Hair missing on nose (pics). Do I need a vet?

rmv1983 · Apr 21, 2009

My rabbit, Snowball, seems to be missing some hair on her nose. It has gotten a bit larger in the past couple of days, I think because her cage mate, Frosty, has been pulling hair out. I don't know if this is from a spat between the two, or it could be something more.

I'm sorry my pictures arn't the best, but Snowball would not hold still. The area seems a bit pink and tender, but my boy has been pulling the hair out. I see small scabs where the hair has been removed, and the skin irritated. Anyone have any ideas what this could be? Or should I play it safe and call the vet?

tonyshuman · Apr 21, 2009

It looks like something more than just hair being pulled out, like a mite infestation, skin infection, or other disease. Best to go to the vet, as they can determine exactly what is causing it (mites, fungus, bacteria, etc) and the best way to treat it.

Maureen Las · Apr 21, 2009

tonyshuman wrote:

It looks like something more than just hair being pulled out, like a mite infestation, skin infection, or other disease. Best to go to the vet, as they can determine exactly what is causing it (mites, fungus, bacteria, etc) and the best way to treat it.

I agree with Claire ........

AngelnSnuffy · Apr 24, 2009

I'd say get to the vet too. Could be a variety of things.

Could be syphillis, couldn't it?

Here's a thread (just in case this comes in handy someday) I found on a fellow member of ours who had a bun who lost fur on the nose. It was from over grooming, it turned out, but also, there were no blood areas either. Here are pics of that for you to compare to.

Keep us posted!

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=34153&forum_id=16

rmv1983 · Apr 24, 2009

We went to the vet yesterday and she suggested Miconazole for an anti-fungal (or ah..something to treat yeast infections). She wanted to do a skin scraping and send out something to see if it was a fungal, but I couldn't afford the $100 for both test right now =/.

Flashy · Apr 24, 2009

I hope the Miconazole helps

Keep us updated

tonyshuman · Apr 24, 2009

Did the vet look at it under UV light? Fungal infections behave differently under UV, and this doesn't require a skin scraping to be sent out for testing. I hope the treatment you have works, since if it doesn't you may have to shell out the $100 to get a diagnosis in the end. Good luck