Pulling/chewing fur out of chest and "fuzzy butt"

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, licking is better than chewing, but it may be from the cortizone wearing off. I don't know exactly how long those shots are supposed to last. If they do a biopsy, an e-collar may not be required. The main reason we don't put the cone e-collars on bunnies very often is because they make the bunnies so sad to wear them. I can see how he would be upset about a soft e-collar--I put Tony's walking harness on Friday to help him get used to it, and he was a sassy, unhappy boy. I hope it continues to improve. The fact that it is clearing up some from antibiotics is good, but it may mean there is a secondary bacterial infection to a primary problem like a fungal infection. So, if the bacterial infection goes away but the skin doesn't totally heal from the rash, it will probably return like before. I hope it's just a stubborn bacterial infection that is being taken care of by the current treatment though. Good job with those meds!

 

[mimodok]

Well yesterday he was chewing it again. Now there's this long, red, sore/gash-looking thing again. The hair is growing back in the center and he keeps chewing on the edges. It's like it heals and returns in ripples. I called the vet today but he didn't get a chance to return my call so hopefully I'll be able to talk to him tomorrow. I've still got antibiotics left that I can give him. If the vet doesn't return my call tomorrow I'll go ahead and start another round of antibiotics until I can get up with him.

We've got a cat witha skin problem she was born with (whichlooks similar to what Peter has actually...hmmm) and we often have to give her cortizone shots. The vet was able to diagnose her skin problem with a biopsy. If it turns out thatPeter has the same thing or something similar, regularly giving him cortizone shots isn't a problem. I know that cortizone isn't good for the heart and stuff though.

This is so puzzling. It'd be nice to have a real diagnosis.

 

[SweetSassy]

Hopefully the vet will do a biopsy so you can figure it out. Poor bunny. Your being a great mommy to him

 

[tonyshuman]

That is puzzling. A biopsy should get you a good answer. To me, the most likely answer is a fungal infection with secondary bacterial infection. I worry though that there's something going on in the environment if both the cat and rabbit have a skin reaction in common. Is it an allergic reaction in the cat? Do they play in similar areas of the house?

 

[mimodok]

We've had the cat much longer than Peter. The cat has had her skin problem all of her life. They're never around each other.

Right now Peter has a lot of hair growth so it looks almost normal. There's just one red spot but it's getting better. I don't catch him chewing it very often.

The vet finally called me back yesterday. He was out of town so he didn't get the message that I'd called until yesterday. We talked about Peter's current condition and he prescribed Benadryl twice a day for 2 weeks. At least it's banana flavored, so maybe Peter will be better about taking it. I also started another round of antibiotics. I told the vet and he said to keep that up as long as it looks like it needs it.

The vet said that the cortizone shot should last for several weeks. He suspects that Peter is allergic to something, like his food. I mentioned before that in the past I would change his food brands. That would explain why his chest has gotten better and worse. I bet he's been having an allergic reaction every time I used the Ecotrition.

Right now I'm concerned about his diet. He eats plenty of hay but I'm having trouble getting him to eat his pellets. He doesn't like the new food I bought. It's not yummy without that high fat. I've been mixing it with his old food for the past couple of weeks. He'll immediately eat all of the old food from his bowl. While I'm preparing it he stands up and pushes my hand around trying to get to the bowl. He acts like he's starving when I feed him. He barely touches the new pellets.

Since the vet said he's probably allergic to his food, I didn't give him any of his old food today. He has plenty of the new stuff though (and hay). Now Peter is grouchy. He doesn't want to leave his box and he grunts at me if I try and pick him up. He's not interested in being handled at all. Normally he begs to be petted. I think he's hungry. He's acted like this before when I tried to take him off of his old food and he perked up when I gave it to him again.

I gave him Timothy Complete once and I think I remember him eating it. I guess I could try getting a bag of that. But what do I do with the 15lbs. of this other stuff? Is there any way I can get him to eat it? The other rabbit doesn't like it either.

 

[mimodok]

I haven't given him any medicine today because I know antibiotics can cause nausea on an empty stomach, and since he doesn't seem to be eating very much...

He's lost about 2 lbs. in two weeks by the way. Now he's about 4.5 lbs. and looks healthy.

I ran into a couple of interesting articles. I'm beginning to wonder if Peter might have molar spurs.

Article about a rabbit refusing pellets.

Article about molar spurs.

I also read about something called Saliva burn:

"Fur Loss Around the Mouth and Under the Chin: Dental Problems!
In some rabbits, fur loss is restricted to the area just under the chin, in the folds of the dewlap (the fleshy flap of skin and tissue under the skin), or down the chest. Often, but not always, the fur and/or skin there will be wet. In many, but not all cases, the rabbit will also develop suddenly picky eating habits. These can vary greatly among individuals, with some rabbits being willing to eat pellets, but not hay, others eating hay but not pellets, some refusing to drink, and still others refusing everything but the most favorite treats. In short, any change in eating preferences is usually a good enough reason for a dental exam by an experienced rabbit vet.

