skin problem/scabs???

Hiya all

I have just got home from holiday, my boys were staying with my cousin in their own indoor cage while I was away, in her spare room. I just collected them tonight and have found 2 round bald patches on Harley

they are on the base of his neck at the back, are about the size of a 10p piece each, and the skin there is all whitish scabby, when you push back the surrounding fur u can see the patches are bald. They do not seem painful (he let me touch them) and he is not itching them. He is not off his food, and seems to be as active as normal. I have had a good check through his fur and cannot see any signs of fleas.

She has a cat, but the cat has never been in the spare room before and she swears they have not been near the rabbits (as my first thought was the cat had bitten him )

does anyone have any ideas what it could be??????
xxx

lucyj said:

Hiya all

I have just got home from holiday, my boys were staying with my cousin in their own indoor cage while I was away, in her spare room. I just collected them tonight and have found 2 round bald patches on Harley

they are on the base of his neck at the back, are about the size of a 10p piece each, and the skin there is all whitish scabby, when you push back the surrounding fur u can see the patches are bald. They do not seem painful (he let me touch them) and he is not itching them. He is not off his food, and seems to be as active as normal. I have had a good check through his fur and cannot see any signs of fleas.

She has a cat, but the cat has never been in the spare room before and she swears they have not been near the rabbits (as my first thought was the cat had bitten him )

does anyone have any ideas what it could be??????
xxx

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Cheyletiella mites most likely, possibly ringworm, but mites is the most common. Stress can cause a flare up as can underlying ill health. Would recommend vet check over just to make sure all is well and if it is mites then Ivermectin is the drug of choice - either spot-on or injection (once every 2 wks for 6 wks). Vets can do a skin scrape and view under microscope but most treat for mites anyway if suspected.
I would also make sure they are not fight injuries or scald from wet fur. Buns up to date on Myxi vaccs?
If fleas Advantage is a better drug. But i'm guessing mites from your description and location of the bald areas.

prettylupin said:

Cheyletiella mites most likely, possibly ringworm, but mites is the most common. Stress can cause a flare up as can underlying ill health. Would recommend vet check over just to make sure all is well and if it is mites then Ivermectin is the drug of choice - either spot-on or injection (once every 2 wks for 6 wks). Vets can do a skin scrape and view under microscope but most treat for mites anyway if suspected.
I would also make sure they are not fight injuries or scald from wet fur. Buns up to date on Myxi vaccs?
If fleas Advantage is a better drug. But i'm guessing mites from your description and location of the bald areas.

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Just googled the c.mites and yeah that sounds like it, although it is not red and he doesn't seem to be itching. I will phone the vet in the morning and get it checked out.

Yes their myxi vacs are up to date, were done in April/May. They have had myxi which I treated them through and these patches are not like the lumps they had then so I am 90% sure this isnt what it is
xxx

vet appointment at 5.30pm - looks like its spread already can see a new patch further down his back is that normal?

anyone know how he would have caught them???
xxx

lucyj said:

vet appointment at 5.30pm - looks like its spread already can see a new patch further down his back is that normal?

anyone know how he would have caught them???
xxx

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Yes - common locations back of neck and then down the spine/back.

C. mites are thought to exist on most rabbits all the time at very low levels. A healthy immune system and adequate grooming keeps the populations in check. If a bun becomes run down immune wise or is unable to groom properly then the populations of fur mites can get out of control and breed rapidly. Sometimes an extra large dose of them can be brought in on hay or another farm product which may overwhelm bun's normal coping mechanisms.
It is unlikley you will be able to rid your bun's environment of them completely, and if they exist anyway there's not much point, it's more I think about significantly reducing the load in the environment to give bun a chance to recover and fight them off as they would usually. A course of Ivermectin will rid them from bunny's coat and break the lifecycle over 6 wks which will give bun a good chance to recover from them. I would be suspicious of any new farm hay you are using and possibly chuck it and order again, bagged hay commercially is unlikely to be a problem.
I would also just give the living environment a thorough disinfect (you can't rid them remember - just want to reduce the load).
Any other buns your bun has contact with will also need a course of Ivermectin to help the infestated bun from getting recolonised during the course of treatment.

I would also suggest a thorough check over by the vet for any underlying health issues. It could of course just be the stress of your absence and all the recent changes.

p.s. when we suspected mites after Poppy had a bad impaction and stasis we also removed or cleaned all hutch toys etc and thoroughly hoovered carpets just to help with 'load'.
Turned out she had scald from wet fur from syringe feeding and spitting it out constantly! :roll:
Hope your bun feels better soon. Of course it may not be C.mites - am just guessing!! :?

