rabbit with skin irritation, mites? other?

Question
We live 5 hours from the closest rabbit vet at www.rabbit.org/vets and have read the other references you've given and more many times. Starting this spring, our 3-year-old rabbit had raw skin, hair loss on the inside of the back legs and under his chin. We dry bathed him and cleaned his cage well, removed his water crock. Then he got raw on the inside and outside tops of each leg and on his belly like he was licking at himself. No open sores. Not dirty. We took him to a local vet who said he's chewing on himself and gave us Tritop neomycin sulfate to put on to keep him from chewing. Next he got a milky discharge from one eye. Then he got dandruff on his back and above his tail. I gave him a warm wet bath to get the ointment off and stopped using it. The dandruff got worse. I thought it was fur mites and tried Listerine on his back, then washed it all off and asked a different vet. I've treated him twice (30 days apart) with a half dose of Revolution/selamectin for kittens/cats (about 22 mg, he's 7 lbs.). He got better after the first treatment and hair started growing back, but then sort of reverted, we treated again, and he still has raw spots and one milky eye that keeps stiff yellowish discharge on his white paws. We put him in a new cage. Am I being impatient about getting rid of the mites? Was it not a high enough dose? Should I have re-treated closer than 30 days apart? Or could this be something else that needs treating? I do not see any discharge from his nose. He eats, drinks, and otherwise appears healthy. Could this be pasteurella? snuffles? We have other rabbits caged separately from him, both one year old. They were both housed in the same shed until we moved the sick one outside when we thought he had mites. They do not have the skin or eye problem. But one got a small lump/abscess on his inside hock that opened and is closed now and seems to be healing. The other got a cut? abscess? on her dewlap a few weeks later which is still healing. They otherwise do not appear sick, no sneezing. It is horsefly season and has been hot. Is this coincidence? I've asked our 4-H leaders and judges and no one seems to know. Is there something else I can try before driving them so far to see a vet? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks,

Answer
Dear Tami,

The raw area under the chin is a HUGE red flag for molar spurs, which are making the bunny drool caustic saliva onto his chin.  This burns the skin and makes the hair fall out.

The fur loss between his hind legs could be due to urine scald.  Please read:

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

for more information on these conditions.  But you will need to get bun to a good vet for treatment of these probably unrelated problems in order to get him back into good condition.  Please read:

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

and

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

The discharge from his eyes and nose are likely from bacterial infection, and this is yet another problem that needs to be addressed.  Please see:

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

and

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

I hope you can find a rabbit vet closer to you who can help, but if not, then maybe the articles here, shared with a willing vet, will help your bunny get the care he needs.  It sounds as if he has multiple problems, and needs some good veterinary care as soon as possible.

Good luck,

Dana