Signs like this are almost surely due to molar spurs or other dental problems such as a molar abscess. These will make the bunny drool. Since saliva is caustic, it burns the skin, making the wet area itchy and sore, and causing the fur to fall out. Some rabbits will actually chew at the irritated area so much that they develop open sores.

Although just about any rabbit can get molar spurs and other dental problems, they are more prevalent in short-faced breeds such as lops and dwarf rabbits, as well as in rabbits five years or older.

The solution to this problem is to find a very experienced rabbit vet who can do a deep oral exam to detect any molar spurs (some sensitive rabbits will show these signs even from very small spurs), and file them smooth, as necessary. If no spurs are visible, then head radiographs may be necessary to see if there are any signs of tooth rooth infection or other mouth problem that's causing the bunny to drool."


I'm thinking about calling the vet back and seeing about getting Peter's teeth examined.

 

[aurora369]

For the food issue, I would just stick it out and be more stubborn than him. As long as he's eating lots of hay, he won't starve. He's like a toddler addicted to sugary treats instead of eating vegetables. Once he realizes that the old food is not coming back, he should start eating the good pellets.

If needed, you can try syringing a bit of mashed up pellets to him so he has something in his stomach before medicine. However, it he's eating hay, then he'll have that in his stomach. I would only be worried if he's not eating anything.

I have one bunny that will snub pellets for hay. He'll eat a couple mouthfuls of pellets until bring a nice fresh handful of hay, and then he abandons the pellet bows and goes nuts on the hay. He is a great weight, and I'm not concerned. He will go back later in the day and eat a bit more pellets. Pellets can be seen akin to a vitamin supplement, important, but not the main portion of the diet. Hay should make up most of a rabbits diet.

--Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

Have you noticed drool? The drool when there are mouth issues is usually at the corners of the mouth or right under the chin, and that's where the fur loss would be too. A vet can look in his mouth with a dental tool to check out the molars, but the hair loss isn't where I would expect it to be for a tooth issue. Can you check his front teeth yourself? They should line up with the top teeth slightly in front of the bottoms.

I think Dawn is right about sticking it out with the new food. However, he's lost quite a bit of weight quickly, hasn't he? 2lb in 2 weeks sounds like a lot--I thought the best was to do no more than 10% a week. It's true that you're going to a healthier diet, but doing it too quickly can be harmful. Rabbits should act like they're starving when they get their pellets (cuz they're stinkers). I don't know, perhaps it's a question for a nutrition person.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Sorry to interject, but it was my understanding that a course of antibiotics needs to be followed rigorously and to the end of their course...

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh, I didn't read that part of the post. Autumn is right--you need to give the full course of antibiotics. If his stomach is truly empty and that worries you, give him some pellet slurry. I wouldn't worry about giving antibiotics on an empty stomach. Some rabbits feel bad while on antibiotics, so they won't eat as much, but they will still continue to eat. I also haven't heard not to give antibiotics on an empty stomach for rabbits. Are you supplementing the antibiotic with a probiotic for his gut?

 

[mimodok]

I talked to the vet yesterday and he was concerned about Peter's rapid weight loss. He also thought that molar spurs were a definite possibility. He hadn't really considered it because he didn't see any drooling and he didn't know the extent of Peter's new eating habits (at the time I didn't either). He's going to be out of town for the next week but I made an appointment on the 18th. The vet is going to anesthitize him, check his teeth and file them down if necessary, and do a scraping and/or biopsy at the same time. Hopefully after this appointment Peter will be better or we'll atleast find out what's going on.

Nothing bad will happen if you stop antibiotics. You are supposed to rigorously give the whole treatment - if you want the antibiotics to work properly. Anyway, Peter is currently getting antibiotics and benadryl twice a day. I'm not sure how much antibiotics I have left but there's two weeks worth of the benadryl. If I run out of antibiotics before I see the vet I could always ask him to call in some more in the meantime. The benadryl doesn't seem to make him sleepy at all. With the medicine and his old food he's really perked up. He kicks his feet and runs around his cage playing all the time.

Giving him his old food is just temporary. If it turns out he has molar spurs, I'm hoping that he'll eat the new food once he's better. If not, I'll try giving him Kaytee Timothy Complete. I'll let you know how the appointment goes.

 

[tonyshuman]

Ok, that sounds good. I'm not sure if it's molar spurs or the different food that's causing him to not eat as much. At the very least, you'll be able to do a skin biopsy while he's under anesthesia. It's good that he isn't reacting poorly to the benadryl.

 

[Flashy]

I have several bunnies that have dental problems and I haven't ever seen drooling or dribble in any of them, often lack of interest in food can be the first sign that they are uncomfortable, so it is a definite possibility.

At that point with mine I give them a pain killer which normally helps them eat more. It might be worth getting him some pain killer from the vets. If you give him some and he starts to eat that is probably more indicative of molar spurs than the new food.