Help, bold patch!

[Neph]

Hey guys!

I hope you can help me, I have a problem with my bunny. He has some kind of skin condition, it’s a bold patch on his back, it was covered with flakes of dead skin and was partly sore until I put a little rash ointment on it. That made it look better, it wasn’t sore anymore and there was no more dead skin. However, the fur isn’t growing back yet, and by now I think the skin starts looking flaky again. He had the same thing on one of his ears a little while back, but that went away after a little while. And it wasn’t nearly as big as this one. It doesn’t seem to bother him much, but I’m worried about it. We will probably go to the vet next week, but I wondered if any of you can shed some light on this?

Thanks!

[Sarita]

I suggest you take your bunny to the vet for a skin patch test – it’s possible he has mites and will need to be medically treated for this.

[MooBunnay]

Hello Neph! Welcome to Binkybunny!

The condition that you are describing sounds a little bit like mites – so I’d definitely recommend you bring your bunny to the vet to get some medication to take care of this problem. I’m quite sure the treatment for this is Ivermectin, thought my bunnies have not had this problem before.

What type of diet does your bunny have? And what kind of housing? Maybe these could provide clues as to why your bun seems to be getting these flaky patches. If you can provide us with a little more information about your bunny we may be able to help you some more!

[Neph]

Thanks Sarita and MooBunnay!

I read this forum before trying to find out whats wrong with him, and i suspected mites too, but i’ve never had to deal with that so I thought I better ask. I just moved to the US from Europe, so pretty much everything is new for him. My husband thought maybe he is allergic to the new food or something.

To his housing: We got him a hatch and run from petsmart, maybe you know that kind. The whole thing is on carpet floor (for some reason he hates anything but carpet…) He gets to run around in the apartment pretty much all the time when we are at home. We have a dog too, that he became good friends with. He doesn’t get to go outside since we don’t have a backyard and there are a  lot of fleas in this area anyway. I’m not sure where he might have gotten mites from, maybe they got in with the dog. Besides this bold patch he is perfectly fine, eats, drinks and poops just how he should.

Thanks again for any input

Edit: The food we give him is called super premium rabbit blend from wild harvest, and he gets timothy hay. Usually he gets a piece of apple or such in the evening, and we get him treats, they are called healthy bites.

[Neph]

My hubby just called the two vets near us, and neither of them treats rabbits. I thought that was kinda odd, but oh well. Because of that, and since we are fairly sure it is mites, we think about treating it ourselves. Does anybody have experiance with this? Or is it a downright bad idea? I would still rather see the vet but going all the way over there and pay a lot just for them to tell us what we already know seems unneccessary too. I read Revolution/Stronghold works well on rabbits, is that correct? I also read about using Lime sulfur dip, but on one website it says it’s not safe for rabbits. Does anybody know?

I’m really not convinced it is a good idea to treat it without a vet, any input would be appreciated!

[Sarita]

I have used Revolution with success. Depending on the size of your rabbit you will most likely use either the puppy/kitten or the cat dosage. In the US you can only get Revolution in a vet’s office but I’m not sure about where you are at. I would ask the vet for a dosage for the rabbits even if they don’t treat rabbits they should be able to help you with a dosage depending upon weight.

I would not use a lime sulfur dip.

[Neph]

Thanks again sarita!

In the descriptions of Revolution they mostly talk about fleas, ticks and ear mites, is it for sure effectiv on fur mites as well?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Can you do a phone consult with a vet?  I would really discourage anyone from self-treating a rabbit without having seen and experienced a malady before and know 100% for certain that is what it is. I know that vets can be expensive, but it’s worth the health of our furred friends. Like Sarita said, you’re going to need a script for it anyhow. The treatment that I’m aware of is Ivermectin (injection). Let us know what you end up doing.

[Sarita]

Ivermectin you need a prescription for too and that is usually 3 treatments.

