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Rhino Resource Center: Rhino Forums > Rhinos in Captivity > Health > Skin lesions

Posted by: CassandraS Aug 3 2007, 05:05 PM

Our male black rhino(11 yrs. old) has recently developed two sores on his hips, that seem to be associated with pressure points where he lays. They are about dime size and perfectly round. They almost appear as though a circle of skin just fell off. We have been trying to get one of them to heal up for about 4 months now, and it has not. We recently took a scrape for cytology but have no results back. Has anyone encountered similar sores, and if so, did they find out what caused them and did they heal? I am hopeful that it is nothing to worry about, but I thought I would see what everyone else has seen. Thank you Cassandra Sampson Great Plains Zoo-Sioux Falls, SD

Posted by: Rynotamer Aug 4 2007, 03:30 PM

Cassandra, Sounds like the same things our female had/has. Has he had small blisters in random spots filled with clear fluid? Our female had those, but now she has a bad infection and foot problems (NOT saying that you have to worry about it leading to that). We need to talk. You can email me at marqua12@msu.edu (that's a one not an L). Mark Marquardt Potter Park Zoo Lansing, Michigan

Posted by: nyukitx Aug 22 2007, 04:54 AM

Cassandra, We have an older bull (27) who had similar pressure-point scabs. They were not the lesions usually mentioned in literature but from some sort of abbrassion to his hips. There were 2 or 3 over the years, usually between nickle to quarter sized, and took months and months to heal. We tried hydrotherapy plus an antibiotic which worked to a degree. However, if we used a petrolium based ointment it kept the scab soft and would slough off when he brushed against the floor to lie down, and when we used a water-based ointment the scab would dry and then get flaked off as the skin fold flexed with his movements. We were in the habit of bathing our rhinos every day with warm water to take off the mud and check for any skin problems. It was decided to limit the bath to once a week with the thinking the skin would chap just as our hands do when we wash them too often (familiar keeper problem, right?) The scab healed slowly, but DID heal, under the mudpack and - knock on wood - hasn't recurred in over a year. Hope it helps some. And we're all pulling for Ebby here in TX, Mark.

Posted by: Rynotamer Aug 23 2007, 02:50 PM

Thanks nyukitx. I don't know if you've heard but we're pretty much convinced that Eb has the dreaded "Black Rhino syndrome" so now I guess instead of Skin Lesions I should rename this Black Rhino Syndrome. There is very strong talk about covering our barn floors with the rubber stuff like on running tracks. We have devised a foot bath, whether or not we'll get her to walk through it. Hopefully it will be installed today (my day off). We need all the help/suggestions anyone has out there. Cassandra, did you get my email? I replied and got the spam checking thing and went through all of that. thanx, mark

Posted by: CassandraS Aug 28 2007, 09:49 PM

Mark, I did not get a second e-mail from you. I've only received one. Sorry about the spam checker-we're having some problems with that right now. Cassandra

Posted by: CassandraS Sep 4 2007, 10:48 PM

Here's an update: Our skin biopsy of the sore came back as with the common bacteria associated with the "black rhino syndrome". We have been keeping it clean and applying fly ointment, but it has not decreased in size. Maybe we should try daily mud packs instead. Our rhinos roll in the mud daily, but not always enough to cover it up on their own. Any thoughts? Also, I'm not sure what to expect now. Will the sores become more numerous? Is there any other concerns? Our vet said we should just check blood often for systemic problems. Does that sound about right? (Mark-my IT guy said you should be clear to send mail through now-try again I guess)

Posted by: adam Sep 6 2007, 02:20 PM

Mark, Do the flies contribute to the size of the sores/lesions? If so instead of using mud packs try SWAT. It is a fly repellant (used with horses) that we use with our young male when he gets sores, and it works wonderfully. You simply apply a layer to the areas that are affected and swarming with flies. adam

