Ear Mites... My turn

[karebru]

Today was cage clean and nail trim day. When it was was SF bucks turn, I noticed the crunchies in one of his ears. I'd never seen it before and looked it up... Ear mites. :x
Man! that's nasty!
Did a quick internet search, saw mineral oil and decided it couldn't hurt. I flooded the ear and gave the other a little squirt. Then I held up a towel around him while he shook his head. Back in his cage, he's was shaking and pawing at it, and just pretty unhappy about the whole thing. He has since settled down to grooming.
Did I do OK? Is there more I should do? Do I keep doing this for several days?
I checked the rest of my herd and didn't see anything.

How did he get them? There have been no outside additions to the herd in over a year. They are housed in attached garage. Concrete floor, stucco walls... For all practical purposes, they are in the house, just not in air conditioning.
Could they have come in with the timothy hay? That's the only thing I can think of.
Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

 

[Prisma]

The little buggers can infest quick, yes they can come from hay and other bedding. Mineral oil is what I use, it takes a while though. I use for 2 weeks straight, usually the ear is clear by the first week then the second is to smother and make sure I didn't miss any. I wait 7 days then treat again for couple days to make sure no late hatchers. The thing with them is being consistent and cleaning out the ear as much as possible, they burrow into the skin which makes it hard to get rid of them. There are some other methods that don't require daily and so long but I've done well the handful of times I've had to use it.

 

[Zass]

If I see anything that might be mites, I oil up everybuns ears. You never know who might have some small amount...

 

[karebru]

Thank you both. It's looking better already. I will oil the whole herd at next weekend's cleaning, and every weekend after, at least until the infected bun is all cleared up.
I also read up on giving ivermectin injections as a more aggressive approach. I found, but didn't buy it at the feed store. I'd rather not medicate, and it isn't cheap. But it's good to know it's available, if things were to get out of hand.

 

[Frankallen]

I use WD-40. I have used it off and on for years. Really nice now that it comes with a straw. I know some people are going to say that "it's bad for Rabbits" but I have used it off and on for 25 years with no harmful effects. When you first detect them spray a short spray inside the ears, then about a week or two later spray them again. Works for me. I do know of a very large Commercial Rabbitry that uses it also with no problems whatsoever.

 

[SoDak Thriver]

When we had them here, I got Ivermectin from the vet and applied it topically, per his directions. Cleared the ear in 3 days after first treatment, follow-up treatment 10 days later. Used mineral oil on all the others just in case. Good luck!