Skin issue on bunnies nose

theredmonkey · Jan 8, 2020

What is this skin issue? How do I treat it? 6 weeks old. It started as a rough patch, then the hair fell out, and now it looks like she's growing an elephant trunk.

kaylen · Jan 8, 2020

It could be many things, if you have not checked in with a vet already I recommend doing so, if it’s to costly then I would look into symptoms. It could be as simple as hormones to a bad rash. I’m thinking it’s juvenile hair loss. Juvenile hairlessness is a condition where a young rabbit starts losing fur. It is a rare condition. The fur either becomes thin, or hair is lost all over the body, except the tail, the extremities of the limbs, the ears, the nasal region. Fur may start to grow back after a few weeks.

Augustus&HazelGrace · Jan 8, 2020

Are there any scabs or hair loss around her genital area? This looks like Rabbit Syphilis. She really needs to go to the vet. Scabbing and hair loss around the nose and or genitals usually points towards Rabbit Syphilis

JBun · Jan 9, 2020

Rabbit syphilis(treponematosis) is a possibility, which is completely curable when the correct treatment is given. Syphilis won't always present on the genitals. Sometimes the only indication will be facial lesions.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syph_gen.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syphilis.htm

However, if there is a hard bony wart type growth occurring, you are likely dealing with the shope papilloma virus, which can be more difficult to deal with. Sometimes the nodules can go away on their own, sometimes surgical removal is necessary as there is the possibility of them becoming malignant.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Viral_diseases/Pap/Papilloma.htm (contains medical related photos)

Best to discuss with a knowledgeable rabbit vet.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

theredmonkey · Jan 9, 2020

Thanks for the answers.
The genitals are clean with no hair loss. The nose seems to be sensitive to her when i touch it, but it feels soft and not like there is anything growing underneath it, and the very tip now has a tiny scab. The hair loss seems to have stopped and doesn't look to be spreading. I hope this isn't anything contagious. I've isolated her from the other rabbits and will give an update if anything changes.

JBun · Jan 9, 2020

If it's syphilis, that is contagious and the mom(as she's the likely one that passed it to the baby) and any other rabbits that have had contact with the baby and the mom(and likely the sire as well) should be treated at some point.

If it's shope papilloma virus, it's not likely to be contagious. It's spread by mosquitoes and just affects the individual rabbit that the mosquito bites.

I would personally put her back with her mom and siblings if they aren't already being weaned. If it's syphilis, they are all already affected. If'it's SPV, it's not likely to be contagious.