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Idiopathic cutaneous xanthoma in a pet rabbit

Lab Animal volume 43, pages 271–274 (2014)Cite this article

A 3-year-old male, mixed-breed, neutered rabbit was housed in a wide cage at an appropriate temperature. The rabbit was given long periods of free movement in a dedicated room. The rabbit was fed a well-balanced diet consisting of 30 g per day feed pellets (Oxbow Adult Rabbit; Oxbow Animal Health, Murdock, NE) and timothy-grass hay and vegetables ad libitum. The rabbit lived with a spayed female rabbit, which was in good health, and had no previous medical history.

Differential diagnoses included dermatophytosis (caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes or Microsporum canis), mites (Cheletiella parasitivorax, Sarcoptes scabiei, Notoedres cati or Psoroptes cuniculi), allergy and neoplasia. Skin scraping tests were negative. A sample was sent for fungal culture analysis and was found to be negative for fungus.

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Figure 1: Skin lesion at the lateral canthus of the right eye.
Figure 2: Skin lesion on the right flank.
Figure 3: Photomicrograph of a subcutaneous mass from a rabbit stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
Figure 4: Photomicrograph of a subcutaneous mass from a rabbit stained with hematoxylin and eosin showing a Touton-type cell (red arrow) and cholesterol clefts (black arrows).

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  1. École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France

    Véronique Mentré &  Christophe Bulliot

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Correspondence to Véronique Mentré.

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Mentré, V., Bulliot, C. Idiopathic cutaneous xanthoma in a pet rabbit. Lab Anim 43, 271–274 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.419

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