PLEASE HELP – rabbit face possibly infected

[Michelle_A123]

I was hoping someone could help me figure out what’s wrong with my bunny.

His vet is well aware of his current situation, I’ve already brought him twice and I’m going again later today.

This has been happening for at least a year now. First we noticed redness around his eyes. The vet checked his vitals, ears, teeth, everything came back normal. The vet prescribed antibiotics and after that was given everything seemed ok.

Then in February we brought him back, this time it was much worse. His hair on the left side of his face had clumped up and he must have scratched it off. At this point his hair was hanging off and the skin underneath was exposed (you can see it in the photos, him in the cage at the vet).

I took him to the vet, again everything was normal. She shaved the hanging hair off and cleaned the area up (also in photos) then prescribed antibiotics again, but said this time do it for a month straight. He took well to the antibiotics before, so she wanted to see if anything would change if it was prescribed for a longer period of time. We gave it to him for a month straight, the area got better and hair began to grow back slowly.

Now fast forward to today. Obviously this didn’t happen over night, we can see it is coming back but we just tried to clean him up as much as we can and keep the problem area clean. It is now much worse, spreading larger, and I just don’t understand why this keeps coming back. Antibiotics seem to be a temporary relief and only work if constantly given. (Last photo is of today).

I have another appointment with the vet later today, so I will see if there’s anything different we can do. But if someone has any idea what this could be, or what I could do to resolve the issue I would very much appreciate that.

Just some extra info that may help:

He’s paired with another rabbit and is with her 24/7. She is COMPLETELY normal and has never had any similar issues. So whatever this is does not seem to be contagious.

He’s 5 years old.

He’s neutered.

His eating/digestion is completely normal.

Behaviour is completely normal.

He’s able to clean himself and do everything normally.

The food bowls are given out of ceramic bowls.

Water is out of stainless steel tube that hangs.

Please if anyone has any input I’d appreciate it.

Thank you

[Bam]

I dont know whst this is, but it looks like acute moist dermatitis, pyotraumatic dermatitis aka hot spots, that dogs sometimes get. I don’t find anything specific about rabbits and pyotraumatic dermatitis on the face -moist dermatitis is a condition that’s mostly described in does with a big dewlap that gets wet when the bun drinks.

Moist dermatitis in dogs can have several causes. Something -allergy, parasites, an ear infection etc -makes the bun’s skin itchy so it scratches itself violently, breaking the skin. Then the broken skin is exposed to all kinds of  microorganisms (bacteria, fungi) that absolutely love the moist and warm environment the scratching has provided for them. The microorganisms start to multiply and colonize the area and you have a hot spot.

This link is about the condition in dogs:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/hot-spots-in-dogs

The webpage lists some possible causes, ear infection is what caught my eye extra, since your bun is a lop. Lops are prone to ear infections (for anatomical reasons), and your bun’s “hot spot” is on the face. In recent years it has been found that many, probably most, lop rabbits need their ears checked and cleaned every 6 months or so. Wax and debris can collect deep inside lop ears, (and if its not expressed, the build-up can cause pressure on the ear drum and lead to a middle ear infection, because bacteria and yeasts thrive in the waxy debris). Ear infections can be painful and cause a bun to want to scratch itself to relieve the pain. I obviously dont know if your bun has ears that need cleaning, but it could be sth to perhaps look into. (Once the ears are properly cleaned out you can often do maintenance cleaning yourself at home with drops that a vet can prescribe).

 

 

[DanaNM]

Poor bun bun 🙁

When the vet checked his teeth, did they take xrays? Sometimes elongated tooth roots can cause symptoms in the eye, so I’m wondering if that could be contributing?

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Hmm… this does look like dermatitis to me as well. You said his eye was red. Does it weep or run? Constant discharge can cause the fur to mat and then eventually fall off. As Dana mentioned, it could be related to a tooth root problem… or even a tear duct problem.

Another thought could be atypical syphilis, which can begin from the moist membrane around the eye and then spread out onto the face. This scenario may explain why the antibiotics helped some, but then it returns once the antibiotics are stopped. Syphilis need penicillin shots to be cured.

[Em]

As the others have stated, it could be a more serious problem lingering beneath the surface; if further scans were possible (CT or even a simple x ray) I’d personally definitely recommended – even just to rule something out.

my past frenchie got something identical to this on his chin, and we were never able to find the cause. All his bacterial swabs were negative. We used SSD cream regularly and it would clear up almost instantly every time

[Author]

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