Rabbit has sores on her back

Question
QUESTION: My rabbit recently had babies. They are now about 2 weeks old. I know she molted to prep for birth. But now she has a very large sore on her back and on her ear. She has never been outside and neither has the dad rabbit, so i dont believe it is fleas. And we keep them pretty clean and havent noticed anything such as mites. But i was wondering if they could still be a possibility or if maybe its just from her molting and we never noticed it before. They appeared about a week after she gave birth. I know she was a very angry rabbit when she was pregnant and would not let you close to her. She is once again very calm and loving again so do you think maybe it could just be her hormones trying to get back to normal? Please let me know of any suggestions you have. I dont believe the sores have gotten any worse. And really they dont look too much like sores its more hair loss with two tiny scraps on her shoulder and then hair loss on her right ear. Thank you for your help.

ANSWER: Dear Mandy,

The stress of raising a litter probably was enough to let your bunny's resident mite population (they all have them; the immune system normally just keeps them in check) to flourish and now she's showing signs of early mange or fur mites.  You won't be able to see them; they are microscopic.  Please read:

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

for more information, and find a good rabbit vet here to help you with a cure:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope the papa bunny has not been with mama, because if she is, then she is pregnant again, and could give birth in a couple of weeks.  This is not good for her or her babies.  Please read:

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

for more information.

I hope this helps.

Dana

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

QUESTION: Fisrt of all thank you for replying to my question. Second I was reading the links you sent me. The pictures are horrible. Those poor bunnies. My rabbit does not look even remotely like any of those. And from what i read i do believe it is just her hormones from pregnancy. But just to be careful we are bringing her and her babies into get checked. What I was wondering though was, if it did happen to be mites, can that spread to her babies and possibly even to us? I haven't seen any unnormal scratching from anything besides a small itch here or there every few days. Her area is kept clean and she is thought to be very well taken care of. The babies seem healthy and are growing like weeds. But I guess in a way since she is like a part of the family to me and my kids its hard not to worry. The dad is not with the mom. They have always been kept seperate. He was out on his turn to run around the house a few weeks ago right after the mom had been out and appearently my daughter did not get her cage closed all the way. We found her out hopping about and honestly didnt even know she was pregnant for awhile. Needless to say she was and her cage has been tamperproofed...lol. So yes they are seperate. Only the one accidental encounter. But even though babies are not ready to leave mom yet, we have found them wonderful homes. Please let me know though about the mites. I appreciate your help. Thank you. Mandy

Answer
Dear Mandy,

Since I can't see the sores on mama bunny, I can't tell you for sure if it's mites.  But I can tell you that the pictures in the article were extreme cases that had been left untreated for months.  They all started out as tiny, crusty lesions somewhere on the bunny, and then they got out of hand because the bunnies were abandoned and neglected.

This won't happen to your bunnies, as they are loved and cared for. But if this is mange, then it should be treated just to be safe, and to keep mama comfortable.  Revolution (selamectin) is the best and safest remedy (we've even used it on very small babies), but you need to get this from the vet, who also should examine mama to be sure that's what the problem is.  You can find an experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

The mites carried by the rabbit are not transmissible to you or other pets; they are usually very specific to rabbits.

Now's the time to have papa bunny neutered so he can rejoin his wife and be a snuggling pair without the fear of more surprise litters.  Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

Once mama is healed from her delivery, and the babies are weaned (no younger than 8 full weeks!  Please read this to learn why:  www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html), she can be spayed to remove her very high risk of uterine cancer.

Good luck!

Dana