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Mites.

Hello im new hear i took my rabbit fudge to the vets today and the vet said he had some mites a bit like nits that are making him itch so he keeps pulling out he fur so he has a little bald patch on he back near his bum poor thing but we got some special cream stuff to help it and sooth it i was just wondring who eles rabbit has had this ?
 
It's really common, mine have had them once. You can't stop them but there are things you can do to reduce the risk of getting them again. The first is to not use sawdust/woodshavings as these are most likely to carry them. Also, the hay you get should be nice and green (which shows it is fresh) and not in 1 of those really densely packed bags, you know, the rectangualr type as mites are more likely to be in these too.

Good luck with getting rid of them, they are so annoying.
 
I'm still treating mine for this condition. She had to have a course of injections as it was so bad. Apparently it only effects immune suppressed rabbits.She has her last injection a week tomorrow.:)
 
My Beebee has walking dandruff mites...We have spray from the vets for his.
My advice is scrub the cage out...all those nooks and crannies, and keep Bun away from other buns.It has been noted that some mites will bite a human but not live on a human..she says scratching.......:lol:
(dont like the thought...its like nits...ugh)
 
I was told Xeno 450 works well for mites, although im not sure exactly what type of mites. I think you do 3 courses if i remember rightly, every 2 weeks, it says the instructions on the leaflet anyway.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1500&currency=GBP

About the sawdust...they could be transfered in it, but iv never had any problems with mites in 21 years, so i wouldnt worry too much.

Oh, the xeno ca be used to help prevent them coming back too i think...
 
barley has just had these.The vet said they were brought on by stress as she had cystitis,then a month later went for bonding.She had 2injections & two doses of Spot on.They weren't bad,just a tiny little patch but she had dandruff.
 
Yeah the Xeno 450 and the injections are Ivermectin and are used for Cheyletiella mites (walking dandruff). The course for the Xeno 450 is a spot-on treatment every 2 weeks 3x which is basically for 6 weeks - this breaks the lifecycle of the mite. We are using it at the moment for a suspected case in our lop after her bad stasis/impaction from which she has recovered now - but yes immunity depressed and unable to groom properly for a few days.
The vet today said she likes to use it every 6 months to keep the mite population under control even in rabbits showing no symptoms. Not too sure about this frequent use of a systemic insecticide as never had any problems in 3 years until this occasion. Think we'll play it by ear, if it all clears up after this course then I think we'll forgo the phrophylatic use of it, but for buns with stubborn infestations it sounds plausible.
Apparently all buns carry these Cheyletiella mites anyway at manageable levels, rather like we always have bed bugs in our matresses and pillows as humans, just part of their microscopic colonies on their fur. So try not to worry about it, they've probly always had them anyway, just when buns are under emotional or physical stress the populations get a little out of control and the Ivermectin brings it back to controllable levels. I hear spring and summer also increases the population levels. Transmissable through hay, but also wild birds I read somewhere (which have all sorts of parasites on them at this time of year!) I blame the wood pigeon that is always on the lawn:D
 
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:) Bleach~?

Thanks for all the help my 4 year old rabbit fudge thanks you all. I v just got to get some time this week to clean he cage could i use bleach to clean it with ?
 
I'd avoid bleach, it's nasty stuff and difficult to rinse away, you wouldn't want your bun licking any of the surfaces. How about good old fashioned white vinegar diluted in warm water - that's what we often use here, no ammonia. Or, you can get rabbit friendly hutch disinfectants for all small pets - i'd avoid the ammonia ones. We use a tea tree and eucalyptus small animal cage cleaner we get from the hayexperts online. If you're trying to eradicate mites then you would need to use a spray with permethrin in but i would again be cautious about these as they are insecticides - if you have to use one make sure it is safe to use around rabbits and their homes. We also use the Conficlean2 or Johnson's small animal disinfectants but they're all the same really. Probably not effective against mites but then bunnies carry these mites normally anyway, you can't really eradicate them, just reduce the load in the environment to give bunny a chance to recover and fight them off themselves once they've been treated with Ivermectin.
 
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