mini holland lop with subcutaneous bruising/bleeding

Question
Hi there, my male bunny is about 6 years old and has recently suddenly developed a strange condition which the vet i have brought to have not been able to diagnose.

My bunny has developed some dry sores on his ears. It started with the right ear where a huge thick scab formed at on the surface at the top of his ear (where his ear joins his head). There was a corresponding scab on the inside of his ear at approximately the same location. Enamating from the scab, buising can be detected and there appears to be a blood clot(hardened)under the skin where the bruising was. The vet thought he might have been injured while being groomed and prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic (10 days worth) as well as some iodine for us to dab on and some antiseptic powder.  

After a few days of treatment, there appeared to be a slight reduction in the bruising but little changein the overall condition. What was worrying was that the skin on his other ear began flaking. It wasn't the paper thin flakes like in a fungus infection but big pieces that were hard and peeling off the surface of his ear bringing clumps of hair. Similar to the affliction on the other ear, there was a corresponding wound on the inside of the ear at the same spot which looked a bit crusty but was not wet. The area of affliction was smaller and the 'wounds' looked dry and less angry and I applied the same treatment while continuing with the antibiotics.

By the end of the week with no significant improvement, I brought my bunny back to the vet who was stumped. WHat was worse was that we discovered a big subcutaneous bruise on his back. The bleeding looked fresh and there was a bit of pus as well but it was all under the skin. The clump was beginning to harden to something similar to the wounds on his ear.

The vet clipped a sample of the dry scab for lab testing but she was unable to properly diagnose what was wrong with my bunny or what caused it as she has not seen this in other rabbits. Can you help?

Answer
Dear Florence,

Without seeing the lesions, I can only guess. But this sounds very much like mange, which is caused by parasitic mites.  It starts with small sores and flaky crusts in little areas, but can progress to horrific levels if left untreated, as you can see in pictures here:

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

Fortunately, the condition is easily and safely treated with Revolution (selamectin) from the vet.  Note that it's not always easy to actually see and find mites, even with skin scrapings.  I would treat with Revolution to see if it works, even if mites cannot be visualized.  I'm betting it will clear up the problem.

Another remote possibility is sebaceous adenitis, which is being seen more often in rabbits.  But by far the more common cause of signs like what you describe is mange.

If you're not sure your present vet is familiar enough with rabbits to be treating your bunny, you might wish to check the list linked here for another vet with more rabbit experience:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana