Itching/scratching

Hi,

I have two pet rabbits. My one female rabbit has always been constantly licking and grooming and scratching and itching herself for as long as I can remember. My other male rabbit doesn't seem to have an itching/scratching problem that is as severe although he still occasionally does scratch and itch himself and his ears. I had both rabbits on antibiotics recently and treated with Revolution, they both had signs of an ear infection and my female rabbit had slight head tilt which is still present.

I am still unsure if it was ear infection related or EC or issues due to mites. This seems like an unsolvable problem that I have been dealing with for awhile now and has been quite stressful to see my female rabbit constantly in distress lately as she is constantly turning around and grooming and scratching herself everywhere as she is getting older as well. I notice the symptoms more when they are stressed as well. I've also heard of pruriutis a skin condition that is known within rabbits but I'm unsure if that could be the issue and if so if it's caused by a mite infestation

The revolution seemed to work somewhat for a little while but then the scratching issue started again.

I only gave them one dose each however. I get their hay from a farm and suspect it could be straw / itch mites or fur mites or possibly they had ear mites before.

I've considered changing hay suppliers but the thing is there's always a chance of hay having mites within it if purchased from a farm so what can I do to avoid this? I surely wouldn't want to keep them on revolution for the rest of their life every month or so and buying hay from the pet store costs a fortune.

But I also don't want to see them constantly being miserable from whatever bugs there are that could be present. Sometimes I'll even become itchy after petting my female rabbit or handling the hay.

I also have electric/baseboard heating where I live and the air is quite dry within my apartment so perhaps it's issues due to dry skin? I've recently been using a humidifier at night to see if this helps. I've also tried to apply some coconut oil to their ears and fur / skin but it just made their fur all greasy and it stays that way for days.

Can anyone suggest a method of treatment to avoid this issue from continuing? It would be great for them to not have to live constantly scratching themselves. I do think it's some type of mite problem and perhaps that was the cause of their balance and ear issues before as well. The vet I seen before didn't notice mites or anything but I also don't think she really looked carefully or knew what she was talking about and there weren't any proper diagnoses made but she still prescribed the revolution to rule out the cause.

Thank you!

Anybody...? Should I just retreat with Revolution and try to get hay from another source and hope for the best and if there is mites that become a problem again than treat when needed? Thank you

I keep my hay in a room that no critters can get into, for at least a month before I use it, for this specific reason. I don't know if a month is enough time if there were mites in the hay, but it's just what I've always done to try and prevent such a thing from happening.

It also might be that one dose of revolution for some reason, isn't enough to take care of the mite problem your rabbit is experiencing, and that you may need to do more than one dose, and/or more frequent dosing. That is, if this is a mite problem that is going on and not something else. If your bun has evidence of mites(flaking or scaly skin), your vet should be able to do a skin scrape to verify if there are mites or not(though sometimes they can still be missed). It's also possible that their environment may also have mites in it that is reinfecting them, and if so it will need treated or taken care of in some way that is safe for the buns.

Ok, thanks for the information JBun. Is it possible for only one rabbit to have mites? My male rabbit seems to be fine but my female is always scratching herself and has some scaly dry skin appearing stuff on the outside and inside of her ears. I also do notice what appears to be dandruff sometimes around her back/neck area.. I've always thought that it could be mites but sometimes feel that it could just be dry skin

It is possible for one rabbit that has a lower immune response, to be more susceptible to things like mites. Though it might be a good idea to just treat both rabbits if possible, just in case.

Dandruff on the neck and back is a common sign of mites and would be my first thought if I found it on my rabbit. Though dry skin is always a possibility. You've probably already seen this first link, but if not you can see in the pictures the dandruff that the mites cause. And although revolution(selamectin) isn't listed in the treatments in the first link, it is one that is safe and used for rabbits to treat mites.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/furmite/fur_mite.htm
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Cheyletiellosis.htm

Thanks JBun, you're always a great help. This may sound a bit odd but I looked at her ears and at some of the dandruff flakes around her head and neck/shoulder area, with a magnifying scope used for jewellery that is 60x, and I didn't notice what appears to be mites but what appears to look more similar to pieces of dried skin. Her ears do have flaky dry skin in them and on the outside as well though. Is it common for rabbits to develop a dry skin condition that makes them to itch without having any specific cause? I would assume there is still a high possibility that mites could be present but I've heard of pruriutis I believe is the term, a condition where rabbits can develop itchy skin? Could shedding their fur also contribute to itchy skin? Not sure how common pruriutis is or if it could be a possibility but it would be nice to know before treating the rabbits and the environment for mites. Especially knowing that the hay could cause the problem to happen all over again! Though I may do a full treatment for mites to rule out the cause and perhaps apply some coconut oil to her ears as I've been doing