Posted by: Rynotamer Sep 6 2007, 08:51 PM

Cassandra, Sorry to hear about your rhino, it's not fun to deal with. We are applying fly spray (Repell X) to the animals and it works great. We have not tried the mud packs thing, our vet (and we all agree too) to try to keep her exhibit dry due to the infections she has in her feet. So far the infections are due to a type of strep infection. Just a few days ago we put about 3 inches of sand in her stalls. She really likes the sand, but we're scared she's gonna eat too much and get impacted (happened once before). We are giving her SandClear which is used with horses to prevent impactions. We have not really observed that flies are the reason for the sores getting bigger. Where are the sores? Going out on a limb here and saying they are on pressure points, such as knees, hip points, elbows. If you are able to draw blood....DO IT, or begin now on being able to. What are you guys doing for the animal? Mark

Posted by: CassandraS Sep 7 2007, 09:42 PM

Well, so far our male only has one sore on his L hip (on a pressure point). Our only treatment has been keeping it clean and free of flies, and taking blood samples regularly. So far, everything is normal. I hose him off once a week and check everywhere for any new sores. I also keep his skin moist with mineral oil.

Posted by: Rynotamer Sep 9 2007, 02:46 AM

We used Diluted Nolvasan in a spray bottle to aid in keeping the sores clean.

Posted by: jimma Oct 12 2007, 03:27 PM

Cassandra, As Mark has mentioned we have used deluted nolvasan spray, nolvasan suspention (oint.) and we are currently using silver sulfadiazine cream. The sores on legs at the pressure points have healed then reappeared. Hopefully with the new flooring we are getting it will help with the healing process. Adam asked about flys making the sores larger. Flys are a problem, we use fly spray to keep them away from the sores, but I cannot say if the flys contributed to increasing size of the sores. Good luck and I hope it is not the same disease our rhino has. She is having another foot surgery on October 16, 2007 this will be her third. Thank you, Janice Tomlian Potter Park Zoo Lansing MI

Posted by: Rynotamer Oct 23 2007, 02:55 AM

Nice handle Janice...how original

Posted by: Rynotamer Nov 2 2007, 02:24 AM

Cassandra, Just checking in with you. How's your rhino doing? Eb recently had her 3rd procedure (trim nails, etc) with a fourth planned in December. She's doing ok. We just got a new rubber floor put in her stall, she seems to like it. The bars work great. The gal training her is doing an awesome job but now Eb just needs to heal up. Stupid black rhino syndrome....I'm worried about winter and not being able to let her out everyday. Mark

Posted by: CassandraS Nov 3 2007, 08:47 PM

Our rhino is doing alright. He now has about 8 sores we are watching. I think the dry air we have in the winter is going to make it worse, so I am going to be going heavy on the mineral oil, and even possibly do some mud baths inside with dirt I've collected this fall. Our rhinos won't roll in dirt on the floor, so I am going to have to pack it on them with my own two hands! Isn't our job great?! All of his blood tests have come back normal so far. Do you guys do blood tests on yours? What have the results shown? We just got done with a round of fecal and blood collections for a study done by Candice Dorsey from Smithsonian Institute. It should be interesting, since our male was in the same study a couple of years ago before he had the lesions. Cassandra GPZ

Posted by: cydneyp Nov 12 2007, 01:38 AM

Some suggestions for a mud bath... In Wisconsin, our rhinos are stuck in the barn for a few months so I give them mud baths a couple of times a week. They come in the vet chute for grain, etc and allow us to rinse them off and then apply the mud. I use an organic topsoil mix and add natural occurring clay to help the mud to stick thicker and longer. I also add mineral oil to the mud. Using a natural bristle horse grooming brush really helps to paint it on thick. A good consistency is like thick pancake batter. The animals that I have worked with that wallow naturally (i.e. capybara, warthogs, rhinos) have appeared to heal much more quickly when the wounds are treated with nolvasan, a thin layer of topical ointment applied and then packed with mud.

Posted by: CassandraS Nov 23 2007, 10:11 PM

Thanks for the tips on the mud baths. Just today, I noticed that our male has hundreds of tiny ulcers all over his body that sprung up over the weekend. I was horrified. I had just sprayed him down with mineral oil last week-has anyone else that uses mineral oil on their rhinos ever suspected that it may contribute to the ulcers?

