Correct Treatment for Lice

To our horror we discovered all six rabbits appear to have lice - we can see them moving in the fur so am assuming they are not mites. They are not fleas. The rabbits live in pairs in completely separate accommodation and therefore as the only common denominator between them is hay I am assuming that this is where they have come from. I have chucked the most recent bale of hay, and OH and my brother visiting from Switzerland for Christmas (bless him) have thrown away all the carpets from the sheds and hoovered them out. I have bought a fresh bale of hay from a different source.

All the rabbits have been treated with Xeno450 but as the vets charge approx £30+ for one box of this which only treats 3 rabbits I have been online to get it cheaper for the next two treatments.

However the blurb that accompanies the Xeno450 on VetUK's website states the following for useage of it:

The active ingredient of Xeno450 is Ivermectin (ivomec), a substance known as an endectocide because it kills parasites that cause infestation inside the body (endoparasites) as well as those living outside the body, on the skin (ectoparasites). Ivermectin is used in many species for the control of mites, roundworms and lice.

Rabbits: Fur Mites (Cheyletiella and leporacus), Ear Mites (Psoroptes cuniculi), Mange Mites (Sarcoptes scabiei or Notodres cati).

Is there anyone who can re-assure me that the Xeno450 will kill the lice off - or should I have used the Xenex Ultra????? I seem to recall that this has led to bad reactions in some rabbits. This is the blurb for the Ultra

Xenex Ultra Spot On is a broad spectrum small animal Spot On which not only kills fleas but also mites, lice, ticks and even the flies which cause fly strike.

Xenex Ultra contains permethrin, a tried and trusted insecticide, in a really simple to use Spot On formulation for all small herbivores. use on Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Rodents.

Needless to say none of the rabbits were impressed by being treated or by the upheaval in their accommodation

I believe some members rabbits have had bad reactions to Xenex, maybe if you search you will find some.

I suspected that Smudge might have lice not too long after we got him, am pinning this on the pet shop :evil: So I used some Xeno 450 (that's the spray isn't it) on him as well as the lops (when the lops had mites - due to them feeling a bit rough, their numbers multiplied and caused problems) and I've never seen them on Smudge again. I'd definitely give that a try first.

We used Xenno 450 (ivermectin) and that was much more effective than invermectin injections. For info on Xenex it would be worth searching it on the forum but I will never put that on another rabbit again.

xeno 250 is the spray version. You use 10 pumps per kg rabbit i believe. Double check this. It works out cheaper for more bunnies than the spot on.

It works for mites. Check for Lice.

Thank you for the replies. I have checked and Xeno200 is the spray version of Xeno450. They both have ivermectin as the active ingredient, there is no info on whether this treats lice in rabbits tho so I am none the wiser :?

Surely if ivermectin kills lice on guineas then it will do the same on rabbits?????????

Sky-O you have confirmed what I remember about Xenex so really I do not want to use it.

It killed the lice on my rabbits We only used Ivermectin and we did beat it, but not when using injections, only when using the spot on (didn't try the spray).

Thanks will order some more up for their next round of treatment.

Luckily we have just replaced a carpet indoors so have plenty to chop up for making in to mats for the sheds once the lice are eradicated. The current washable mats I am using at the moment are not ideal - they are too tempting not to be chewed :roll:

It was the spray we had, whichever number that is

The spray is 200- that does treat lice i just checked.