Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Dear Doctors,

My husband bought a rabbit 4 weeks ago and not until last Saturday he noticed a nasty lesion on its left foot. We brought the poor bunny to the vet and he administered an Ivomec jab for mange. 3 days has passed but the lesion is still inflamed. We applied the "blue lotion" and hope it will speed up the healing process. We have separated another bunny which be bought 2 weeks after the first. How far must the 2 bunnies be apart to avoid the younger bunny from contracting the problem?

Attached are photos taken today.

Please advice

Thanks in advance.

Best Regards.

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 472

If the blue lotion is for maggot wound, please stop it. Because rabbit do a lot of grooming and very fussy in anything applied onto them. Maggot spray contains insecticide which can harm the rabbit if taken excessively.

One of the digit looks quite badly swollen and and traumatised. Is there any pus?

After injection, the wound normally looked worse because the scabs dropped off and exposing the raw surface. So it looks like very bad and raw. But after a week, it will look very nice, less red, may be a little bit of scale (dandruff-like), and hair will start to grow after 2nd or 3rd injection.

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Varanus,

Thanks a lot. That quite answered my question. I wanted to know the progression after the Ivomec jab and you describe it very well. I believe previously it was swollen with scabs. So it means that the Ivomec is actually taking effect on her. Hope she heals really soon.

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

Ivomec is effective in treating the problem, and the healing process takes time. Usually the vet will schedule a revisit, may two or three times. Do stick with the same vet to save time and cost.

Keeping the younger rabbit away is the right way in preventing the spread as mites (cause mange) are spread by close contact. Cleaning the enclosure can help reduce the contact chance as well. Please ask advise from your vet on what to use to clean the utensils and cage during your next visit.

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Dr. Chong,

Thank you very much for the time responding to my post. Will be visiting the vet again this weekend and this time around will be bringing the younger bunny. The vet adviced to put drips of ivomec on its neck since it is quite a young bunny. Would do the necessary.

We are just worried that the foot will not heal and soon it will affect the way the rabbit moves around.

Thank you very much for your advice again.

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

Welcome. Don't worry too much though, it's okay one la...

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Dr. Chong,

Is the mange problem a recursive one? I read somewhere that mange can be a hereditary problem. Is it true? Meaning to say that the rabbit will have mange all its life and may pass on to their offspring? Will Ivomec be able to eliminate the problem altogether?

We plan to bring the bunnies for Ivomec jabs every 3 months since they are kept outdoors. Is that a good idea?

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

Mange can recur even though after the treatment, it depends how high the chances the rabbit re-contact the mites. That's why I recommend you to do something with the enclosure also as to prevent re-infection. If really at high risk, the other younger rabbit may receive the same treatment/other milder forms as prevention. Both may have to stay in cages that are constantly washed with antiparasitics.

Some mites are able to be passed from mother to the newborns, like during suckling times. Is this what you meant? What I know in dogs, some mites may establish themselves as something normal (normal flora) of the dog body and only cause problem when the dog is stressed or with other opportunities. Those normal flora (since most of the time "normal" to the immune system) will stay for life and there is high chanca for the dams to pass to their youngs. However, I'm not sure that such mites are important in rabbits. If you desperately wanted an answer from me, I may say no.

I usually use IVOMEC when it is necessary for treating clinical conditions. I don't think PREVENTing mange by repeated IVOMEC injections is a good idea. What you do is just giving a chance for those mites to develop a resistency so when next time you try treating mange with IVOMEC, it will be just useless.

Still, follow your vet's schedule for the treatment and after the problem solved maintain a good husbandry hygiene and stay away from other suspicious mangy rabbits.

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Dr. Chong,

Is it advisable for me to deworm my bunnies quarterly since they are living outdoor?

If not with ivermectin, is there any other drugs that is good for deworming bunnies? I would prefer something that can be used orally.

Unix's feet is less inflamed today. But I believe there is a little puss inside one of the toes. But overall it is less swollen and inflamed. The follow up would be this coming Saturday. Hope to get more info from the vet again.

Thanks once again.

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

Fenbendazole is cheap and may be easily available from vets. Piperazine I think is slightly more expensive and most formulations available from pet shops are with this compound. It's not a common advise from local vets, but instead of deworming you may request a periodic faecal test before you decide to deworm or not. The test is quite cheap only, about rm5 - rm10 I think. Yes, IVOMEC can be used to deworm, and it can be given orally.

Pus inside the toe may indicate secondary bacterial infection. Do talk to the vet your concern and take his/her advise on what to do with it. :D

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Dr. Chong,

The swelling has gone down quite dramatically. Will be bringing her for follow-up today.

Really appreciate the info given here. I believe we pet lovers do not get this sort of privilege just a couple of years ago when there is no forum like this. Those days, vets do not disclose many things and leave most pet lovers in the dark about almost anything. It is quite moving to see so much progress in the way we share information.

Thanks once again.

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 472

This is transparency. Nothing to hide.

You have the right to know all the possible methods to treat your pets or the different diseases management available. Pros and cons of each of them and you have the right to choose (to certain extent and base of the availability) the best method for your love one. This is including human medicine.

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Dr. Chong,

I went for the follow-up. The vet also mentioned that he is afraid the posibility of Unix having scabbies. He also asked if I cage her in a cage with wired mesh flooring.

I believe that it is not caused by the flooring as I revisited the petshop I got her from and the other rabbits that used to be in the same display cage as her have skin problem as well. If not mistaken they look like ear canker or something. Unix might have gotten some of these stuff back from there.

But anyhow, he administered the 2nd Ivomec jab and gave her an antibiotic jab as well.

Hope she'll recover soon. But overall, I believe the wound area is not inflamed anymore.

Sc@ryM@ry · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 44 Location: PJ, S'gor

Hi Dr. Chong,

Here's the latest photo of Unix's feet.

I was chatting with another bunny enthusiast from Singapore and she suddenly asked me if I was using dettol to clean the hutch. And the fact is, I do use dettol to clean the hutch. But that was when I noticed Unix have some dandruff at the feet before it got worst.

Do you think it is allergy reaction towards the Dettol as mentioned by this friend of mine?

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

I have no way to find out that whether your rabbit is having an allergic reaction towards the Dettol used or not. And may be I would say most probably not as I have never seen a case even though allergic dermatitis/contact dermatitis may also happen in rabbits. Since your rabbit is already responding well to the treatment, I will think it's most probably a mange case. Whether it's a Psoroptes (ear mites) or Sarcoptes (Scabies), it depends on what kind of mites your vet found under the microscope. Mites though spend their life on the hosts, may still exist in the environment of the animal. Thus, stick to the vet's schedule for the systemic treatment and spend a little effort on disinfecting/cleaning the environment to minimize a recurrence.