quintussmit
New Kit
Hi everyone
I have a huge problem with fur loss on one of our rabbits and now it seems to be starting on the other one.
Link to pictures of problem
I hope someone can help here, I will try and give as much info as I can remember.
Fist, before i give the history, we had the rabbit at the vet and they did a biopsy. It showed no sign of cancer or mites, just massive skin irritation. He is still active and eating and it does not look like it is itchy as he is not scratching any of the affected areas. The rabbit is very old, moving to 13 years now but does not have a history of skin problems at all, in general he has been a very healthy one compared to the others.
So, the background.
They used to be house rabbits but after we moved to a bigger house they had full run of the yard (fenced). They still have access to the house but over time they showed a preference to be outside and it came to a point where I moved all their food etc out since they hardly come in anymore. This one specifically has the whole front yard to himself (he is old and the others fight with him) and he has made a various little hideouts for himself. This was the situation for about 2 years with no problems.
This past December we went on holiday for two weeks and I did not want to put them in small cages again after they were used to running free so I built free standing walk in cages using old pallets (untreated).
At this point I was running out of time and we left before I could treat the wood with any chemicals for waterproofing and mildew.
After we came back I noticed a brownish stain on some parts of his fur, especially around the thick hair of the neck and sides but since it looked like dirt stains I thought he was just digging again somewhere.
A few weeks later I saw it is still there so I wanted to brush him and at this stage I discovered it is some kind of excretion and that his hole body was full of this scab like bits and that the hair on those parts are completely loose.
To explain what it looks like. Halfway up the hair there is a crust that makes everything clump together in small clumps. This is either yellowish or brownish and causes the staining I mention earlier. Imagine when you get a carpet burn and that clearish liquid that comes out scabs over your hair..that is pretty much what it looks like (sorry about the image). On the skin itself it looks like the top layer of skin forms a dry scab and then just comes off, together with the hair. Underneath is healthy pink skin but with no hair. On the scab itself the skin looks flaky like covered in dandruff.
In some cases I could see that infection formed under the scab but it looks like this could have been due to moistness (it was the rainy season). I also have a suspicion this is where the discoloration comes from. That was treated and is cleared up but the scabbing continues.
At this point I assumed it was because he is so old and his immune system is just losing the fight against some allergy but this morning I found a similar small patch on one of the others so I am back to square one. The old one is now covered completely in scabs and tufts of clumpy hair on his body and face, everywhere except the underside (tummy and chest).
Now, in terms of finding the smoking gun, here are the facts.
It seems to have started after I moved them to the new cages. The cages have in the meantime been treated with a creosite based treatment on the outside, I left the inside raw wood.
I found some mildew under their blankets meaning there was some moisture that came in with the rain and the inside has been damp. I did check however and none of it has seeped up to the point where the rabbits would be wet but the wood has been damp for a while. I packed the floor and walls of each enclosure with a few layers of blanket because the winter is approaching here.
No change in food, snacks or environment.
Litter is still the same as always
No sign of rats or mice near their cages or food
Bought some slabs of grass to cover the ground in the cages when I built it.
Occasionally I cover the bottom of the cage with cut grass after mowing the lawn
The rabbits are housed individually, each have their own cage as they are all male and fight when they are caged together.
Each rabbit runs outside the cages for about 12 hours a day, most of the time they are only in there at night
Has anyone else experienced this? I am at wits end now that the other one is showing the same signs
I have a huge problem with fur loss on one of our rabbits and now it seems to be starting on the other one.
Link to pictures of problem
I hope someone can help here, I will try and give as much info as I can remember.
Fist, before i give the history, we had the rabbit at the vet and they did a biopsy. It showed no sign of cancer or mites, just massive skin irritation. He is still active and eating and it does not look like it is itchy as he is not scratching any of the affected areas. The rabbit is very old, moving to 13 years now but does not have a history of skin problems at all, in general he has been a very healthy one compared to the others.
So, the background.
They used to be house rabbits but after we moved to a bigger house they had full run of the yard (fenced). They still have access to the house but over time they showed a preference to be outside and it came to a point where I moved all their food etc out since they hardly come in anymore. This one specifically has the whole front yard to himself (he is old and the others fight with him) and he has made a various little hideouts for himself. This was the situation for about 2 years with no problems.
This past December we went on holiday for two weeks and I did not want to put them in small cages again after they were used to running free so I built free standing walk in cages using old pallets (untreated).
After we came back I noticed a brownish stain on some parts of his fur, especially around the thick hair of the neck and sides but since it looked like dirt stains I thought he was just digging again somewhere.
A few weeks later I saw it is still there so I wanted to brush him and at this stage I discovered it is some kind of excretion and that his hole body was full of this scab like bits and that the hair on those parts are completely loose.
To explain what it looks like. Halfway up the hair there is a crust that makes everything clump together in small clumps. This is either yellowish or brownish and causes the staining I mention earlier. Imagine when you get a carpet burn and that clearish liquid that comes out scabs over your hair..that is pretty much what it looks like (sorry about the image). On the skin itself it looks like the top layer of skin forms a dry scab and then just comes off, together with the hair. Underneath is healthy pink skin but with no hair. On the scab itself the skin looks flaky like covered in dandruff.
In some cases I could see that infection formed under the scab but it looks like this could have been due to moistness (it was the rainy season). I also have a suspicion this is where the discoloration comes from. That was treated and is cleared up but the scabbing continues.
At this point I assumed it was because he is so old and his immune system is just losing the fight against some allergy but this morning I found a similar small patch on one of the others so I am back to square one. The old one is now covered completely in scabs and tufts of clumpy hair on his body and face, everywhere except the underside (tummy and chest).
Now, in terms of finding the smoking gun, here are the facts.
It seems to have started after I moved them to the new cages. The cages have in the meantime been treated with a creosite based treatment on the outside, I left the inside raw wood.
I found some mildew under their blankets meaning there was some moisture that came in with the rain and the inside has been damp. I did check however and none of it has seeped up to the point where the rabbits would be wet but the wood has been damp for a while. I packed the floor and walls of each enclosure with a few layers of blanket because the winter is approaching here.
No change in food, snacks or environment.
Litter is still the same as always
No sign of rats or mice near their cages or food
Bought some slabs of grass to cover the ground in the cages when I built it.
Occasionally I cover the bottom of the cage with cut grass after mowing the lawn
The rabbits are housed individually, each have their own cage as they are all male and fight when they are caged together.
Each rabbit runs outside the cages for about 12 hours a day, most of the time they are only in there at night
Has anyone else experienced this? I am at wits end now that the other one is showing the same signs
