Chicken bald back

[new_minilops]

My little Mini-Lop Betsy has got dry scabby bits on the outside of her ear, she scratches it but nothing too unusual really. I noticed it gradually got worse and it had scabbed over (like it had bled slightly) so i took her to the vet and got given some very expensive gel to treat dry irritated skin. She had her ears checked for mites and there are none.

 

I have been putting this cream on like it says (with gloves) for a week now and it doesn't seem to be doing all that much, and as soon as i put it on, my other rabbit Mabel just instantly starts licking it...!!?? She doesn't seem to be in any pain or any different than usual.

 

Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice? Could it be an allergy to sawdust/dust or anything? They live indoors and have a huge cage with sawdust in and then run around, there favourite spot being under the bed where i'm sure there is a fair amount of dust...! The only other opinion i have had is that it may be stress related, but they really are under no stress, she is always wanting attention and cuddles... We have no kids and it is quite a peaceful house!

 

Any advice would be great!

[The Dogmother]

One of my girls gets this every summer, but not in the winter. The vet tried Dermisol and then a betnovate cream, but none of them really worked. I just massaged hemp oil into them a couple of times a day and that seemed to help.

 

None of us are any the wiser as to what causes it, or what to do to get rid of it.

[new_minilops]

Thanks! I'll try the hemp oil!

[The Dogmother]

My bun seems to get it worse each year.. starts in the spring, and it used to be just on her ears, but it now joins up over the top of her head and her eyes get scaley too It doesn't help that her sister tries to lick it, although we've ruled that out as the cause.

[Alfred]

did the vet do a skin s"Ooops, word censored!"e for mites? or a ringworm test? If it gets worse take your bunny back for further investigation. Ringworm especially will get worse with creams containing steroid.

[The Dogmother]

They did all of those and we tried anti-mite drops too.

[new_minilops]

They had their ears checked for mites. It seems to clear up then get worse again. I stopped using the cream 2 days ago because they were just licking it off and seeing as i had to wear gloves to put it on i wasn't sure if licking it was such a great idea!! Since i've stopped it seems to have got a bit better! If it gets worse again i'll suggest the ring worm idea, is there any other symptoms for that?

[Alfred]

the skin just looks a bit greyish and flaky. but if it gets infected it could be red or moist or oozy or lumpy... it does eventually get better on its own after a few months...

mites are more common though.

what is this cream you are using?

did they actually s"Ooops, word censored!"e the skin till it bled, or just look in the ears? different types of mites...

 

claret's bunny sounds allergic if getting it every year in spring..

[The Dogmother]

claret's bunny sounds allergic if getting it every year in spring..

 

We tried anti-histamines too, but that didn't work either

[Alfred]

hmm..strange bunny!