[MooBunnay]

Neph – to help you find a vet near you you can try http://www.rabbit.org which has a list of vets that treats rabbits. I have not used anything for mites before as my bunnies have not gotten it, so I’m not sure about the correct medication or dosage unfortunately. You could also try getting in touch with rescues near you to see if they have a preferred rabbit vet (doing a google search for rabbit rescue and then your area should bring some up hopefully!)

[Neph]

Ok, so we went to the vet on monday. It wasn’t mites after all, he has ringworm. We got a spray to treat it with. Is there anything else i can or should do?

I wasn’t very happy with the vet though. He wasn’t too careful handling my bunny, i could see he was really scared. His eyes were about to pop out of his head  I have problems handling him myself now, he doesn’t want to let me pick him up. I don’t know if it is because of the rough handling at the vet or because he is scared of the spray. But he will "growl" and box  me whenever i want to pick him up. Poor thing, I hope he will get back to normal soon.

[Sarita]

I wish vets would be more gentle!  Surely they must realize how stressful this is for the rabbit and the owner.

Here is a good article from a vet with suggestions on what to do for ringworm in rabbits and guinea pigs.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm

She suggested cleaning everything – definetly read this article.

I’m glad you at least know what the problem is and I hope the treatment works too.

[Neph]

Hey you guys. I thought i would give you an update about my bunny. I think it’s getting a little better, but not nearly as fast as i thought it would. Maybe I’m too impatient. He developed a few sore spots with white dead skin on them, mostly on his neck, i think it’s because the spray doesn’t dry all the way there. So I reduced the spraying from two times a day to only one time. I hope this will make things better. We don’t seem to be able to get it under control all the way though, a little part of his head is showing symptoms too now. We cut his hair all around the thing so the spray would get on the skin better, I hope it will stop growing now…

BTW, can any of you tell me what kind of breed my rabbit is? I never managed to find out. Here’s a picture:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/neph_06/DSC02570.jpg

[Sarita]

Thanks for the update. That does sound terribly frustrating. I would ask too if there is a possible alternative medication for this.

He’s adorable – I think he’s a lion head.

[Neph]

Thanks Sarita! Yes it is very frustrting indeed, if it doesn’t get better soon we will have to go to the vet again I guess, I read online that there is another medication they would give him orally. If so I will choose a different vet though, this last one was horrible.

A lionhead, that might very well be it. I thought about a Jersey Whoolie (spelling?), but i think they are usually brown, not black. Here is another picture, the first one was kinda dark I guess:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/neph_06/DSC02617.jpg

He weighs 6 pounds btw. Not exactly a dwarf like they told me at the petstore…

[Bunnies4ever]

He’s adorable! He looks like a cross between an angora and a lionhead. I hope things get better for the both of you!

[Sarita]

Dang, what a cute bun! The only Jersey’s I’ve known though don’t have the little mane of hair around their head however he does remind me of a Jersey Woolie too and makes me wonder if he’s a Jersey Woolie/Lionhead mix although I’ve never seen or heard of this mix, but anything is possible. Jersey’s come in many colors including black, gray, brown – I’ve seen all those colors. Wonder if he’s really 6 pounds though – the fuzzy buns are so fuzzy but underneath all the fur they aren’t that big. Whatever the case is, he’s really pretty!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Gorgeous bunny!! Looks like a lionhead to me too! Super cute-hope everything clears up for him! So, did the pet store just say ‘dwarf rabbit?

[Gravehearted]

yes, i think your bunny is a jersey woolie mix, since well they generally only get to about 3 pounds – there’s also some lionhead in there – hence the mane.

I’m glad you got him into the vet and were able to figure out it’s ringworm, but am really hoping his ring worm will go away soon, poor guy.

It doesn’t sound like you’re very happy with the way the vet handled your bunny – did you go to one of the vets recommended on rabbit.org? it’s worth taking the time to try and find a vet both you and your bunny feel comfortable with in case there is any kind of medical crisis in the future. I’m sorry to hear his first vet experience was so negative.

the below is from http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html#ringworm, which is a really reliable souce. I’m pasting it since it talks about the medications.

