning. Poops are still all over the place as far as size goes, but we’ll see how that settles throughout the day. He gets a ton of meloxicam compared to what I was used to giving Pete; but then again, he is about 3x his weight. He sucked down his medicine with some happy slurps and then went to chewing on his hay. He had a little willow barbell in his enclosure that now looks like a lollipop thanks to his efforts through the night. He seems to be in good spirits though. I found him lounging when I came in for breakfast and medicine.

I’m glad that he doesn’t seem to be sensitive to the treatment. That was a big worry for me. I actually waited a couple hours more to pick him up from the vet yesterday because I wanted him to be there in case of a reaction to it. Today he doesn’t seem to be kicking, and I’ll be putting a little Neosporin on his boo-boos shortly.

And don’t worry; Duncan gets lots of kisses! He actually tooth-purrs when you kiss him between his ears.

[BinkyMom14]

Auww how sweet! I want to snuggle him so bad!

[Author]

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