Poor Garnet has Cheyletiella

I took my buns to the vet for their routine myxi jab and i had noticed that one of my does -Garnet had had quite a lot of hair loss along her back in the last few weeks. Thought it mught just be her scrapping with her pal Clover (another doe) as she often nibbles her back to get her out of the way of food.

But turns out that Garnet has Cheyletiella -a mange mite. She has to wait till thursady to get a spot on treatment from the vets as they were 'out of stock'.

Has anyone elses bunnies had this? and is it quite easy to clear up?

I've never heard of it actually, but I'm sure someone on here will have...

It's quite common in rabbits and nothing to worry about really, it should clear up easily! You will also need to give the rabbits accommodation a really good clean out and preferably spray it with a safe insecticidal spray which says it kills mites, because the mites could be in the bedding and will therefore sit in little corners of the hutch while you clean it, and then infest the bedding again. If you can't get anything suitable, give the hutch a swish with boiling water while it's empty and that should have the same effect, although obviously make sure the buns are well clear and the hutch is properly dried before you refill it.

A couple of other things to bear in mind - where is your hay coming from? Sometimes it can come from the hay, especially if it is a bit damp and not fresh, so if the problem recurs, it's probably worth changing hay supplier for a while.

Also, most buns naturally carry very low levels of the mites all the time and they can grow out of control from time to time. This is often an indication that the bun is either stressed or unwell (a bit like cold sores tend to pop up when people are under the weather), so again if the problem recurs, take a good look at your buns environment to see if there is any reason that they could be getting stressed or poorly. As you describe a bit of nibbling at mealtime this could be a possibility.

Hopefully it's just a one-off which will clear up nicely with the right treatment.

Hi, thank you for your information. Ill have a chat with the vet about what u have told me and i hope she gets better soon.

Best wishes x

My late Smudge had that, he had a course of injections to get rid of it.. poor little thing hadn't long had his front teeth removed either But he made avery quick and full recovery