Flaky, dry skin

[Michaela]

Hi everyone! (+ everybun!)

My mini lop, Marla, has been moulting recently and today while giving her a cuddle I noticed she has a bit of flaky skin on her back.
I have never noticed this before while she has been moulting, which is why I’m a bit worried. I have seen people say their buns get dry skin when their moult as a regular thing!

It’s white and it looks just like when humans get flaky skin, like a thin, dry (sort of hard I suppose) piece of skin that has come away and has slid through her fur, but not completely come off yet. I didn’t want to pull at it incase it hurt her!

She hasn’t been acting differently, she hasn’t tried to get to it since we’ve noticed and she doesn’t seem distressed at all.

I have checked her ears and they’re fine, and I have used my hands to part her fur so I can see her skin better. We used a torch to shine on her skin to see if we noticed it ‘moving’, as this seems to be the common symptom of Cheyletiella parasitovorax! We couldn’t notice any moving and I’m not sure if that’s because it’s not Cheyletiella parasitovorax or because it’s too early, as I only noticed it today!

Nothing has changed in terms of diet or hay or litter for her. We have recently moved into a place with a garden and she’s been playing in the grass – can they catch mites from playing in grass?

If anyone has had a similar experience please let me know

(I’m fully aware that no one except a Vet can diagnose her, and that’s fine, I will call to see if I can schedule an appointment tomorrow!)

Thanks!

Michaela + Marla

[LBJ10]

Bunnies can get a little flaky sometimes. It isn’t unheard of. But if this is new and she has been outside, then I would go ahead and treat her anyway. Revolution is your best bet, but original Advantage is okay too. You probably already know this, but do not use Frontline. It’s toxic to rabbits.

[Michaela]

Thanks for the advice!

I took her in to the vet today and she treated her, and she’ll have 2 more over the course of the month. They think it’s Cheyletiella but they did no tests etc!

Also, not sure where it’s come from. Unsure about what to do with her now, so have set up temp living area as won’t be able to get new hay until later and don’t want to plonk her in with potentially infested hay.

[Bam]

They can actually carry cheyletiella from babyhood, when it was transmitted to them by their mother. Then the parasites exist in very low numbers and when something happens – a change in diet, a change in the environment, a heavy shed etc, the parasites can get the chance to multiply.

You should clean out her space with vinegar and water, clean all toys and bowl, wash all fabrics and yes, you probably want to get new hay for her.

Cheyletiella mites are extremely common in rabbits, but they’re luckliy easy to treat.

[Michaela]

Oh thank you so much that’s very interesting!
She has been shedding more than usual lately which was our first sign of anything! We have also just moved house and she’s been playing in a garden for the first time, but I don’t want to have to stop her from playing in the garden if that’s where she got them from!

Vinegar and water – gotcha. Thanks!

She’s just hopping around with very gelled up fur at the minute but still, she doesn’t seem bothered so at least there’s that!

[Author]

Messages