Lichen in rabbits: symptoms and diagnosis, treatment and prevention

Lichen is a disease that is most often caused by pathogenic fungi. They can affect a variety of animals and people. Despite the fact that it most often affects stray cats and dogs, lichen can also occur in rabbits. To prevent it from spreading to the entire livestock, it is important to identify sick animals in time, immediately show them to a veterinarian and start treatment.

Disease information

The causative agents of lichen are various microorganisms, most often fungi. The following types of skin diseases occur in domestic rabbits:

pink lichen, it has a viral nature, most often goes away without treatment;
Pityriasis versicolor is caused by yeast-like fungi;
shingles occurs when infected with herpes viruses, does not require special treatment;
weeping lichen, or eczema, is a non-contagious disease associated with exposure to external or internal factors.

Rabbits get sick with trichophytosis, microsporia, or ringworm. The disease belongs to one of the most dangerous types of fungal skin lesions. They quickly infect not only other animals, but also humans. Ringworm is accompanied by hair loss and requires immediate treatment. Success in treating trichophytosis in domestic rabbits starts with diagnosis.

Symptomatology and diagnostic methods

With lichen, the latent period lasts from two to four weeks. During this time, quite a lot of animals can become infected on the farm.Lichen is especially dangerous for young individuals no older than 6-7 months. In order to detect the disease in time, animals are regularly examined. The alarm should be sounded when the following signs appear:

spots with broken hair of different lengths became noticeable;
pink spots up to 20 mm in diameter appeared on the skin;
the skin in the affected areas began to peel off;
crumbling scales have a grayish color;
appear rounded hairless areas with a diameter of 10 to 30 mm;
Foul smell comes from the hair of sick animals.

Focuses of inflammation may appear on the eyelids, neck, ears, muzzle, limbs of the rabbit. After a few days, the skin in the lesions swells, bubbles with purulent contents appear. The animal suffers from severe itching, its behavior becomes aggressive.

Ringworm is caused by Trichophyton and Microsporum fungi. They can only be detected by laboratory methods:

Irradiation of wool with a special ultraviolet lamp, if there are colonies of pathogenic fungi, they do not reflect an even blue, but an emerald green or yellow-green color.
Study of skin scrapings under a microscope.
Inoculation on nutrient media.

Important! In some cases, the microorganisms that cause ringworm do not glow under ultraviolet light. This diagnostic method is preliminary and requires confirmation.

How to properly treat ringworm in rabbits?

At the first stage of treatment, all sick individuals are placed in a separate enclosure. Treatment is carried out both with the help of external preparations and with the help of drugs that are injected or given with food, water.

Vaccines

The use of vaccines is primarily preventive.Most of them give immunity within 12 months after vaccination. A popular vaccine is Vakderm. This is a domestic drug for the prevention and treatment of lichen. One dose consists of two components packaged in separate vials or ampoules.

Contains several types of inactivated (killed) pathogens. For injection use a sterile needle and syringe.

First, the liquid component is drawn into the syringe and transferred to the vial with the dry mixture. Shake and, after complete dissolution, draw the solution into a syringe and inject into the thigh area. For preventive purposes, it is administered twice with an interval of two weeks. The second time the injection is made in the other thigh. Immunity occurs 14 days after the second injection. Rabbits are recommended to be vaccinated at the age of 50 days. They are given 1/2 dose of the drug, and animals older than three months are injected with the full dose.

If vaccinated during the incubation period, it hastens the onset of symptoms. For therapeutic purposes, such an animal is administered Vakderm twice more. Do this every 15-20 days. The Microderm vaccine is used in a similar way, however, it must be borne in mind that it is much more expensive than Vakderm.

Ointments

For the treatment of lichen in rabbits, you can use a special ointment "Yam". This is a domestic fungicidal preparation containing salicylic acid, tar, sulfur, turpentine and petroleum jelly. It is an effective means of combating causative agents of lichen, scabies. The affected areas are cleaned of crusts, the hair around them is cut off and the ointment is applied in a thin layer. The procedure is carried out twice a day. After 10 days, laboratory tests are carried out, if the pathogen is detected, then the treatment is continued for several more days.

Lesions can also be treated:

salicylic ointment;
iodine-vasogen;
Unisan.

Imaveron, an imported drug for external use, has proven itself well, but it is quite expensive and not always available in pharmacies. It is necessary to apply ointments strictly according to the instructions for them.

Antibiotics

Veterinarians may prescribe antibiotics to treat lichen in rabbits. The most popular is the drug "Griseofulvin". It is given to sick animals twice a day. The medicine is added directly to rabbit food for 3 to 5 weeks. Antibiotics are not used for the treatment of pregnant females and lactating rabbits.

Shampoos

Using shampoos is an additional, not the main, way to treat ringworm in rabbits. Pet shampoos containing antifungals, such as Nizoral, are suitable for this.

You can also use Doctor shampoo. It cleans the lesions from crusts, slows down the development and growth of colonies of pathogenic fungi.

Is there a danger to humans?

Ringworm is also dangerous for humans. If sanitary standards are not observed, the pathogen easily gets on the skin or hair of people. A person's head, face, neck, and nail plates may be affected.

Children and people with weak immune systems are especially susceptible to infection. If lichen has been diagnosed in domestic rabbits, then when working with them, safety precautions must be strictly observed and children should not be allowed near the animals.

Prevention measures

The basis of preventive measures is the observance of sanitary standards in the maintenance and breeding of rabbits. They are as follows:

regular cleaning of cages with a frequency of 1 time in two days, you need to add a chlorine-containing agent to the cleaning water, for example, "Whiteness", use 1 liter of the agent for 10 liters of water;
do not expose animals to hypothermia;
Keep dry, draft-free but well ventilated;
vaccinate rabbits in time;
avoid excessive crowding of animals;
do not breed your pets with unvaccinated rabbits from other farms.

To improve immunity, animals need high-quality and balanced feed. New rabbits should not be immediately planted in common cages. They are kept in strict quarantine for 10-14 days. Sadly, in severe and intractable cases, the animal will have to be euthanized.