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Can rabbits have fleas?

albo

Warren Scout
my bunny seems to be scratching a lot...is it poss for her to have fleas? how will i know.......is it normal for them to scratch themsleves? how do i work out if its too much shes doing???
 
Yes rabbits have fleas, and they also itch as they have nerves etc.

If she has fleas you'll see them and/or eggs on her :wave:
 
It's possible though mites are more likely. You should be able to see fleas with the naked eye if you have a rummage around her fur.

Mites are more likely to look like dandruff/bald patches.
 
Buns can get fleas. Do the same checks you'd do on a cat or dog, flick through the coat and look for fleas or flea dirt (which is small black flecks of poo!), if it's easier get a bowl with water in, and run a comb through her coat and wash the comb out in water and you'll see in that if any fleas come out, plus they can't jump out the water like they can off a piece of tissue or a surface!
 
Gregory had fleas a couple of months ago - he has pale fur so it was easy to see the flrea poo - if you look deep in your bunny's fur you will be able to see the poo - to check it is flea poo put on a white paper towel and dampen it will turn red.

If you suspect fleas, take the bun to the vet and they will prob prescribe advantage which is about £17.
 
ive had a quick look thru her fur and cant see much, problem is shes not keen on sitting to i can have a proper look, i have to take her to the vets soon to get her jabs so maybe they can check then too.
 
Fleas

I just picked a couple fleas off the dog and I'm worried the Bun may have picked some up too. We usually keep the dog on flea meds all the time but thought that with the cold weather we could skip this month-- wrong! As soon as we spotted the nasty little ******* we put the flea medicine on her neck. Now the question is, a) will the flea medicine on the dog protect the whole apartment (I've heard that if one animal is treated it poisons all the fleas in the area, but don't know if thats true) b) is there anything I can do to get rid of the fleas on Honeybun aside from taking her to the vet and getting meds? I know of essential oil based washes for dogs but don't have any experience with essential oils and rabbits. Shes only 2 months old so I'm worried about giving her strong chemical medications unless absolutely necessary.
 
I just picked a couple fleas off the dog and I'm worried the Bun may have picked some up too. We usually keep the dog on flea meds all the time but thought that with the cold weather we could skip this month-- wrong! As soon as we spotted the nasty little ******* we put the flea medicine on her neck. Now the question is, a) will the flea medicine on the dog protect the whole apartment (I've heard that if one animal is treated it poisons all the fleas in the area, but don't know if thats true) b) is there anything I can do to get rid of the fleas on Honeybun aside from taking her to the vet and getting meds? I know of essential oil based washes for dogs but don't have any experience with essential oils and rabbits. Shes only 2 months old so I'm worried about giving her strong chemical medications unless absolutely necessary.

Im not an expert, but im sure you have to get a "household flea spray" that you spray over everything in your house. To my knowledge, i don't think the above in bold is true.
 
When my bun had fleas we used the household spray and bought her new beds and cusions etc, when we only treated her they came back quite quickly so i recomend the spray if you have a bunny in the house
 
Be careful when using Frontline (for dogs / cats) around rabbits :shock:.. i think some flea treatments are also dangerous to other animals ..

we use frontline on dogs and rabbit spray from pet shop (not sure what make) .. but we keep them separate for 24hrs ish (i.e. dogs out of lounge!!) as small print said rabbit de flea stuff was dangerous for dogs.. so we assumed vice versa just to be safe.
 
ive had a quick look thru her fur and cant see much, problem is shes not keen on sitting to i can have a proper look, i have to take her to the vets soon to get her jabs so maybe they can check then too.

Good idea.. you could try putting some food in her bowl so she can munch while you have a look x
 
Hi,

Yes they can. My two had fleas and I had to get spot on for them and spray the whole house. If they have fleas you will be able to see them. It could also be mites.
 
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