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Rabbit ringworm and can it spread to people?

DemiS

DemiS

Warren Veteran
So I've had these patches on my legs that I thought were just new areas of psoriasis, except the strongest psoriasis cream wasn't really touching it. The doctor thinks it looks more like ringworm than psoriasis

Looked online at how people get it...
human-to-human contact (my legs have not been out in months)
human-to-animal contact (the rabbits have been in contact with my legs)
human-to-object contact – both animals and humans can leave traces of fungi spores on objects and surfaces, such as towels, clothing, bed linen, combs or brushes (I don't share any of these things with other people)
human-to-soil contact – less commonly, it can develop after lengthy exposure to infected soil (not been near soil)

Do rabbits even get ringworm? What does it look like? Elmo has dry flaky skin near his neck that the vet said wasn't mites, although I couldn't see any redness or a ring formation. And could it spread to me?
 
DemiS said:
So I've had these patches on my legs that I thought were just new areas of psoriasis, except the strongest psoriasis cream wasn't really touching it. The doctor thinks it looks more like ringworm than psoriasis

Looked online at how people get it...
human-to-human contact (my legs have not been out in months)
human-to-animal contact (the rabbits have been in contact with my legs)
human-to-object contact – both animals and humans can leave traces of fungi spores on objects and surfaces, such as towels, clothing, bed linen, combs or brushes (I don't share any of these things with other people)
human-to-soil contact – less commonly, it can develop after lengthy exposure to infected soil (not been near soil)

Do rabbits even get ringworm? What does it look like? Elmo has dry flaky skin near his neck that the vet said wasn't mites, although I couldn't see any redness or a ring formation. And could it spread to me?
Click to expand...

Yes, rabbits can get ringworm (and guinea pigs)

It's called Trichophyton mentagrophytes and there's some info here:

***warning some graphic photos***

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Fungal/Fungal_en.htm

I have never seen it look anything like as bad was those photos when they have come into rescue with it!

Yes, it can very easily spread to you. It should be visible under fluorescence but isn't always - your vet will know his preferred way of diagnosing.

Good luck xx
 
MightyMax said:
Yes, rabbits can get ringworm (and guinea pigs)

It's called Trichophyton mentagrophytes and there's some info here:

***warning some graphic photos***

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Fungal/Fungal_en.htm

I have never seen it look anything like as bad was those photos when they have come into rescue with it!

Yes, it can very easily spread to you. It should be visible under fluorescence but isn't always - your vet will know his preferred way of diagnosing.

Good luck xx
Click to expand...

Ouch my bunnies are no where near that stage luckily, just a bit of dryness. Once they're back from their bonding holiday I'll have a look under a UV light and see if anything shows. If this cream works then it must be fungal so I'll take them to the vets, although it sounds like it's quite hard to diagnose in early stages
 
Ringworm doesn't always look like a ring. In the early stages, it can just be a redder, dry patch of skin. The fungus causes the hair to break up so the patches would normally be hairless or appear to have much shorter hair than surrounding areas. I remember it being itchy as well.

Anti-fungal cream is easy to use on small areas. It needs to be used consistently, and for some time after the patch appears to have healed up as the fungus actually lives in the skin and hair, so new growth needs to be completely ringworm-free. It is relatively easy to pass between species and other people and is quite slow growing. New patches may take a couple of weeks to appear from the time of infection, so care needs to be taken with anything in contact with infected patches (towels, clothes, furniture, etc).

Systemic treatment is available if the infection is more widespread. It's expensive and not always suitable for specific animals - so catch it early if you can.
 
DemiS said:
Ouch my bunnies are no where near that stage luckily, just a bit of dryness. Once they're back from their bonding holiday I'll have a look under a UV light and see if anything shows. If this cream works then it must be fungal so I'll take them to the vets, although it sounds like it's quite hard to diagnose in early stages
Click to expand...

No I know they're not! I didn't want to scare everyone :)

If you use an anti fungal cream then keep using it for roughly two weeks after all the symptoms have gone, as otherwise it may recur :)

When are they going on their bonding holiday? Sounds lovely :love:
 
Shimmer said:
Ringworm doesn't always look like a ring. In the early stages, it can just be a redder, dry patch of skin. The fungus causes the hair to break up so the patches would normally be hairless or appear to have much shorter hair than surrounding areas. I remember it being itchy as well.

Anti-fungal cream is easy to use on small areas. It needs to be used consistently, and for some time after the patch appears to have healed up as the fungus actually lives in the skin and hair, so new growth needs to be completely ringworm-free. It is relatively easy to pass between species and other people and is quite slow growing. New patches may take a couple of weeks to appear from the time of infection, so care needs to be taken with anything in contact with infected patches (towels, clothes, furniture, etc).

