sebaceous adenitis

Question
QUESTION: My rabbit, Elvis, has been diagnosed with SA via skin biopsy, and we are now giving her medication which should last about 40 days.  Since we started the medication she seems more active, and it's good to see her fur coming back a bit, although she is still losing some particularly around her face. While her fur is growing back, she still has lots of "dandruff" on her, and I wonder if there is a topical treatment we can give her as well, if only to make her more comfortable.  She also has almost completely stopped using her box - going in her cage while or after eating.  oddly enough, because she is out of her cage all day, she doesn't mess outside her cage, so we are having a hard time figuring out what is going on.  Her movements are also odd - she "kicks out" her back legs when she moves...would this be because her skin feels odd?  Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

ANSWER: Dear Pam,

SA is showing up more often in rabbits, and I hope the medication keeps her well.  But since she is losing skin around her face and has flaky "dandruff", you might want to ask about the possibility that she might *also* have a mite problem.  Since SA is an auto-immune disease, her immune system may be a bit out of whack, and while it turns on her own tissues, it might not be effectively keeping opportunistic pathogens and/or parasites at bay.  If your vet thinks it's all right, I'd ask about giving her Revolution to be sure there is no contribution to the problem by mites.

Her litterbox problems and flicking movements might be another Red Herring not directly related to the SA.  Rabbits who stop using their litterbox and show odd behaviors possibly related to pain in the back end might be suffering from urinary tract infection or other urinary tract problem:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

So I'd ask the vet about checking this out, just to be sure that more than one thing isn't going on here.  Pain management might also help.  The vet can suggest the right medications that will not interfere with her current treatment for SA (if she's on corticosteroids, you do not want to be giving her NSAIDs).

Hope this helps!

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We did check Elvis for mites or other parasites at the outset, and she came up clear.  We'll go back to the vet to check again.....if there are no mites and it is taking time for her skin to clear up, would a topical treatment of any kind make her more comfortable?

Answer
Dear Pam,

It is often very difficult to visualize mites, even if they are present.  If this were my rabbit, I would ask about treating with Revolution just to be on the safe side.

Ask the vet about what would be safe to use for soothing.  You might consider things like dilute betadine to rinse and dry out the lesions.  If they are cracking and painful, then calendula ointment from a good health food store might also help.

Hope she's better soon!

Dana