White crust taking over my bun

[Opalmoon]

Okay so about a month ago, my husband and I noticed my rabbit was going bald around her neck, starting behind her head. I figured it might be a skin irritation so I put some ointment on her from an issue with a wound that she previously had. It didn’t work and within a few days all the hair around her neck was gone. Her neck was a bit irritated with dry flakes. I rushed her to the vet and she took skin scrapings and tested for mites and any fungal or bacterial infections and ruled it out. She had also lost 2 pounds from her previous visit a couple months prior. She was very overweight so i switched her pellets to a different brand. We noticed she had white dandruff on the back of her head at the border of the bald spot and the hair would pull out easily with white flakes attached. The vet couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her and sent us home with nothing except an estimate for a biopsy, which is not an option for us right now. Things got worse with the dandruff hardening and spreading up her head and down her back. The dandruff is around her eyes now too. I had a suspicion that it still could be mites so I requested a dose of ivermectin a little over a week ago. I may have passed mites to her from petting the neighborhood cat. My bunny is still losing weight despite eating and drinking normally. I give her romaine lettuce in the morning and at night with unlimited access to her pellet food and hay, along with veggie treats throughout the day. Her hair is rapidly thinning, but the spread of the dandruff has slowed. Her dose of ivermectin was just over a week ago. Her poop is fine. I noticed she now has some brown crust below her lip and below her nose. She is the only bunny in the home. She still wants to be pet and loved, but now retreats into her “bathroom” cage for most of the day instead of coming out. I’m afraid she’s shutting down. I’m at a loss about what to do. We’ve fallen on hard times financially, but I don’t want to see her suffer. I’m going to attempt to switch back to the food that made her fat for some weight gain and she goes in for her 2nd dose of ivermectin on the 13th.

[Photos inserted by jerseygirl]

[Bam]

It does sound like it could be a praticularly bad case of mites. It can be difficult to find them even for vets, and I do think your vet could’ve tried treating her anyway with Revolution or ivermectin. That’s not for me to say though, because I’m not a vet.

It’s great that you see a bit less dandruff after the ivermectin shot. With really bad cases of mites, a bun can need 3-4 repeat shots before the problem is under control.

She could be itching all over and feel really crappy, in which case she could perhaps benefit from an antihistamine. Buns can have baby benadryl. It can make them sleepy, but it could still be worth it. Seeing that she is under treatment I think you could call your vet and ask. You don’t need a prescription, but you’d need to get the dosage right.

You could switch her back to more fattening food now, although not a 180 degree switch, do it slowly. Sometimes food allergies can give really bad skin problems, in dogs, but I don’t know if the same goes for rabbits.

[jerseygirl]

It really does sound like for mite and I think it was great you have ivermectin a try. Especially if your seeing some changes. It is possible the test the vet did have a false negative.
Was it oral ivermectin or injectable? I’m a big fan or Revolution (selamectin). So if ivermectin does help but not completely, you may want to give it a go. It is more expensive and in the US, it’s not available over the counter. So if you want to try it, maybe ask the vet to give script then shop online for a good deal.

A bad infestation of mites can make a rabbit lose some weight.

Mites is something that can crop up when a rabbit is already ill /immune compromised also. So keep in mind there are be dual factor behind the weightloss.

There is also a condition called exfoliative dermatitis and this can sometimes present with a rabbit that has sebaceous are itis. With SA, the crust become harder and yellowed. There can be some waxy substance yellow-brown) which is from the sebaceous gland. Here more about that condition: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Immune/Adenitis.htm (contains images). It has a link to exfoliative dermatitis on that page also.

But I’m hopeful this is just furmite since you’re seeing a mild improvement after just one dose of ivermectin. : )

[Wick & Fable]

Wick’s vet’s opinion is that doing cultures and tests can sometimes be misleading because of the chance of inaccuracy and getting a bad sample. This may be a case where you just need to start treating and see what causes improvements.

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.

[Deleted User]

How old is she? As far as the weight and her being really overweight previously, she should only be getting unlimited hay, not unlimited pellets. If she is over 6 months old she should only be getting 1/8-1/4 cup of pellets.

[Opalmoon]

Thank you for all the leads and advice. I’ll update you after her next shot and we will see how it goes. She is 6 years old. I usually don’t give her unlimited pellets but i was trying to unsuccessfully get her to gain weight. I’ll slowly start introducing her old food again and see if it makes a difference. Thanks again!

[jerseygirl]

So sorry, I didn’t read your 1st post very well. I see now that it was injectable ivermectin she received. Fingers crossed the course of it makes a difference!

Regarding finances, does the vet allow payment plans or accept something like CareCredit ?

ETA: I just discovered you had attached photos that hadn’t been inserted in the original post. I’ve remedied that for you. : )

[LBJ10]

In the pictures, it looks like a classic case of fur mites. It isn’t unusual to get a false negative when doing a skin scraping for fur mites. Typically, a vet will treat “just in case” if mites are suspected. The treatment won’t hurt anything if it isn’t mites. It sounds like that is what the vet eventually decided to do. It can take several shots of ivermectin, so don’t expect anything dramatic right away.

As far as finances go, I didn’t think ivermectin was very expensive. Is the vet charging you an office visit fee each time?

[Opalmoon]

Her condition ended up not being mites. She has a skin infection most likely triggered by a tumor growing inside of her compromising her immune system. The vet also noted how buggy her eyes were getting on the last visit which also makes her think a growing tumor is causing a build up of pressure behind her eyes and is the cause for a rapid loss of weight. She went from 8 pounds down to 5.94. She was at 5.88 but i got her to gain a bit back. The only thing that helped was bathing her in medicated shampoo. She was on antibiotics for over a month and it only helped with the crust on her face. I don’t want to put her through any painful surgeries in her weak state so I’ve decided to keep using the shampoo to calm her irritated skin and make her as comfortable as possible. She’s still a happy girl. She has slowed down a bit, but as long as she seems happy I’m going to let her run around for as long as she can. I’ll fill the rest of her “healthy” days with toys and love until it gets too hard

[jerseygirl]

<3 I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds rather like a thymoma.

She’s lucky to have you. I’m glad to hear you have found something to keep her more comfortable.

[Bam]

I’m sorry to hear it. She really is very lucky to have you.

Thank you for the update. It’s very valuable,

[Author]

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