Is Dandruff ever just dandruff?

[Basil]

Hi All, I was wondering if anyone has a bunny that has dandruff but knows it isn't mites? I have taken my bunny to a rabbit savvy vet, she took a good scraping and didn't find any mites. He has had dandruff for a long time never extensive - his skin is never red, but he gets a bit of dandruff on his back and especially on his bum (he has a skin wrinkle.. he's an old man ). What I do once in a while is scrape off some and then look at it closely, an it is never 'walking' just looks like flakes. I'm taking him back to the vet today to get another scraping to make sure.. but.. I was just wondering if anyone saw dandruff on bunnies that was ok and just dry skin?

Thanks so much! I love this site.

 

[Flashy]

Has a fungal infection been checked out?

My Badger had some dry skin on the back of his neck. It coincided with his moult. I used Sudocreme (which is baby nappy rash cream) on it and it cleared up. I also tried to give him sunflower seeds to try and give him better skin condition but he spat those out.

If it's a chronic problem then obviously something is causing it and it is a case of finding out what that is.

Can he groom those places where he has dandruff?

 

[pamnock]

"Dandruff" is a secondary symptom of some type of disorder - most commonly fur mites. Mites will not necessarily be found in skin scrapings. I've picked them up under the microscope clinging to shafts of fur.

Pam

 

[Maureen Las]

You could ask your vet if you could treat him for mites and see if it disappears.
I have a bun who had a dandruffy back but no fur loss and negative skin scrapings.

I treated him once with Revolution and it all cleared up and his coat grew in even nicer

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Can they get fur mites if they're never outdoors? I'm really ignorant about this topic, and was wondering, since both of my buns have had flaky skin in the past. Someone who was more rabbit-savvy than I told me that they can't get them unless they've been outside. Thanks for letting me know... sorry for hijacking!

 

[Basil]

And the verdict is - not walking dandruff (like I anticipated) but leporacarus gibbus. Anyone have experience with these mites? I need to do some research, but its pretty hard to find stuff on it. I wonder if it can be passed to/from cats and why my other bunny isn't showing symptoms of it. Should I have her treated as well?

 

[pamnock]

Most rabbits aquire fur mites as babies, but the immune system keeps the population in check. It's generally not until this balance is disrupted that we see evidence of over population.

More about this condition in humans: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/acne.htm

Pam

 

[tonyshuman]

Frida has had dandruff on her bum that came back (after scraping) as NOT mites, but just dry skin (probably from sitting on dirty litter). Now the bf changes their litter more religiously, we had some moisturizing spray to put on it, and everything is fine now.

I'm glad you've figured out the problem. For mites, it is common to treat all of the animals that have had contact with the infected animal, as well as the environment (rugs, upholstery).

 

[pamnock]

Basil wrote:

And the verdict is - not walking dandruff (like I anticipated) but leporacarus gibbus. Anyone have experience with these mites? I need to do some research, but its pretty hard to find stuff on it. I wonder if it can be passed to/from cats and why my other bunny isn't showing symptoms of it. Should I have her treated as well?

This species of mites is very common. Most rabbits have them, but are asymptomatic. The mite spends most of its time clinging to the hair shaft. (This is why they are commonly not found in skin scrapings.) Its very likely that your other rabbit has them. They may also infest cats/dogs. Treatment is generally not given unless the animal has symptoms.

Ivermectin is commonly used for treatment.

Pam