Ringworm. HELP!

[marbun18]

Marley has been diagnosed with ringworm. I’m completely freaked out by this and saddened he has gotten this. As well as worried for my cat and husband and me. He is acting and eating normally. Pooping normally. My concern is with recovery. I noticed he was flaky and loosing hair in a circle weeks ago and took him to the vet. They did a culture and found that it came back for dermatophytosis or ringworm. Which we suspected. He said it could go away on its own but I have a hard time sitting with that thought. As hard of a time believing there’s a medication that is safe for rabbits. He acted like meds can sometimes cause more harm than good and that’s the last thing I want. It’s also hard to believe vets who are experienced with rabbits because I know they are hard to find.

Has anyone heard of Itraconazole?

I hoping someone out there can help me. I’m so sad for my Marley.

[Wick & Fable]

I think I’m the most experienced BB member in regards to ringworm, haha. Take deep breaths, and don’t worry— it will be okay!

Contagious: Generally speaking, a lot of the fungal infections (aka ringworm; more of a descriptor of what it looks like, but at the root, it’s a fungal infection) that cling to rabbits are not the same as those that stick to humans. My vet did cite a case where a guinea pig got ringworm and all the family got it at the same time, but considering it’s been a while since you’ve noticed it, most likely, both you and your husband will be fine. Myself and Wick’s other parent have never contracted ringworm from Wick. We do not have other pets, so I cannot speak about your cat, so I’d just monitor. My instinct is if your cat hasn’t gotten yet, he/she probably won’t.

Medications: There are rabbit-safe medications for ringworm. Itraconazole is personally one of Wick’s FAVORITE antibiotics. It’s used to help boost your rabbit’s ability to fight it so it does not spread (as quickly or at all) to other regions. He’s been on it pretty much since November, once daily, and in the past month we’ve ramped it down to once every two, three, and now we’re on four days. So both short-term and long-term, it is not dangerous. Wick is 2lbs and he has a higher dose of 1.1mL. It used to only be 0.8mL, but he kept contracting ringworm again so we boosted it up. Other safe medications I’ve used are:

1) Silvadine (silver sulfadiazine) – This is a topical cream that veterinarians give for a number of reasons, including treating urine scald on rabbits to actual human beings who have burns.

2) Clotrimazole (dogs & cats) – This is a topical medication that has the consistency of water, which you dab onto the area and it gets absorbed. As stated on the bottles I have, this is advertised for dogs & cats who are combating ringworm; however, it is safe for rabbit use.

— Both Silvadine and Clotrimazole are safe for rabbit use and even rabbit ingestion. The amount of time Wick spends grooming himself after topical treatment time is substantial. The worse thing that can happen is your rabbit gets grossed out because Silvadine has a metallic taste (says his veterinarian).

Treatment Vs. No Treatment: I can understand why your veterinarian suggested waiting it out first. Is your rabbit young? According to Wick’s vet, it takes a bit of time for rabbit’s to develop antifungal properties on their fur/skin, thus younger rabbits are more susceptible to contracting ringworm. Regardless of age, any rabbit with a suppressed immune system can become more susceptible to anything, not exclusive to ringworm. Some rabbits can fight off the infection on their own, using their own immune system’s strength. Some rabbits, such as younger rabbits (less than 1yo or around that age) or rabbits with weaker immune systems, may not be able to, and this will translate into the affected area getting bigger or more patches appearing. If this begins to occur, medical intervention is something I highly recommend. Wick’s vet has deemed Wick to be pretty susceptible to ringworm, as he’s on the final stretch of his 3rd wave since November; however a combination of the long-term itraconazole administration (building up that antibiotic’s presence in his body), me getting better at the topical application, and Wick aging has made Wick pretty clear of it. Currently, he only has some around his mouth, which is where it always starts for him and goes back across his face/shoulder. The current wave has stayed at his mouth for over a month now, so it’s pretty much gone.

… Specifically, you asked me about why I swapped/stopped between the topical applications. When Wick first got ringworm, I was given silvadine, which is essentially a lotion. I’ve learned now that while it’s important to be thorough and cover the entire affected area, it’s also very important to apply in moderation to lessen how much your rabbit will groom (i.e. don’t put too much on that the skin can’t absorb, similar to human lotion application, and trying not to get any on actual fur because that’s hard to groom off for a rabbit). So when Wick got ringworm a second time, I requested another topical treatment because my messy silvadine application would gum-up Wick’s fur and I’d have to cut off clumps, and he’d over groom some fur and that’d make their texture weird… So we got clotrimazole. Clotrimazole absorbs pretty much right away, but I found after multiple days of usage, Wick’s skin would get flaky (in a good, improvement way), and this would cause him some irritation. It was sort of like it was drying out his skin and irritating him whenever I’d go to do the next day’s application. So presently, I alternative between the silvadine (moisturizing) and the clotrimazole (drying), and that’s been working really well. Itraconazole has never been stopped ever. We’ve just upped the dose to help a bit. It’s also important to have a probiotic to pair with an antibiotic to prevent any stomach issues. GI-wise, Wick has been fine and dandy throughout all of this.

A few things that would be helpful to know:
1) Where is the patch?
2) How large is it, and has it grown since you first saw it?
3) Are there other patches?

Feel free to ask any questions!

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.

[marbun18]

WOW! I am so glad you saw my post, thank you thank you!

Marley will be 4 yrs. old in April.

His patch is on both sides of his mouth on his jaw, no other patches anywhere else. It started as a smaller circle maybe the size of my pinky nail. I first noticed it after I came home from a trip and thought he was molting some fur around his mouth but when I pulled the tuff out I felt crustiness. That’s when I saw the ring.

I took him to the vet by Monday (2/5/18) and they started the culture. Prescribed me Tresaderm as a preventative. Put it in his ears and on the skin spots. However, with over grooming and his location on the jaw it was REALLY hard for me to administer it and keep it out of his eyes when he cleaned his face. SO within a few days his eyes were watering like crazy and freaking me out. He looked so sad. I revisited the doctors office and I stopped the Tresaderm, still negative on the culture at this point in time (2/16/18).

No meds since then and today I get the call that the culture came back as Trichophyton verrucosum, Ringworm.

Since I first noticed it I believe it has gotten bigger. I checked him 30 mins ago when I got home and the fur seems to be wet. (which was another issue, I use to have him drinking out of a ceramic bowl because he drinks so much water and the dripper was loud and too small). When I took him back to the vet on 2/16/18 we thought well culture is still negative lets change his water bowl and see if the fur dries. I’ve bought him a huge glass dripper BUT he still seems wet, which I don’t like.

His fur around the patches now looks, the best I can describe as squiggly and separated.

It’s extremely hard for me to administer the meds because Marley only lets me hold him on his back (only way I can find the skin) tightly, leaving my husband the one to put the meds on his jaw and Marley is so fuzzy, it’s extremely hard to just get the skin damp and not his fur. I like what you said about the medication that absorbed, but you did say its was drying out the skin.

I feel much better now that I’ve talked to you. Literature that my vet sent was terrifying, using gloves when holding him or petting, how the entire room should be sanitized..

Should my plan be to show my vet the meds you said and definitely start the one administered orally you think?

[Wick & Fable]

Oop. Forgot to mention—

Nolvasan is the soap I use, which also has not changed since November. Rather than putting the topical right on the area, I wash it with Nolvasan first. Nolvasan is used as a general topical cleanse for veterinarians, so it’s safe to use, ingest, etc.. I use it to scrub off any flakes and such, that way the topical gets right to the skin.

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.

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