Mites?

[Lilly]

 

hi! im new here but i could really use some advice. my lionhead rabbit is about five years old. he lives in a big room by himself— i have other animals in the house, but they sparsely interact with him (they’re cats, and aren’t reliably nice to him)! about two months ago, i noticed that he had a bald spot right on the back of his neck, between his shoulderblades. it’s a small spot that initially had very short, dark hair where there used to be his long lionhead hair. ive monitored it for two months now, and the short hair has since gone away, and it’s now entirely bald. it is covered by hair from further up his neck, but when that hair is brushed out of the way, you can see it.

the spot isn’t flaky, really? it’s the first attached image. i found maybe two little pieces of what looked like dry skin, and there hasn’t been any increase in flakiness over the two months.

i am unable to get to the vet at the moment as their appointments are really overbooked and backed up from covid-19 shutting everything down, but i’m really worried that it’s skin mites. is it possible that he could have skin mites but them not having gotten worse over two months?

the inside of his ears are clean and fine, but i attached an image (the second one) of behind his ears where it’s also semi-bald.

i brushed some diatomaceus earth powder into the spot yesterday, and made sure it was thoroughly brushed through so it wouldn’t be a hazard, and i used very little of it because i couldn’t find a reliable source to ensure that it was 100% safe for his whole body.

is it possible this is a case of skin mites, or is it common for lionhead bunnies to have less fur on their neck as they get older? i really want to take him to a professional but it’s really unfortunate timing, with the coronavirus closing everything right around when i noticed the spot.

he’s my first bunny, and he means the absolute world to me. thank you so much for any advice.

[Bam]

First of all, mites are not a huge deal, so dont be sad. Sparse hair at the back base of the ears is common and normal, but the spot between the shoulder blades is, as you’ve probably read, a typical place where mites can fester, because the bun cant groom himself there.  Fur mites are easy to treat, and many buns dont seem bothered by them until they get really bad.

Do you feel any sort of uneveness when you feel the bald area? Mites typically cause little crusts that are hard to see, because they are yellowish-white. If you try to pick at a crust, the bun will react with pain. If you find a crust/crusts, I’d say this is mites. Also check around/just above the tail, that is a other common spot where mites are typically located.

This can be mites even though the problem hasnt gotten worse in 2 months. The rabbit’s immune defense keeps the mites in reasonable check as long as the rabbit is happy and healthy. Stress of any kind has the potential to exacerbate the problem though. This can happen very quickly, in just a day or so you suddenly see lots of skin flakes.

Diacematous earth isnt toxic. It’s only a problem if the bun breathes in the particles or happens to eat a significant amount. The mechanism by which it kills mites is simply that the mites dry out and die. This is perhaps not very effective as a treatment on an animal, since the skin will still provide moisture enough for the mites. It’s very good for getting rid of mites in the environment though, such as between floor boards, thresholds and carpets.

Mites on rabbits can be treated with Revolution (selamectin) or Advantage Multi (imidaclopride + moxidectin). Depending on where you live  these products may be prescription only, but if you have a vet, they might be willing to give you a prescription without a visit, for a smallish fee, because as you say, these are not normal times. Both these products are spot on compounds, not injections, so they’re easy to apply.

And now a public service message that we issue routinely whenever anti-parasitics are mentioned: Never use any compound containing fipronil on a rabbit. Fipronil is sold otc for cats and dogs, under a whole host of brand names, f ex Frontline. Fipronil is deadly toxic to rabbits.

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