Thanks - to be honest a couple of days before I went away I was a little worried about Honey (not the one with the suspected mites tho......) as he was sleeping a lot and not coming out of his bed right away when I went to feed them etc, but he perked up okay and Harly seemed fine, perhaps they did have a bug or something tho thats caused it they did seem fine tho

He is still munching away etc - was grabbing grass out of my fingers when I went out this morning! Just want to get him to the vets now so can start getting whatever it is treated

I will disinfect the hutch and the indoor cage they were in whilst I was away - I have Johnsons cage & hutch spray to use

I dont buy hay etc straight from farm buy bags from pet shop
xxx

Has he recently had vaccinations? One of my bunnies had a vaccination reaction years ago which sounded just like that.

Vera

That's a very good point! Vacc site reaction....?

Not since their myxi jags in April/May, and it seems to be spreading rapidly......
xxx

He is not happy with himself now - has been eating grass but not touched pellets from this morning, and is itching a little now, poor lil man, 5.20pm cant come round quick enough
xxx

If you are worried why don't you ring your vets and see if they have any appointment a bit earlier for you?

Hope your buns are ok, let us know how you get on.

Thanks Sarah x

Daisy-may said:

If you are worried why don't you ring your vets and see if they have any appointment a bit earlier for you?

Hope your buns are ok, let us know how you get on.

Thanks Sarah x

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I agree....see if you can go earlier if possible, or just turn up and wait and let them know you're coming. Going off food needs to be dealt with asap.

well buns have been to vets, she took a fine toothed comb like a nit comb and went through harly's fur several times, said she was looking for the cheyiellia (?) mites. Lots of white flakes came off, but none were moving, which she said she would expect to see if were mites. She said though that sometimes they can be hard to spot, so she would just treat for them as seemed the most likely cause. She put 2 tubes of Xeno 450 (invermectin) onto each bun, and told me to keep an eye on it and if it doesnt seem to be clearing up in a couple of weeks to go in and collect some more Xeno and apply at home.

They are eating - he just doesnt seem to want his pellets, but grass etc munching away quite happy. Gonna give him plenty of vegs tonight til he's feeling a bit happier with himself
xxx

lucyj said:

well buns have been to vets, she took a fine toothed comb like a nit comb and went through harly's fur several times, said she was looking for the cheyiellia (?) mites. Lots of white flakes came off, but none were moving, which she said she would expect to see if were mites. She said though that sometimes they can be hard to spot, so she would just treat for them as seemed the most likely cause. She put 2 tubes of Xeno 450 (invermectin) onto each bun, and told me to keep an eye on it and if it doesnt seem to be clearing up in a couple of weeks to go in and collect some more Xeno and apply at home.

They are eating - he just doesnt seem to want his pellets, but grass etc munching away quite happy. Gonna give him plenty of vegs tonight til he's feeling a bit happier with himself
xxx

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She would have needed a microscope to check for them properly - they aren't that visible to the naked eye.
Also, the Xeno 450 spot on needs to be repeated once every 2 weeks for 6 weeks - so 3 applications (2 weeks apart). This is breaks the lifecycle of the Cheyletiella mite - one dose is likely to be ineffective or may mean they come back again. She should have sent you home with two more doses for each rabbit.
Did she check his teeth as he is off his food?

our vet keeps a microscope in the surgery to check for mites:wave:

mm id agree...dental check up!!

some buns get stressed out like my buns bun...and they secretly barber themselves.
i treated mums bun with two courses..each lasting 3 weeks for mites...it wasnt..vet thought it was barbering from stress......no dental issues etc after checking...i think she was right..things settled a bit more for mum and her bunny settled too...now theres family upheavals again..and her bunny has gone balding again under her neck/dewlap area.....stresed out to max!

hmmmm she said that they were quite big so visible, but good at hiding :roll: although she was a diff vet from normal...when I mentioned when the boys had myxi she was shocked and said she'd never seen a bunny who survived myxi before, she wasn't in the habit of treating buns

I will just go back and ask for more xeno and treat again to be on safe side

he munched his pellets this morning, and Ive just given them half a turnip just now and he's munching away so don't think he has a prob with his teeth, he must have just been uncomfy before the treatment so didnt feel like eating

I was thinking, could the change in temperature have caused the increase in mites? As it is getting relativley chilly here now (their winter coats are in) and they had gone from outside hutch to indoor cage in upstairs flat, so deffo a lot more cosy than outside
xxx

Rotten mites...:evil:
Dont think mites would be increased due to temp.
Mites generally attack when bun is low.The Xeno450 should do the trick but treatment should be repeated fortnightly for 6 weeks to really do it.I groomed Beebee too a little......it helped a wee bit.The little blighters get seen under microscope...I took a look..interesting to see.
They dont live on humans but can bite...watch for little red marks.
Hope buns get sorted.....xxxxx:wave:

Mites are just visable to the naked eye but I wouldn't call them big! I wouldn't rule them out without a microscope. They are very good at evading the sticky tape test, btw

she didn't do a sticky tape test - just took a comb like a nit comb for kids but with finer teeth?
xxx