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My rabbit has dry, scaly skin, shedding, and dandruff. What's wrong?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Small Animal | Rabbit | Male | neutered | 6 lbs

my rabbit has dry scaly bloody patches all over his back close to his tail and hes shedding like crazy and the patches of hair look like he has dandruff how can i treat this at home?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on November 7th, 2017

I’m sorry Holly is going through this. Unfortunately diagnosing skin diseases by a picture isn’t really possible as many diseases look very similar. Rabbits commonly have mites, and based on your description that is my most likely guess. Cheyletiella is commonly called “walking dandruff” because of how thick the scale is on the bunnies back. Of course ring worm, bacterial infections, as well as other types of mites are always possible. A veterinarian will want to do a skin scrape to verify and identify the mites. There are several therapies, but I typically use revolution. It sounds like she may also need antibiotics if the lesions are infected as well. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

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    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 5th, 2017

    I would definitely want to rule-out fur mites as a cause. This is usually how they appear and there is not much else that looks similar. The mites are actually visible without a microscope, so you can take some of the dandruff and look with a magnifying glass to see if you notice any movement - this will take a few minutes of staring at the dandruff. Otherwise, below is a link to a video that shows the classic appearance of the mite infestations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf4W3djIzRI It is best that you take Annabel to the vet for treatment, because the type of treatment and length of treatment is variable and will require some follow-up visits. I hope that helps and Annabel gets better soon.

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