• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • 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.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Skin Lesions

N

nannencho

New Kit
Approximately 2 months ago, I noticed my house rabbit had crusty lesions on his ears and nose. I am a veterinary technician and we see rabbits at my hospital, so I brought him to work and had my boss take a look. We did a culture and sensitivity as well as a fungal culture on the lesions. They came back negative for fungus. For bacterial these were the results:

NON-hemolytic Staphylococcus species
Staphylococcus warneri
Staphylococcus auricularis

He was treated with the appropriate antibiotics (according to the culture results) for 21 days. The lesions did not improve. Since then, he has gotten fairly aggressive with me. If I reach into his cage, he lunges at me and squeaks. He tries to bite me and scratch me. He has a HUGE cage with multiple shelves/levels. He has free range hay and grain, gets fresh fruits and veggies daily, litter box changed daily. The rest of his cage is carpet (the same carpet he's always had, vacuumed every 2-3 days). Lots of toys and stimulation. He is allowed to hop around my room when I am home. I have had rabbits my whole life and, as I said, handle them regularly at work so I am not a stranger to rabbit behavior but it is bizarre. My boss says he has never seen anything like it! I adopted him as an adult so I don't know his whole story, but I have had him for a year. When I first adopted him he was aggressive so I neutered him and it really helped. He even became affectionate. The lesions seem to have brought on the aggression.

Side note: I hid the antibiotic in his food so I didn't have to handle him/force antibiotics down his throat. I was worried that would be a set back in him trusting me, so I stuffed it in a strawberry every night.

I am wondering if anyone has heard of skin lesions like this and if this could be linked to his aggression. I know aggression can come on when rabbits don't feel well, but I honestly can't see any other signs of him not feeling well (he eats normal, normal energy level, etc). Physical exam is perfect besides the lesions on his nose and ears.

Any ideas or suggestions? Either behaviorally or medically?

Also, my dog, who often goes nose to nose with my rabbit, developed hair loss around his eyes in the past few weeks. A culture and sensitivity report revealed Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. He is being treated for that. While it is a different Staph species, it seems odd that he would also develop a skin problem after being around my rabbit. Not sure yet if there is a link, but I figured I'd add that as it may pertinent information.

Thanks!
 
nannencho said:
Approximately 2 months ago, I noticed my house rabbit had crusty lesions on his ears and nose. I am a veterinary technician and we see rabbits at my hospital, so I brought him to work and had my boss take a look. We did a culture and sensitivity as well as a fungal culture on the lesions. They came back negative for fungus. For bacterial these were the results:

NON-hemolytic Staphylococcus species
Staphylococcus warneri
Staphylococcus auricularis

He was treated with the appropriate antibiotics (according to the culture results) for 21 days. The lesions did not improve. Since then, he has gotten fairly aggressive with me. If I reach into his cage, he lunges at me and squeaks. He tries to bite me and scratch me. He has a HUGE cage with multiple shelves/levels. He has free range hay and grain, gets fresh fruits and veggies daily, litter box changed daily. The rest of his cage is carpet (the same carpet he's always had, vacuumed every 2-3 days). Lots of toys and stimulation. He is allowed to hop around my room when I am home. I have had rabbits my whole life and, as I said, handle them regularly at work so I am not a stranger to rabbit behavior but it is bizarre. My boss says he has never seen anything like it! I adopted him as an adult so I don't know his whole story, but I have had him for a year. When I first adopted him he was aggressive so I neutered him and it really helped. He even became affectionate. The lesions seem to have brought on the aggression.

Side note: I hid the antibiotic in his food so I didn't have to handle him/force antibiotics down his throat. I was worried that would be a set back in him trusting me, so I stuffed it in a strawberry every night.

I am wondering if anyone has heard of skin lesions like this and if this could be linked to his aggression. I know aggression can come on when rabbits don't feel well, but I honestly can't see any other signs of him not feeling well (he eats normal, normal energy level, etc). Physical exam is perfect besides the lesions on his nose and ears.

Any ideas or suggestions? Either behaviorally or medically?

Also, my dog, who often goes nose to nose with my rabbit, developed hair loss around his eyes in the past few weeks. A culture and sensitivity report revealed Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. He is being treated for that. While it is a different Staph species, it seems odd that he would also develop a skin problem after being around my rabbit. Not sure yet if there is a link, but I figured I'd add that as it may pertinent information.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hello

It sounds as though there is a lot going on for your Rabbit, all of which may be contributing to his aggressive behaviour. First of all you do not mention if he has received pain relief aswell as antibiotics. The skin lesions may well be painful. Aggression can be a symptom of chronic pain, even in the absence of any other symptom. Especially aggression shown at any sign of being touched/handled.

