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rabbit toe fungus?

22 10:33:39

Question
My rabbit has been sick off and on for the 1.5 months I've had her. I've taken her to the vet 4 times now (note: I'm living in South Korea so going to the vet is usually sort of guesswork to try and figure out what treatment they're giving her as they speak Korean and only some English).
1) First she had a bacteria stomach thing (runny stools, took care of it with antibiotics, I think).
2) Then she had a cut or a sore on her back, more antibiotics including shots, cream and by mouth.
3) Now she has some weird toe disease. Doctor says it's fungus and gave me cream to put on 3 times a day for 3 weeks.
My question is do I need to do anything else? Is rabbit fungus contagious to me? Should I scrub down my house or just wash her sleeping blanket? With what should I do the washing if I need to do it? Bear in mind that I am in South Korea so any speciality products are likely not available or labelled in Korean.

Please tell me what to do!

Answer
Dear Cynthea,

The "fungus" is probably not fungus, but mange, caused by parasitic mites. Please see this for information and pictures. Though the pictures show extreme cases, this usually starts with the toes and around the eyes, lips and ears:

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

Creams won't help.  You'll need ivermectin or selamectin if this is mange.

The runny stool problem is a different thing, and probably not due to a bacterial infection (which usually happens only in baby rabbits).  Please read:

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

For all the best information on rabbit care, please visit:

www.rabbit.org/

There is an international vet listing here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and I *think* they might have a listing for Korea.  

Hope this helps.

Dana