Posted by: Rynotamer Nov 24 2007, 03:23 AM

We have used corn oil in the winter time to help the skin from drying out but highly doubt that had anything to do with our rhino's health issues. Cassandra are they small, about quarter sized blisters filled with a clear liquid? Define what you mean by ulcers? Could be two different things. Our old male used to get ulcers somewhat common with Superficial Necrolytic Dermatitis, they were large, bloody and "gross". Didn't seem to bother him, commonly found in mucous areas, ie nostrils, lips and before I started working genital area. Mark

Posted by: CassandraS Nov 24 2007, 06:04 PM

He has a couple that are quarter sized, but he also has a lot of pin head sized sores-I call them ulcers because his cytology showed he has mucocutaneous ulcerative syndrome(black rhino disease). The little ones have a scab over them that I can pick off easily and it is slightly pussy underneath. They don't all develop into the large sores that don't go away. I'm not saying that I think the mineral oil caused the syndrome, but I just wonder if maybe it isn't helping either. Just a thought-the correlation was curious to me.

Posted by: CassandraS Dec 5 2007, 08:58 PM

Here's an update-I started treating our male's sores with mud packs, and they seem to be drying up/healing! Yeah. We also got another blood sample and everything is still normal. Thanks again for the advice on the mud packs.

Posted by: mark Dec 9 2007, 01:56 PM

When I visited Whipsnade Zoo belonging to the Zoological Society of London in Easter 2005 one of their southern white rhinos appeared to have a skin complaint since it was being kept isolated from the rest indoors and it seemed to be covered with some sort of vasoline. Black rhinos are no longer kept at Whipsnade but it could be that the vets there have had some experience of curing similar skins diseases to those of your animal. Mark

Posted by: cydneyp Jan 13 2008, 08:00 PM

CassandraS, I am so glad that the mud packs began helping. Are you continuing to do this? Is it still working. Our male is also having some of these pustules. I am trying to do baths twice a week. If any of the pustules open, consider flushing out with a bid of Nolvasan or Betadine to treat the bacteria and then reapply the mud. It seems that the most keepers can do at this point is to keep the problems at bay. Cydney

Posted by: CassandraS Jan 16 2008, 10:18 PM

Hey cydney, Yes, we are continuing to apply the mud packs. All of his sores are now healing-we apply mud once/week. I was doing it every day for a while. We were also cleaning them with Nolvasan and applying a thin layer of Nitrafurazone ointment. We have stopped using the ointment because they are scabbed over. I am so relieved that for now the episode seems to be subsiding, but I know what you mean about keeping it at bay. Every day I'm nervous that I will find another one.

Posted by: dallasrhinokpr Oct 19 2008, 07:43 PM

Just wanted to share some good news on the healing of our ~33 yr-old 1.0 Black Rhino's skin lesions! "Niki" began suffering from typical black rhino skin lesions early in 2008. Some started in pressure points, followed by others forming around ankle and foot areas. There were probably 10 lesions total. This is a problem we dealt with a few years back with our geriatric 0.1 black rhino. "Chula" had much deeper lesions that were more numerous in number, and she suffered with these for more than a year. Our general treatment for both animals consisted of daily cleaning with Novalsan scrub, and application of Novalsan ointment. With "Chula" we started a Tea Tree Ointment/Novalsan Ointment rotation. Cephalexin was prescribed for both animals when sores looked particularly inflamed. These would usually be 14-21 day treatments. "Niki" is currently suffering from stiffness in his joints and a general slowing down of movement. To counteract this, "Niki" was prescribed a daily 1 oz. dose of Equinyl Combo. After 2 weeks of receiving this 1 oz. dose, Niki's skin lesions COMPLETELY healed. All of them! We were shocked and amazed and thrilled! After doing some research on the ingredients in Equinyl Combo, all fingers point to the MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) in possible combination with Vitamen C. MSM is a metabolic end product of DMSO (Dimethyl sulfoxide). Niki has received this daily dose for approximately 8-10 weeks now. His skin is still completely healed, and no new lesions have formed. His stiffness is still the same, so in that capacity, the Equinyl Combo has not been helpful. If any of you have experienced this same result with this product, please let me know. It would be very interesting to hear about other positive results. I also suggest trying this product if your rhinos are suffering from these nagging lesions. If I hear other positive results, I would like to present this topic at the Rhino Keeper Workshop in 2009!