Is he neutered ?

As you no doubt realise, Rabbits are a prey species. Going 'nose-to-nose' with, what to a Rabbit could be seen as a predator-ie your Dog' could make fear/defence aggression a lot worse.

Rabbits are social animals and they do need a companion of their own kind. Being a lone Rabbit kept in a cage, even a 'good' cage, with a Dog poking his nose in from time to time could cause stress and aggression. The Rabbit may be lonely for a Rabbit companion and also defensive/fearful that the dog might move in !!

With regards to the lesions, did the microscopy testing include looking for Treponematosis ? Full details of the condition including symptoms, diagnostics and treatment here :

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Treponema_Inf_Rabbits.htm

So to conclude I suspect that your Rabbit's aggression has both a physical and a psychological cause. I would look at addressing any possible pain related problems ASAP and I'd also try to make changes to your Rabbit's environment, especially with regards to visits from the dog. At least until a cause for your Rabbit's aggression has been identified. It may not be the dog, but as I mentioned, being a prey species it is understandable that a Rabbit may not see a 'friendly pet dog' in the same way we do.

Good luck, I hope you manage to resolve things for your Rabbit xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Hello

It sounds as though there is a lot going on for your Rabbit, all of which may be contributing to his aggressive behaviour. First of all you do not mention if he has received pain relief aswell as antibiotics. The skin lesions may well be painful. Aggression can be a symptom of chronic pain, even in the absence of any other symptom. Especially aggression shown at any sign of being touched/handled.

Is he neutered ?

As you no doubt realise, Rabbits are a prey species. Going 'nose-to-nose' with, what to a Rabbit could be seen as a predator-ie your Dog' could make fear/defence aggression a lot worse.

Rabbits are social animals and they do need a companion of their own kind. Being a lone Rabbit kept in a cage, even a 'good' cage, with a Dog poking his nose in from time to time could cause stress and aggression. The Rabbit may be lonely for a Rabbit companion and also defensive/fearful that the dog might move in !!

With regards to the lesions, did the microscopy testing include looking for Treponematosis ? Full details of the condition including symptoms, diagnostics and treatment here :

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Treponema_Inf_Rabbits.htm

So to conclude I suspect that your Rabbit's aggression has both a physical and a psychological cause. I would look at addressing any possible pain related problems ASAP and I'd also try to make changes to your Rabbit's environment, especially with regards to visits from the dog. At least until a cause for your Rabbit's aggression has been identified. It may not be the dog, but as I mentioned, being a prey species it is understandable that a Rabbit may not see a 'friendly pet dog' in the same way we do.

Good luck, I hope you manage to resolve things for your Rabbit xx
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input! Yes he is neutered. We did discuss Treponematosis however symptoms don't exactly line up. He has no lesions around the genitals and also hasn't been outside or around other bunnies for over a year. I believe the lab tests we ran would double check for that, but I will make sure.

As far as my dog, I would say my rabbit actually prefers him to me. When he is out, he often seeks out my dog and will lie with him. Interaction is often initiated by my bun, not the other way around. He also does not ever act aggressive towards my pup--only me. But a good point and something to consider/monitor.

I will look into all of the things you mentioned further. Very helpful, thank you
 
nannencho said:
Thanks for your input! Yes he is neutered. We did discuss Treponematosis however symptoms don't exactly line up. He has no lesions around the genitals and also hasn't been outside or around other bunnies for over a year. I believe the lab tests we ran would double check for that, but I will make sure.

As far as my dog, I would say my rabbit actually prefers him to me. When he is out, he often seeks out my dog and will lie with him. Interaction is often initiated by my bun, not the other way around. He also does not ever act aggressive towards my pup--only me. But a good point and something to consider/monitor.

I will look into all of the things you mentioned further. Very helpful, thank you
Click to expand...

You are welcome

Sometimes Treponematosis only presents as lesions on the nose/mouth and none on the genitals

Treponematosis can be contracted at birth from Doe to Kit. It can then remain dormant for years only to flare up at a later date. So the fact that your Rabbit has not had contact with other Rabbits for over a year is not really relevent.
Hope your Vet can find out what is going on xx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Leesa
Snuffles Protocol
Replies
1
Views
295
bunny momma
bunny momma
T
Please help. Poor rabbit is desperately ill
Replies
9
Views
570
dex179
dex179
H
Rabbit with erratic heart rate
Replies
3
Views
228
MimzMum
MimzMum
Back
Top