Check Your Rabbit for Rabbit Skin Diseases
Cute and cuddly rabbits look like they might make neat pets and would be easy to take care of. Which in many cases may be true. However, rabbits are susceptible to a great many rabbit skin diseases. Learning to recognize the many symptoms of rabbit skin diseases can help to speed up recovery and get your rabbit back to good health. Take a look at some of the common or most notable types of rabbit skin diseases, so you will know what you might be dealing with.
Fur Loss/ Mites/ Fleas
Fur Loss: Frequently rabbit owners will see the symptoms of fur loss in their rabbit and coincidentally there are no lesions in the area of the fur loss. Pregnant females typically pluck the hair away from areas around the leg, belly, dewlap and neck. Pregnant females prepare their nests with their own soft fur for new babies. Rabbits, with diets lacking in fiber or that have a nutritional deficiency may also pluck out their fur. Over crowding rabbits in a small area may cause stress and lead to chewing on their hair.
Mites: Shedding in rabbits is normal with large amounts of the undercoat coming out in big clumps, but this is not considered to be any type of rabbit skin diseases. If you check the skin when you see large amounts of fur clumps falling out, you should not notice any flaking on the skin. Now, if you see large amounts of hair clumps with flakes of skin still attached, this could be an indication of fur mites. Your veterinarian can provide medication for mite treatment. After starting your rabbit on treatments, it is very important to clean exercise areas and cages to prevent reinfestation.
Fleas: Rabbit skin diseases also include fleas. Symptoms of fleas on rabbits are most noticeable by rabbits itching, and you may find small crusts and redness on the skin in addition to hair loss.
Ringworm: Although, this type of rabbit skin diseases is called ringworm because it appears as a circular lesion like a red welt with a center, in most cases ringworm has a different appearance. More common symptoms that most people will notice are bald spots, scaling and crusting. Check your rabbit's head, face and ears to look for symptoms of ringworm, which can easily be treated by a veterinarian.
Syphilis: Believe it or not, rabbit skin diseases also include syphilis. Rabbit syphilis is a bacteria and is very similar to the same syphilis found in humans. Symptoms of rabbit syphilis may include crusty dermatitis found around the rabbit's nose or genitals. More pronounced or severe cases can be seen with crusty dermatitis covering areas around the eyes and up toward the face.
Lumps: Rabbit owners my notice cancer, bumps or lumps, which can be a little more serious types of rabbit skin diseases. Symptoms usually appear as an abscess forming a bump or lump. Tests should be performed by a vet to determine the best type of treatment. Some lumps or warts are treated with antibiotics and others may need to be removed by a vet.
Tips and comments
Watch for unusual changes in color, shapes and sizes of bumps in rabbits when looking for rabbit skin diseases, which may be an indication of non-malignant skin cancer. Malignant skin cancer is not very common in rabbits, but again, you should take your rabbit to a vet if you notice these types of changes.