Ringworm in Rabbits

MrVestek

I have a dutch lop eared bunny, nearly 6 months old.

Within the first month of having him he contracted ringworm which we had him treated for in the vet. After going through the treatment after 4 weeks it seemed to have cleared up and he's been fine since.

However now that he's getting bigger we're starting to see another few scabs on his ears... we've contacted the vet again and she recommended using a slightly different treatment as the treatment we were using would be too strong for him right now.

My question is... what measures can we take to ensure that he doesn't get reinfected again?

I should also note that I have had ringworm in the past... I brought back a rare strain from a recent business trip to America (which is where I think he picked it up from in the first place).

We generally keep his environment clean, any other advice is very much appreciated.

Ailishcrehan

Ringworm is such a nightmare, I feel for you and your rabbit! If the rabbit is in a wooden hutch, it may be a case that you need a new one, because ringworm can live in wooden materials (I think) and short of disinfecting the whole hutch vigorously with Trigene of a strong vet approved disinfectant (bleach doesn't kill all infectious conditions to the best of my knowledge). We had ringworm in our old house and at the time we had alot of kittens and it spread like wildfire. I know when treating cats and dogs, using Intrafugol medicine, the course is intense, you use it for a week, off for a week, on for a week, off for a week and so on for around 5 weeks to completely kill the infection, but unless the area in which the rabbit is living is completely clear of it, the rabbit will be reinfected.

I genuinely feel for you, when we finally got rid of the ringworm, I swore I'd never be able to go through it again!!

MrVestek

Yeah it's a nightmare... just when we thought we'd gotten rid of it.

He's an indoor pet so we have him in a large plastic enclosure. As far as my research goes the infection doesn't live in the plastic... although there are a few pee stains that are quite hard to get rid of which it might germinate in.

Do you keep rabbits yourself? If so do you know any way of breaking down dried in rabbit pee? We have been using bleach to clean the cage but as you've said it might not kill everything.

The poor guy though... he's not himself lately and now I know why. He used to get very excited when let roam free etc and binky all over the place... now he just wanders around like he's fed up. This happened the last time there was an outbreak of it though so I'm sure he's just a little tired or annoyed at feeling sick.

I'll see if I can pick up some Trigene, thanks for your advice so far! :-)

Ailishcrehan

Trigene is quite expensive, so if your vet is nice, they might give you a little bit. You can mix it with water and make it into a spray and literally, spray everywhere..if the rabbit gets to run around in doors, you need to cover all the areas/surfaces/furniture/walls that the rabbit has been on, anything you can wash, wash on a high temp wash (you can put trigene in washing machine too). Good, luck hope it works, your poor bunny will thank you for all you have done for him!!

Toulouse

I get Trigene here http://www.oldmcdonald.ie/products/tri-gene-disenfectant.php?PHPSESSID=d6a212d73dc554ce400050b4e210fac0

It last ages as you have to dilute it so get yourself some empty spray bottles and it works out pretty cheaply.

Sigma Force

Plain cheap white vinegar will get the pee stains out in no time, just soak it for a few minutes then wipe off using kitchen roll. Check out the website Galens Gardens there might be alternatives on it to help keep it at bay.

MrVestek

Thanks all you've all been wonderful! :-)

He's only allowed to run around the sitting room under supervision and has been trained not to go where he's not supposed to (the kitchen... behind the tv with all the cables etc).

I will see if I can get my hands on some of this Trigene stuff and mop down the floor with it. I will also try the white vinegar trick for the pee stains.

Thanks all you've been wonderful! :-)

MrVestek

Ohh btw for anyone who's interested this is Sammy, the pic was taken last night.

We don't normally give him carrots as although he loves them too much gives him the runs.

He seemed sad last night and we just couldn't resist that cute face of his :P

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/185647_1888211887811_1316860093_2203322_1928557_n.jpg