Please Note - Medical Advice
Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.
You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.
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Why can you not take the rabbit to the vet?
Just read some of your previous threads. Jacks Jane is very intelligent when it comes to rabbit illnesses. You could put her name in the title. I'm sure she will be happy to try and help
It looks like it might be mange from burrowing mites. I think it is usually treated with ivermectin or selamectin. I don't know if a fungal infection might be a possibility as well.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/Mange/Sarcoptes.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Anti_parasitics/safe_antiparasitic.htm
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Sarcoptic_mange.htm
It looks like a skin parasite eg mange or mites, but it could also be fungal. Usually you'd get a vet to do a skin scrap and look under a microscope and they could see if there was any bugs there and if so which. Do you have any access to a microscope or someone with one?
If not I think the only option is to try treatment and see which works.
Ivermectin or selamectin would definitely be a good place to start. They are used on various animals including cats/dog/live stock so you might be able to get some via somewhere that supplies farms. I think it's sometimes used on people to so it would be worth trying a pharmacy as well.
The doses depend on the concentration of the particular product you get so once you've found a supply we can help you calculate how much to use.
Two options - you can try the skin scrap and look under the microscope but it doesn't always show mites even if they are there or you can just go ahead and try treating with Ivermectin and see if it improves.
If you get hold of the ivermectin and let us know the concentration (it will be on the packet) and your rabbit's weight we can help you calculate the dose. It's usually given as three doses a week apart.
Well done, that's excellent It's usually repeated after 7 days. With 2-3 doses in total.
I know it looks sore but I think if you put cream on it will just encourage him to lick/chew it and that will make it worse. It's probably best to just leave it. You should see it getting better within a week if it is mites that is the problem.
I thought that it should be given every 14 days for 3-4 treatments, because of the life cycle of the mite. Is every 7 days better, and will 3 weeks of treatment be enough to cover enough of the mites life cycle to clear it up without it returning?
Well done, that's excellent It's usually repeated after 7 days. With 2-3 doses in total.
I know it looks sore but I think if you put cream on it will just encourage him to lick/chew it and that will make it worse. It's probably best to just leave it. You should see it getting better within a week if it is mites that is the problem.