Fur mites

[bantambunnies]

Argh. So now it's fur mites. :storm-cloud:

Well, just about one month ago... Right after one of my junior bucks decided to soak my shirt and the white carpet, my sister found fur mites on him. She's a lot better at seeing teeny-tiny bugs than I am. So I looked and found some dandruff and flaking in one spot on his neck. He hadn't lost any fur.
I treated him with DE the same day, then again around a week or two later. I plan to do it one more time in the next day or two.

Am I supposed to see any change? It's not worse, but the flaking skin is still there. (Should I comb it out?)
This guy was supposed to go to a new home a month ago, but I've held him back because of this. I'd like to get him to the buyer as soon as possible (the buyer isn't in much hurry, though) but I can't tell if the mites are cleared up or not.

I only treated the rabbit, not his cage. I also ONLY treated that rabbit. I believe I checked for mites on the rabbit in the adjoining hutch (the other rabbits are housed elsewhere) and, not finding anything, didn't treat him.

Should I have my sister look for bugs again? Or should I be checking for healed skin, etc.?

 

[akane]

While DE is a good nontoxic solutions sometimes it's just not enough. Especially if you aren't treating or cleaning the environment. Ivermectin is guaranteed fur mite death for every mite that bites over a few days. Then you dose again in about 10 days to get the ones that were eggs. Twice is probably good enough for mild symptoms but 3 times is common for obvious infestations. The 1% injectable applied topically or given orally instead of injected is usually the best option but the little bottles can be expensive. You want about .1cc for 5lbs and under and .2cc for over 5lbs. Some people just say one drop or 2 drops but I prefer to measure it and you need a syringe to get the stuff out anyway. Some use the ~$5 horse paste but there isn't really an accurate rabbit dose out there. People just give a very broad range of amounts. There are guinea pig mixing and dosing instructions for the horse paste on guinealynx.info. There has been occasional bad reactions to ivermectin mostly in dutch rabbits. I treated my variety of colony rabbits once a year and never saw a problem.

It does seem odd to have one rabbit with mites that long. Usually such parasites spread. You might want to try treating every rabbit with DE and clean the environment. It might work. Otherwise personally I would risk any side effects and treat every rabbit with ivermectin since the number of people who report a reaction is small. Revolution, while likely to cause more reactions in cats and dogs seems to cause less in rabbits, but it is an expensive prescription med and another $40+ for the vet exam they often require.

 

[bantambunnies]

Thanks!

We do have the Ivermectin. We give it orally to our dog for heartworm prevention. I've also used it in a rabbit with no bad reactions.

This is a junior Holland buck, maybe 12 weeks old or so. Should I do less than .1 cc (if I can measure that little)?

I will put some DE on the other rabbits, too. This hutch is mainly wooden so not sure how easy it will be to clean. (I'd like to have wire cages but 1) they're expensive and 2) we don't have any place to put them right now... the raccoons, snakes, possums, weasels, etc. are too abundant to have cages with 1'' x 2'' wire outside. We use 1/2'' x 1/2'' wire on our hutches.)

How can I tell when the mites are gone? Like I said, it hasn't gotten ANY WORSE. No fur loss, no increased flaking... it's just about the same as when I first looked at it. And I'm not sure how the flaking would go away, either - the skin isn't easy to pull out of his fur, and he probably finished molting not long before this started. <br /><br /> -- Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:25 pm -- <br /><br /> I think I will apply the Ivermectin directly to the spot where the flaking is, although I think the mites are gone now. The skin is healed and the flaking is just caught in the fur. Hopefully this will clear up completely.