Scabs and fur loss under chin and top of ears

[Potatomomma]

I have a young little male lop who’s been suffering from crusty and bloody looking scabs under his chin and this causes fur loss. It waves where the scabs go away and come back in 2 weeks, then recently his ear tops started losing fur too and the tips of his ears are flaking like it’s dry. He’s been to the vet a handful of times and did a biopsy, dental and blood work and is negative for bacteria, parasites, fungus, no genetic or hormone issues. Even the vet is stumped. This happened over 3 months and with omega 3 he slowly started getting better almost to perfect health but recently it’s starting again. Has anyone else seen this?

[Bam]

Have your vets examined his ears?

Lops are very prone to ear infections. Any long term infection can cause problems in other areas of the body. Any major infection will occupy the immune defense to a degree where it can no longer successfully fight off problems in other bodily areas.

You can try to palpate his ears and ear bases. If you feel a (typically) hard lump beneath an ear base, it indicates an accumulation of wax (cerumen), debris and possibly pus.

 

 

[Potatomomma]

Thanks! His ears were also checked and fine even the vet had no more ideas on what to check. He’s also acting perfectly normal. Wondering if it could be allergies or autoimmune?

[DanaNM]

Hmmm this looks like ringworm to me, or possibly syphilis? @WickandFable, what do you think? I wonder if the tests the vet did are reliable or could have given a false negative. Some vets will treat based on symptoms rather than a test result since many tests are unreliable.

It wouldn’t explain the ears, but drooling due to dental issues can also cause fur loss around the mouth and chin.

. . . 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.  

[Potatomomma]

Thanks for thought! We treated a full treatment for syphillis no change and his genitals are fine. We did both the PCR and the swab for ringworms and negative for that too 😢 will take all thoughts!

[DanaNM]

dang, what a mystery!

. . . 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.  

[Bam]

If this persists, I’d still suspect ears. Lops are very prone. Wax and debris can build up over time and put pressure on the tympanic membrane (ear drum). If it goes on too long, the ear drum will rupture an render the bun deaf on that ear. There is also a direct connection between the nasal cavity and the middle ear via the ear trumpet (Eustachian tube).

This is just sth to keep in mind in case you dont find another cause. Ringworm is a fungal infection that’s often opportunistic -i e sth that takes advantage of a weakened immune defense to thrive.

[Potatomomma]

Thanks I’ll have his ears rechecked, last time they said his ears were fine, would that also explain his chin getting pus?

on ring worms yea I’ve done the swab culture and pcr and both came back negative unfortunately seems like a dead end there

[DanaNM]

I notice in the picture he is drinking from a bottle which usually is good for keeping the chin dry, but do you notice if his chin gets wet at all after drinking?

. . . 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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