Ringworm fungus
Fur loss due to this microorganism is usually patchy, characterized by relatively round bald patches with distinct edges. The skin may be only slightly irritated, sometimes with tiny, raised red spots. Ringworm can be treated with topical application of miconazole- or ketoconazole-containing creams from your veterinarian (Do not use over-the-counter preparations for humans! These have not been formulated for use on an animal that grooms itself.). Fungal infections also can be treated with Program (lufenuron), which inhibits the formation of chitin (an important structural component of the fungus’ cell walls). Always consult your veterinarian for the most appropriate medication for your rabbit’s condition.

you also mentioned he’s getting pretty grumpy and is kinda freaking out when you’re coming near him.  This can be a reaction of fear – but also may be a sign that he’s getting territorial \/ hormonal and it’s time to neuter him.  How old is he?

[Neph]

Thank you gravehearted for all the great info

No, I didn’t check the vets at rabbit.org, I didn’t know about that. I will check it out though if we have to go again! The last one we went to was pretty bad, i would recommend not to go to this one but i guess it’s probably not allowed to give names here.

His back looks better now, but it’s still growing on his head, I don’t know what to do anymore, I probably spray him too much already but it just keeps on growing… And on some spots he still has thick layers of dead skin, I think that’s where I sprayed him too much, if you touch it it feels pretty hard, kinda like armor almost. Maybe he is allergic to the spray, I don’t know. It breaks my heart that he doesn’t seem to get much better. And the spray is running out too…

About the grumpyness, he is fine whenever I touch him or reach into his run or hutch, but when I try to pick him up to spray him he freaks out, one time he even tried to jump out of the roof opening of the hutch cause he was so freaked out. He is neutered already, and 6 years old.

[Neph]

Ok, another update: It’s FINALLY getting a lot better now. We tossed the spray from the vet aside and bought him a topical cream. This works so much better, we could see improvement after 2 days already. His back and ears are mostly good, his head is a little red still but a lot better than before. The dead skin is almost completely gone and everything is healing well. He still needs to grow a lot of fur back (his back and head are halfway bold), but aside from that he is doing great. He is a lot more active and eats better. While we used the spray his appetite was at minimum. I would post a picture of his improvement but he looks really bad all bold like that, and I don’t want to scare you guys

Whew, so glad he is better

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Wonderful to hear!! It’s so worrisome when they are under the weather!! We’ll accept pictures when his hair comes back in a bit more hehe wouldn’t want to embarass the little man!

[Gravehearted]

Neph – glad to hear it’s improving! Is it a topical cream that your vet recommended?
Since bunnies ingest almost anything we put on their fur, it’s really important that any creams used be safe for them.

[Neph]

No, the vet didn’t recommend this cream. But I wouldn’t have counted on his recommendations anyway after he gave us that totally useless spray… After the spray didn’t work we did some more online research and found that creams with the active ingredient Clotrimazole or Miconazole are supposedly safe to use on rabbits. I checked all the lists I could find online that list medications and such that are dangerous for rabbits for the inactive ingredients, didn’t find any of them on those lists, overall they seemed safe also. It’s just a simple antifungul cream we got from Walmart. After I put it on him I make him stay on top of his hutch for a while to give the cream time to get absorbed by the skin and to keep him from licking it off. He is not happy about that arrangement but it works pretty well. After that i give him a couple of treats to keep him busy and reward him a little. He likes that part…

By the way, does any of you know a good rabbit vet in the Savannah GA area? The closest I found on the rabbit.org list are all in Atlanta, that would be too far for us to drive. Aside from the vet we already went to there is one more vet we know of that treats rabbits near us, but I don’t know if they are any good.

