Frequency Of Treatment For Earmite Infection

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Bad Habit

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I took in a bunch of unwanted rabbits on Tuesday. Was checking them over yesterday(and doing nails, the poor things had never had their nails done) I noticed one doe had ear mites.

Now, I've never had to deal with earmites before. Never. Not once. I only recognized them due to images seen, and knew the recommended treatment due to general knowledge I've amassed by reading Rabbittalk religiously.

However, when I returned to my computer after finishing up with the rabbits, I googled how often I needed to treat, with mixed results. Some sites said daily, others said every other day, some said once then done, others said every 3rd day...

For those that have dealt with this nastiness, how often should I treat to completely clear this poor girl of the mites?
 
EAR MITES
Are caused by the parasite Psoroptes Cuniculi which is a mite that likes to make it's home in the rabbit's ear canal. They irritate the rabbit to the point that the scratching can lead to infection.

SYMPTOMS
Shaking of the head, scratching the ears, and a brown waxy crusty substance will appear after awhile if not attended to.

TREATMENT
Place a few drops of any type of oil in the ears and massage the base of the ear gently to work the oil in. The oil will drown the mites. Treat one to three times a day for three days. repeat in ten days to get hatchlings.
Just the way that I have solved such a problem.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
Should I treat them all then, even though they don't all have crusties? some had evidence of some ear scratching, however those were ones that were housed together, so I thought it might be from squabbling.

Thanks, though. I just want them to be healthy. The girl with obvious mites is staying for a while, as she's got a litter of kits in the nest.
 
I use a "home-remedy" strictly because of the exorbitant price
charged for some oil and pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is an organic
insecticide.... I add 6 cc's of this to 100 cc's of mineral oil &
shake well........
The cost is miniscule compared to the same mix with a
fancy store label on it. I use this mix ONE-TIME per
rabbit and it's over.

Ear mites can become very "nasty" looking, and it's quite
uncomfortable for their host.

The secret is "breaking-apart" the scab covering the mites.
It's uncomfortable for the rabbit...they don't like it..!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:
Don't be surprised if they squeal every once in a while.
Once the scab's broken up, drop four to six drops of the mix
down the ear and MASSAGE it into the mess. Return the rabbit
to it's cage. They'll shake their ears to who laid a chunk...LOL.

And the "chunks" will fly out of it!! Don't worry, they'll be fine.
It's gross lookin' but extremely effective with the dab of bug-juice
added to the oil. """As a general rule""" I've usually only had
to give one treatment to the rabbit. Very, very, rarely have
I had to do it twice. Maybe twice in the last five years.

Treatment??? Of course treat the infected one.
Then....I'd treat the newbies as well, at least once.
You can dose the lot of them again in 30 days and
you should clear your rabbitry of the problem. UNTIL
you bring another new one in.

It's been a year since I've noticed a problem with mites.
I had a young doe I had to treat this morning because
her ear canal looked a little "off-color".. Was it mites??
Dunno......but better safe than sorry.
Grumpy.
 
Ginger is doing well. She's actually a lot easier going now that the treatment is underway. I figured she'd go stark raving mad after the first dose and not let me treat again. But no, she was begging for pets today, and sat like a rag doll as I poured oil down her ears. No grunting, boxing, biting or other naughty behaviour(I was told she was a vicious witch and would attack anything in her cage.)

Still lots of gunk in her ears, I'm going to keep dosing her till all the scabs are out, then repeat 1, 2, and 3 weeks later. It's kind of a combination of all the variously recommended treatments I've seen online. I just want her to feed better, especially if the ear mites were the cause of her poor behaviour. <br /><br /> -- Sun Aug 30, 2015 12:50 am -- <br /><br /> It's beginning to look like Ginger is being pre-marinated. And there is still a fair bit of gunk in her ears. I think that if it doesn't start coming out on its own soon, I'm going to have to find someone to hold her down while I clean it out.
 
I just found ear mites on my buck today. No one else is showing any obvious signs. I'm a little disgusted by it but realize that it's sometimes a part of raising rabbits. I used some organic olive oil on a cotton ball and dripped some oil in the ear and rubbed the oil on the obvious stuff. I was surprised how quickly it started to work. That bunny was shaking and scratching and stuff was flying out. Did I mention I was a little disgusted. Well, ALOT. Seems I have found what works for my guy. Thanks for asking the question because I wasn't sure how often to continue this treatment. <br /><br /> -- Mon Aug 31, 2015 11:57 am -- <br /><br /> Last question: Is it necessary to do any treatment of the hutch that the affected "host" is in?
 

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