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fur mites despair!

iggyperdyandme

iggyperdyandme

Alpha Buck
A couple of weeks ago i noticed betty bunny had scabs on her back above her tail. A trip to the vets later and to cut a long story short she has mites. I have no idea where from as she is a house rabbit, we are meticulously clean. The vets said it might be the bedding! Which was from pets at home!!!!:(

Anyway Betty has just had her second treatment and is still looking sorry for herself. Can anyone suggest anything to help her? Would a shampoo be better? Like nits? I have never bathed a rabbit in the 9 years of ownership and i hoped i never would!

Does anyone have any suggest?

My horrid partner suggested shaving her!:shock: :shock: and i hope he was only joking otherwise we shall be having words :lol:
 
Please don't try anything else as rabbits' skin is very sensitive. The Ivermectin injections will clear her of the mites in time. Mites can be caused by stress and if bunny is 9 years old maybe her immune system isn't working like it used to so not able to keep the mite population under control.
 
My bridge bun Rio had mites a few injections from the vets saw them off.She also said the source was probably the hay,and told me to freeze it for 24 hours before giving it to the buns.it worked ,Rio only ever had them once. and he lived to 8 years old.:):) Rio was a total house rabbit.
 
I have only used the stuff from the vets. I just thought as she seems so itchy that maybe bathing would help.

Its not like i was going to cover her in people shampoo.

She is a house rabbits whose main stress is the hoover so i doubt very much its stress. She came from a hoarder which i imagine was far more stressful.

She is only around 3. So i hope her immune system isnt too bad yet.
 
kattymieoww said:
My bridge bun Rio had mites a few injections from the vets saw them off.She also said the source was probably the hay,and told me to freeze it for 24 hours before giving it to the buns.it worked ,Rio only ever had them once. and he lived to 8 years old.:):) Rio was a total house rabbit.
Click to expand...

Ooo i will try that! Its just a bit grim coming out of her bedding :(

Glad its not just Betty with mites. She just looks so sorry for herself. Hope the treatment works soon. :cry:
 
Ivermectin injections or spot-on treatments will clear the mites. As others have said, they probably came in on the hay - just one of those things, I'm afraid. Hopefully the next batch will be better - as long as it looks and smells OK, there's not much you can do as you can't see the actual mites in the hay - freezing it or keeping it out of plastic bags helps to reduce the numbers. You could try storing in an old pillow case or duvet cover.

Rabbits must have hay or grass to keep their teeth and guts in good condition - the more they eat, the better.

Sometimes I have noticed that the animals most prone to mites have an underlying condition that I have not been aware of. Mites are not uncommon in hay, but they usually don't colonise the animal unless they are a bit under the weather for some reason. It's worth getting them fully health checked by the vet at your next visit - including a look at the back teeth with an otoscope - just to make sure. Hopefully it is a one off that can happen to anyone and the mites will be gone in a week or two.
 
All four of mine had fur mites last year...they were covered in them. I ended up buying a spot on bottle from pharmaq because it would have cost be £125 to treat all four at the vets and that would have been just for the spot on! Anyway I did them altogether 3 times 2 weeks apart and it got rid of them after the 3rd treatment. I wouldn't worry as the mites don't bit you or anything they actually live on dead skin cells.
 
Shimmer said:
Ivermectin injections or spot-on treatments will clear the mites. As others have said, they probably came in on the hay - just one of those things, I'm afraid. Hopefully the next batch will be better - as long as it looks and smells OK, there's not much you can do as you can't see the actual mites in the hay - freezing it or keeping it out of plastic bags helps to reduce the numbers. You could try storing in an old pillow case or duvet cover.

Rabbits must have hay or grass to keep their teeth and guts in good condition - the more they eat, the better.

Sometimes I have noticed that the animals most prone to mites have an underlying condition that I have not been aware of. Mites are not uncommon in hay, but they usually don't colonise the animal unless they are a bit under the weather for some reason. It's worth getting them fully health checked by the vet at your next visit - including a look at the back teeth with an otoscope - just to make sure. Hopefully it is a one off that can happen to anyone and the mites will be gone in a week or two.
Click to expand...

She had her teeth checked two weeks ago and they were ok but i will ask again to be sure when she goes back on friday. She did have a spot of bloat about a week before the mites though but who knows. Just one of those things i think.
 
Lady Logamorph said:
All four of mine had fur mites last year...they were covered in them. I ended up buying a spot on bottle from pharmaq because it would have cost be £125 to treat all four at the vets and that would have been just for the spot on! Anyway I did them altogether 3 times 2 weeks apart and it got rid of them after the 3rd treatment. I wouldn't worry as the mites don't bit you or anything they actually live on dead skin cells.
Click to expand...

Our treatment is £32 for 3 treatments. She has one to go. Expensive little bunnies.

I was glad to know that your bunnys got rid of them after the third treatment. I was beginning to worry that they wouldnt ever leave :(
 
My indoor bun had 3 treatments by injection for mites but unfortunately still has them, so he will be starting another lot of treatments.

However, my vet said it is because he has been run down. He had two dentals in six weeks and inbetween a chest infection. He is fine now and bordering on the heavier side, so he has no problems in that sense, but it is because he hasn't been well.

My house is spotless too, so I know its nothing to do with that and I binned most of the previous bale of hay as it was full of clumps of dirt but he had the mites before we had that bale.
 
Barn Yard Bunnies said:
My indoor bun had 3 treatments by injection for mites but unfortunately still has them, so he will be starting another lot of treatments.

However, my vet said it is because he has been run down. He had two dentals in six weeks and inbetween a chest infection. He is fine now and bordering on the heavier side, so he has no problems in that sense, but it is because he hasn't been well.

My house is spotless too, so I know its nothing to do with that and I binned most of the previous bale of hay as it was full of clumps of dirt but he had the mites before we had that bale.
Click to expand...

Poor bunny,hope he feels better soon. I hope this next treatment does the trick. :(
 
Greenleaf Animal Rescue said:
Once you have been to a vet to confirm if your bunny has mites, xeno spot on may help.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-suppl...xeno-450-6-pipettes-ivermectin-spot-on-p-1500

There is also a spray version xeno 200.

Your bunny will need to be weighed beforehand to ensure the correct dosage.

Hope this helps :)
Click to expand...

I just had a look under a microscope and identified them but you can actually see them with the naked eye if you have good eyesite! The Pharmaq is exactly the same strength and a lot cheaper than the xeno as well especially if you have more than one rabbit to treat.
 
Lady Logamorph said:
I just had a look under a microscope and identified them but you can actually see them with the naked eye if you have good eyesite! The Pharmaq is exactly the same strength and a lot cheaper than the xeno as well especially if you have more than one rabbit to treat.
Click to expand...

The spray treats multiple rabbits quite cost effectively compared to the spot on.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ivermecti...?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Birds&hash=item2ec6ad27e0

There may be cheaper places to purchase, but here is the link to the one mentioned above.
 
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