Thanks to you all for your support and help

[Neph]

Well it’s me again…

It turned out that we didn’t beat the ringworm after all, it still kept on growing and we went to the vet again today (a different vet though), and SURPRISE, it’s not ringworm. It is furmites like we suspected from the beginning. So the poor guy has been having them for almost 3 months now, having me put cream on him every day for nothing just because our first vet was obviously an idiot. He made a culture to make sure it’s ringworm (at least he said he would…) and would call us back if it turned out to be something else. We never heared from him again, so either he didn’t do the culture he charged us 30 dollars for, or he didn’t bother telling us it was mites. By now the mites became so many that he has to be treated with ivermectin. The vet said it is lethal to rabbits if given in too big dosages, so of course I am very worried for him now. He got a very little dose though, so I hope he will be ok. He will have to get the treatment again in two weeks, and again in another two weeks after that. Also the vet said we might have to do a biopsy because he found a large amount of cells on the rabbits skin that aren’t supposed to be there. I hope it won’t turn out to be something serious

[Gravehearted]

how very frustrating! I’m so glad that you got a second opinion with a more savvy rabbit vet. Many vets just do not have the knowledge to treat rabbits, but hopefully the new vet knows a lot more about bunny care.

Ivermectin is a very typical treatment for mites, and is administered in the 3 shots, so that’s right on.

I really hope the cells will turn out to be nothing serious. Hope you’ll keep us updated

[babybunsmum]

grrr.  that is so frustrating.  clearly rabbits are an exotic and not all vets will specialize, but i just don’t get how there are some out there that are so full of themselves that they can’t bring themselves say "i don’t know.  let me refer you to a vet who specializes in rabbits."  unfortunately i’ve seen that god-complex in human doctors too.  and architects.  (haha)  i’m glad you found a different vet and hope your sweet bun can finally get better.  ((((((healing vibes))))))

[Neph]

Thank you graveheartedd and babybunsmum!

Our current vets is great I think, he is very nice and listened to everything we told him, not like the other vet, he didn’t even care what we said. Like you said, god-complex… Our new vet, Dr. Bink(y!!!), didn’t even charge us for the ivermectin or the skin scrape, we only payed 28 dollars for the visit and physical. That’s a big difference to the other vet, we payed 100 dollars there. Without getting any benefit from it of course. The staff is very friendly too, all in all a good choice I think  Now I hope he can help our little guy. Today he doesn’t seem to be feeling sick or anything from the medicine, so that’s a good sign.

Dr. Bink also said 50% of their patients are exotics, so I assume he has a good bit of experiance with them.

[Neph]

So, as promised, a couple of pictures since he got a little of his fur back:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/neph_06/DSC02708.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/neph_06/DSC02710.jpg

Look at that belly mohawk…

He’s still doing great, even though he is not quite back to his furry self yet.

(Hubby saus he looks like he got a poodle haircut, legs furry and everything else short)

[Gravehearted]

i love that the vet’s name is Dr Bink, it does seem like a great omen! I am glad he seems to be on the mend and sincerely hope the ivermectin has him feeling much healthier soon

[Neph]

Ok so we went to the vet again today. So far so good, he said it looks a lot better, there are still some adult mites there but not as many, so that’s an improvement. He expected all the adults to be dead after the first treatment, so if the current dosage doesn’t work well enough he is gonna start using a bigger dose. We asked him about a little bald spot that isn’t growing any hair back yet, and he said, and this is interesting, that rabbits are one of very few species that may stop growing fur if the hair follicels are "disturbed" too  much, like for example interrupted in their growth by fur mites. He told us you can see that often in females that lick a lot on their dewlap, after a while there won’t grow any fur anymore. I didn’t know that, did any of you?

Our little one was a bit mad at us after we got home from the vet, but now I think he has forgiven us

(It’s funny how well behaved he is at the vets, but at home, that’s a whole different story…)

[Neph]

Ok, this is the last time i dig this thread up, I promise!

Just wanted to let you know that our bunny finally  got rid of the mites now. We went to the vet on monday and he said he looks fabulous. He didn’t even have to give him a third dose of ivermectin. The bunny feels great and turned back into the troublemaker he usually is. As i was typing this he just peed on the floor… right where we had a few cardboxes sitting that he likes to chew on, I just moved them away a minute ago. I guess he didn’t approve of that…

[Sarita]

So glad he’s better!

[babybunsmum]

i’m so glad he’s better!  he’s sucha cutie pie

[Author]

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