What would you recommend for fleas...?

I treat the bunnies once per month with a flea type thing... I can't remember the name of it, but it's small and usually one application of this kept them flea-free for the month or so it said it would. However, last time I did this for them all, little fleas (or something?) could still be found on Barney. I was combing each of the rabbits today, and noticed that Bella has a lot of these things in her fur, also. I think they're just highly visible on those two because they each have white fur - I fully expect that both Amber & Hazel have them, also.

So I need a new flea zapping product to use on them that will kill the fleas. They've got their myxi vaccinations tomorrow. I really hope the vet doesn't think I'm neglecting them... I DO de-flea them, it's just that this stuff has been becoming less and less effective.

Its really important to prevent them from getting fleas as its these which can pass on myxi, which is uncommonly high due to the wet weather I believe. I got mine myxi'd yesterday and was just about to ask about what is the best for flea prevention so will be awaiting for others to post too!:wave:

I know... I tend to freak ever so slightly if I see so much as one flea. My mum thinks I'm over-reacting, but anything bitey can pass on myxi... Eeee. I'm looking at various sites with de-flea stuff on, but don't know what will be most effective.

Advantage flea treatment is licensed for rabbits and will both kill the adult flea and help prevent the larvae and eggs from developing in the environment.
Xenex Ultra spot-on can also be used to control fleas in rabbits, it also kills ticks, lice and repels flies.

I use Xeno 50 Mini. £2.35 a treatment.

i dont treat my buns for fleas tho they are vaccinated. i have treid xenex once and it caused a large scold like burn to chelsea causing great pain and dicomfort this hindered her recovery from myxi(tho she did pull through) and i am only posting so you dont use this product . xx

I used Xenex and it killed my rabbit, so please be very careful with that one (although I know freak reactions happen with anything).

If you treat your rabbits and they do have fleas, you also need to treat anywhere they go and probably your whole house too, because otherwise they can be reinfected.

For the house we use RIP fleas which successfully treated our problems, and we haven't seen any fleas for 18 months now (thankfully!).

A cheap, wildlife trick for fleas is to use listerine (not sure if its diluted or not though) and put some on a flannel or something and wipe the rabbit over with it, and the fleas should jump right off (so obviously if you do that, do it outside).

xenex ultra scalded my wickle mini lop and he had skin probs and no fur ever after in those places i put it

advantage is the best stuff.

It's not actually that common for rabbits to get fleas and if they are hopping about they are probably not rabbit fleas. Rabbit fleas tend to cling tight in groups particularly around the ears.

Once a month is quite often to treat animals regularly (flea treatment is in effect pesticide) so it would be better to try and work out where they are getting the fleas from.

Do you have any other animals eg cats/dogs, are these treated regularly? Do wild animals have access to/near the hutch?

Are they allowed out in long grass frequented by other animals?

Finally are you certain they are fleas and not another type of insect?

Tamsin

Ive treated all of mine with Advantage for rabbits, cost £10 for four pippettes from my vet. I only treated them all as one of my rabbits has nodular myxomatosis. I didnt use Xenex, as i heard it can cause bad skin reactions, like bunlover says.

No adverse reactions i have noticed with advantage

I've just returned from taking all four for the myxi boosters at the vets - and whilst there I asked about flea treatment. I've ordered some Advantage, which can be collected tomorrow after 2pm (they have to order it in).

I'm assuming they're fleas or mites... They're in patches, mostly, but usually along their back. They're small, cling to the fur and do not seem to jump, but try and burrow further down when I part the fur? The rabbits are not scratching more so than normal, but I don't like the thought of all these little things creeping in their fur and potentially causing them irritation and adding to any myxi threat. They're too small to get a proper look at, but they're sort of a greyish colour (I think).


They've always been de-flea'd on a monthly basis, because the stuff we used recommended it, and it was easy to buy from Asda. We have four cats, all of whom are de-flea'd with Advantage that we get from the vets, as our female cat has a flea allergy and it only takes one flea bite to make her allergy flare up. They go out daily in their runs, and the cats all like to be near them. However, our neighbour's cat also visits, and I know they don't take care of him properly. That, and every other cat in the neighbourhood tends to like our garden. :roll:

Cats aside, we'd discovered we have a resident hedgehog (which thrills me... but they're very flea-ridden, aren't they?), we've had a fox before who crosses the garden and probably a whole host of other animals using the garden as a play area. I can't really prevent the cats and wild life dropping by, though... So treating the cause might be a bit of a problem.