hard folds of skin, bad dandruff and shedding

Question
I would like to ask for your feedback and advice regarding my pet mini lop rabbit.  We adopted him in December 2008 from a 4H kid, and all we were told was that he wasn't a good breeder so the kid wanted to find another home for him.  We're not sure how old he is.  Our rabbit has a peculiar skin condition: all over his body I can feel hard folds (feels like a Shar-pei but not soft, and he's had these since he came to us), and recently he's had very bad dandruff and big patches of hair loss.  He's our only rabbit and spends much of his time in a room with a tile floor and soft rugs to lie on (we only cage him when we have people over).  Sometimes he gets to run around in our backyard (no weed killers or fertilizers used since we've moved here).  Diet is pellets, timothy hay, fresh greens from my veggie garden, occasional fruit.  He's never been particularly interactive but he doesn't appear to be listless or upset.  His eyes water a little but I don't see any nasal discharge, nor have I heard or seen anything to suggest an ongoing respiratory infection.  My previous male mini lop lived to be 11 and I never saw any of these symptoms with him.

Any ideas or advice that you would have to share would be appreciated!  Thank you.

Answer
Dear Anna,

Without seeing your bunny I cannot know for sure.  But this sounds like mange, which is caused by parasitic mites.  It's quite miserable, itchy and painful, so the sooner this is treated, the better.

Please see:

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

and find an experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Treatment with Revolution (selamectin) should cure this very quickly if it's mange.  But the vet will do a full exam to be sure there's nothing else going on that might also need treatment.

I hope this helps.

Dana