Baldness

Hello,

My rabbit has been slowly going bald for the last 5 months and I was wondering if anyone has herd or seen anything like it before?

He has lots of outstanding health issues which is why nothings been done about it before. A quick overview is:

He has cancer; diagnosed April 2016. He is on one steroid a night at home and also a chemo tablet every 2 weeks at the vets.
When he initially started to loose fur the vet put it down to over grooming and normal coat change and not mites, but due to the steroids he was on his fur doesn't grow back very quickly (example is his ear is still half bald from where he had his operation and they shaved it April last year) so this meant bald patches.

Over the last 5 months they have got larger they started off small on his side by his back legs, and now they are large patches and his back legs are also bald.

This morning I noticed his brother was a little thin on the belly, I am now worried it could be something else.
His brother could just be a coat change now it's getting colder but I thought I would see if anyone else has seen it.
They both go to the vets in a week when Zapp goes for his normal chemo but thought I would try the bunny hive mind in the mean time.

Picture is of Zapp's back legs etc about 3 months ago, it is a lot balder now.

Second is of Merlin his brother's tummy this morning.





Any comments much appreciated

Hi StickyVee
Im sorry for the troubles you've faced with him. I hope the treatment is helping.
I have a couple questions:
What cancer is he being treated for?
What is the steriod he is on? Unforutunately, glucosteroids can lead to iatrogenic Cushing's in people and animals

Is he having blood tests done during treatment?

jerseygirl said:

Hi StickyVee
Im sorry for the troubles you've faced with him. I hope the treatment is helping.
I have a couple questions:
What cancer is he being treated for?
What is the steriod he is on? Unforutunately, glucosteroids can lead to iatrogenic Cushing's in people and animals

Is he having blood tests done during treatment?

Click to expand...

I too am sorry to hear of your Rabbit's illness. I agree with JG about the possibility of Iatrogenic Cushing's

If the type of cancer your Rabbit has happens to be a Thymoma then there is the possibility of Thymoma associated Sebaceous adenitis or Thymoma-associated exfoliative dermatitis

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cancer/Thym/Thymoma_rab.htm

*Warning- Graphic images on link*

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cancer/Thymoma_exfoliative_dermatitis.pdf

jerseygirl said:

Hi StickyVee
Im sorry for the troubles you've faced with him. I hope the treatment is helping.
I have a couple questions:
What cancer is he being treated for?
What is the steriod he is on? Unforutunately, glucosteroids can lead to iatrogenic Cushing's in people and animals

Is he having blood tests done during treatment?

Click to expand...

Hello,

He is on prednicare (I need to double check when I get home but I am fairly certain that's what he is on).

He is not having blood tests as getting blood from him is a nightmare. We have agreed while his 2 weeks check ups are fine (pink gums, maintained weight, fighting sprit) and his activity at home is as naughty as he normally is we won't. If it seems he is a little down on himself then they would be done.

It is more that it seems to now be transferred to the other rabbit (or so we think from the thinning starting on his tummy) meaning it would not be anything to do with the others current treatment and something else entirely as it is now showing on the bunny who is of full health so it would not be anything like iatrogenic Cushing's. Also after looking at the pictures it doesn't look like those two rabbits there is no flaking, no redness, he doesn't itch it, he still runs around like a loon etc totally himself, which is why I think it is something else that is now possibly effecting his brother also.
It could just be Merlin is loosing his fur in a coat change now it's getting colder but as we have had so many health issues with Zapp and they are the same litter I am just totally period!

Sorry, I completely messed up your screen name before!

I see your concern if you're seeing thinning of fur on your other rabbit also. If it is fur loss from parasite,bacterial or fungal cause, it would make sense for it to be more advanced on the rabbit that is more poorly as his immune system would not be as strong.

You mentioned pictures in your 1st post but Im unable to see any. Is it just me?

Did the vet actually check for mites as you cannot see them with the naked eye and they are usually secondary to another illness. Ie the cancer and chemo would of knocked his immune system so the mites take advantage.

jerseygirl said:

Sorry, I completely messed up your screen name before!

I see your concern if you're seeing thinning of fur on your other rabbit also. If it is fur loss from parasite,bacterial or fungal cause, it would make sense for it to be more advanced on the rabbit that is more poorly as his immune system would not be as strong.

You mentioned pictures in your 1st post but Im unable to see any. Is it just me?

Click to expand...

Haha don't worry about the screen name!

There are pictures, I can see them but maybe they aren't there for you? It's my first time posting in a while and I am also at work so had to email myself the pictures to be able to get them!

They haven't tested for mites but I think going back to the vets next week for his chemo we are going to take both rabbits and ask for them to be tested. It's why I uploaded the pictures to see if anyone had seen anything like it (like mites).
But with mites I know they can get dandruff, redness, itchiness, etc but this is literally just bald. No itching, no redness etc.
I will try and get the pictures to show when I get a chance to fiddle around with them.