Systemic treatment is available if the infection is more widespread. It's expensive and not always suitable for specific animals - so catch it early if you can.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I've not seen him in two weeks (because of the bonding holiday) but it wasn't red last I saw, just flaky and it got worse after their vaccinations. The rabbits have touched everything in the living room so I really hope it's not spread :shock:

MightyMax said:
No I know they're not! I didn't want to scare everyone :)

If you use an anti fungal cream then keep using it for roughly two weeks after all the symptoms have gone, as otherwise it may recur :)

When are they going on their bonding holiday? Sounds lovely :love:
Click to expand...

Thanks :) And they've been away for 2 weeks, there's a lady that runs boarding and a small rescue and she offers a bonding service. Hopefully it'll be done soon because I miss them so much, it sounds really sad but I can't stop thinking about them :oops: I should be revising but I've just been looking on online pet shops and buying them loads of new toys :lol:
 
DemiS said:
Thanks. I've not seen him in two weeks (because of the bonding holiday) but it wasn't red last I saw, just flaky and it got worse after their vaccinations. The rabbits have touched everything in the living room so I really hope it's not spread :shock:



Thanks :) And they've been away for 2 weeks, there's a lady that runs boarding and a small rescue and she offers a bonding service. Hopefully it'll be done soon because I miss them so much, it sounds really sad but I can't stop thinking about them :oops: I should be revising but I've just been looking on online pet shops and buying them loads of new toys :lol:
Click to expand...


It doesn't sound sad to me, it sounds just right :D

I hope they come home soon and impress you with their amorous antics :lol:

What are you revising for?
 
If you think your rabbits have ringworm, you really should get in contact with both establishments (the bonders and the xmas one) to discuss it with them as a contamination risk. Could you have picked it up at another boarder's while you were looking round? It really isn't something that you want to spread around.
 
MightyMax said:
It doesn't sound sad to me, it sounds just right :D

I hope they come home soon and impress you with their amorous antics :lol:

What are you revising for?
Click to expand...

Haha yes to people on this forum I suppose it's normal but to everyone else they think I'm mad, I feel almost homesick, but I never felt that way when I've been away from my partner/family before :oops: :lol: I'm a Pharmacy student so I have a lot of exams :(
 
DemiS said:
Haha yes to people on this forum I suppose it's normal but to everyone else they think I'm mad, I feel almost homesick, but I never felt that way when I've been away from my partner/family before :oops: :lol: I'm a Pharmacy student so I have a lot of exams :(
Click to expand...

Our animals (and rabbits in particular) do this to us. I think it's the unconditional love they give us :love:

I can see you have an awful lot of work studying to be a Pharmacist. So much to learn! But fascinating, i would think :D
 
If I'm correct... you can use clotrimazole to treat ringworm in humans. I've also used it on G.pigs in the past when they've got ringworm (under vet direction). Generally cleared up in around 3 - 4 weeks. (I used Canasten as it has clotrimazole as its active ingredient)

As far as I'm aware its generally harmless unless it goes untreated for a long period of time (e.g. a year or more). I've had it on my thigh before (no idea how!) and it took around 3 months to get rid of.
 
rabbits don't often get ringworm, unlike guinea pigs. we have a real problem with it in our barn, it keeps flaring up in the piggies, so much so that we are not taking any more in until we know we are clear. but I have only once had a rabbit with it and he had another skin condition initially and then caught the ringworm as his open skin was extra vulnerable. his partner never caught it from him as her skin was fine. it has to get in through a break.

it is more likely you caught it from a person. there are huge numbers of children passing it around in schools.
 
doorkeeper said:
rabbits don't often get ringworm, unlike guinea pigs. we have a real problem with it in our barn, it keeps flaring up in the piggies, so much so that we are not taking any more in until we know we are clear. but I have only once had a rabbit with it and he had another skin condition initially and then caught the ringworm as his open skin was extra vulnerable. his partner never caught it from him as her skin was fine. it has to get in through a break.

it is more likely you caught it from a person. there are huge numbers of children passing it around in schools.
Click to expand...

I'm very self conscious about my legs so they've not been exposed to anyone or any surface outside of my house, not been around any kids either. I guess it is possible I could of gotten elsewhere, I just thought it was a bit strange seeing as how Elmo has dry skin and I only noticed the ringworm shortly after getting the rabbits. I suppose if Elmo's skin is still flaky when he comes back from the boarders it's worth taking him to the vet anyway
 
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