Ear mites

Hello,

My 9-10 month old flemish giant, Jude, had mites in her right ear about a month ago. I took her in to the vet and they treated her with a kitten dosage of revolution (it went onto the skin) and scraped the scabbing out of her ear. It was recommended that I remove all the hay that I was using to line her enclosure and to sanitize her pen. I did this. Now, a month later she has mites again! In the same ear too. It costs me $180 every time to take her in to see the vet. Now, they think it's the hay that I give her. But she needs to eat hay, so what am I supposed to do about that?! I can't afford to keep sending her in monthly for the treatment and I'm sure it isn't healthy for her to keep receiving it either. What else could I possibly do to stop the mites form recurring. She lives outside in a heated enclosure (16 fox 13 ft.) and the american forum was really rude about her living outdoors but I tried keeping her indoors and she was miserable. She was born outside and raised outside. She loves running all about her enclosure and the backyard and I give her fresh veggies every second day. She eats unlimited hay and I provide her with timothy pellets. Does anyone else on here have problems with mites??? Advice would be so helpful!

If you think they may be coming from the hay, do you have anywhere else to buy it from?

I have also heard that if you put hay in the freezer it kills them. As there is no water in hay the hay does not actually freeze but someone else might be able to advise better on this.

In the UK we can purchase meds without a prescription I believe for mites. Is this an option for you, or to just ask your vet for the meds as you know what it is.

I hope Jude feels better soon.

bunny babe said:

If you think they may be coming from the hay, do you have anywhere else to buy it from?

I have also heard that if you put hay in the freezer it kills them. As there is no water in hay the hay does not actually freeze but someone else might be able to advise better on this.

In the UK we can purchase meds without a prescription I believe for mites. Is this an option for you, or to just ask your vet for the meds as you know what it is.

I hope Jude feels better soon.

Click to expand...

Thank-you! I will find out if this is possible! I sure hope it is! The meds that you can get in the UK- are they specifically made for rabbits or are they for kittens and puppies? I know I can get meds in the store to treat kitten and puppy mites but I'm not sure if that's safe! Thank-you again for your help!!!!

I'm wondering if the problem might be the treatment didn't work fully, so rather than being reinfected you just saw a decrease and the numbers have built up again. Often you do several treatments with a gap between to catch the parasite at different places in the lifecycle. It might just be you need an extra course or two to get rid completely. I'm not familiar off hand with the dosages for revolution but The House Rabbit Society suggest on this page they do month for three doses: http://rabbit.org/faq-grooming/ If you check you might find you can buy revolution over the counter in a pet store or direct from the vet without paying for an appointment. Just double check what the dosage rate is on repeats.

You are right, rabbits need permanent access to hay or grass. I'd try repeating the doses before chucking out hay completely. But if you did want to swap you could feed fresh grass instead of hay - you'd need to introduce it gradually and built up the amount slowly but after that you could switch completely. Bagged hay like oxbow would tend to be 'safer' than farm bales, as it goes through a few more processes, but that does make it more expensive.

Tamsin said:

I'm wondering if the problem might be the treatment didn't work fully, so rather than being reinfected you just saw a decrease and the numbers have built up again. Often you do several treatments with a gap between to catch the parasite at different places in the lifecycle. It might just be you need an extra course or two to get rid completely. I'm not familiar off hand with the dosages for revolution but The House Rabbit Society suggest on this page they do month for three doses: http://rabbit.org/faq-grooming/ If you check you might find you can buy revolution over the counter in a pet store or direct from the vet without paying for an appointment. Just double check what the dosage rate is on repeats.

You are right, rabbits need permanent access to hay or grass. I'd try repeating the doses before chucking out hay completely. But if you did want to swap you could feed fresh grass instead of hay - you'd need to introduce it gradually and built up the amount slowly but after that you could switch completely. Bagged hay like oxbow would tend to be 'safer' than farm bales, as it goes through a few more processes, but that does make it more expensive.

Click to expand...

Thank-you! I am unable to give her fresh grass right now as it's winter, but her hay does come in a bag from a pet store. It costs me about as much as it costs me to get oxbow and I get three times as much. I wonder if it's not going through the same processes... I really have a feeling that it's not coming from the hay though. I hope not anyways. I am researching if I can get the revolution easily or not. I am not impressed with this "exotic" vet that I took her to (who scolded me for feeding her alfalfa hay up until 6 months, which I'm told is the right thing to do) and will be travelling to the out-of-town vet that comes highly recommended instead. She works with the breeders of giant breeds and has a good reputation. I'm really frustrated that the mites have returned and I'm convinced that they were not gone the first time. Thanks again!!!

Mine did actually take 2-3 treatments if I recall.

This mentions about freezing the hay and also other people have had to treat more than once to get rid of them
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?387623-fur-mites-despair!&highlight=xeno

Possibly just call your vet and ask for more meds rather having to take your bunny or check if they do anything similar off prescription from the vets. Just check it is safe for bunnies before using anything not given to you by your vet.

If you do a search for mites on here, there are quite a few threads.

Kitten dose of anything sounds too low for a conti... I think they never really went away. Maybe phone your vet and ask them about the dose and if you can come and pick up a correct dose instead (No consultation needed)

If she was treated with a kitten dose, then that may have been the problem and why they are now reoccurring. Rabbits metabolize the med faster than cats or dogs do, and so need a higher dose, and also sometimes given more frequently than the usual one time topical administration. Ivermectin is also a rabbit safe med that is commonly used to treat ear mites, and may be less expensive.
http://medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/earmite/Psoroptes.htm
http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/aug10/selamectin83010.html