Experience with Ear Mites?

[lunarlady]

So I took my bunnies for their first vet check-up this morning. The vet noticed crusting on the edges of my white bunny, Blanco's, ears. He told me that he has ear mites and gave me an anti-fungal/anti-bacterial shampoo good for cats, dogs, and horses. He told me to lather some in twice a week until symptoms abate. Apparently, my other rabbit, Sylvia, is starting to catch it too though Blanco's is slightly worse.

However, it's not so bad yet. I've seen some photos of how bad it can get so I know that we're in the very early stages right now. I can't even take photos cause it won't show. The edges of the ears are just slightly harder and crusted. So far, the crusting is only on the ears. The vet said that Blanco has some on his nose as well. It's starting to show.

Today, I bathed my bunnies with the shampoo. Though I think they got scared at first, it seemed they really enjoyed the rub down and drying after. Will do it again after 3 days. I really really hope they get well soon.

As I was bathing Blanco though, I noticed that the edges of his eyes are slightly reddish too, and it seems like it has less fur than before. Not sure if the mites have gotten there too. Do you guys think so? (Gosh, I really hope not.)

I just wanted to share this information with you guys. Maybe those who have had experience with this can give me tips or some comforting/assuring words cause I'm a worried mommy. Like do you guys know maybe how long before the mites are eradicated? Can they be totally eradicated? Also how can I comfort my bunnies more when I give them a bath? Kindly let me know. Your wise words will bring much comfort. Thankssss!!!

EDIT: Also, the vet said my bunnies got the mites probably at the pet store. Can humans also get it?! :-O Oh my!

 

[degrassi]

My bunny had ear mites before but it sounds like Gimpy's were a bit further along and only down inside his ear. His ears were all red inside and crusty. My vet cleaned out his ears(there was a big chunk of grossness down inside) and then gave him a shot to kill off the mites. He was fine after that. I didn't get any shampoo

 

[missyscove]

Did your vet do a skin scraping? (It's where you take a scalpel blade and scrape some of the skin off and then look at it under a microscope to identify the mites).

What is the active ingredient in the shampoo you got? Typically something more like selamectin is used to clear up mites. Selamectin is the ingredient in Revolution which is a topical medication similar to advantage or frontline for dogs and cats. I've never heard of using a shampoo treatment for mites in rabbits.

 

[lunarlady]

Did your vet do a skin scraping? (It's where you take a scalpel blade and scrape some of the skin off and then look at it under a microscope to identify the mites).

What is the active ingredient in the shampoo you got? Typically something more like selamectin is used to clear up mites. Selamectin is the ingredient in Revolution which is a topical medication similar to advantage or frontline for dogs and cats. I've never heard of using a shampoo treatment for mites in rabbits.

Hmmm.. nope, my vet didn't do a skin scraping under the microscope but he did scrape some of the crust from the ears and showed me what it looks like. He prescribed me Myocide Shampoo. Active ingredients are: Miconazole Nitrate and Chlorhexidine Gluconate. It's specifically anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. It says it's safe for use for dogs, cats, and horses but my vet says it's also good for bunnies.

Have you had the same experience before? Will the mites and crusting go out completely in two weeks? (Ohpleaseohplease. *fingers crossed*)

 

[missyscove]

I'm just confused why he'd prescribe an anti bacterial and anti fungal agent for an arthropod parasite. Generally the treatment I've seen for ear mites is to use revolution (selamectin) or another parasiticide and let the crusting fall off on its own. It is considered very painful to pull the crusts from the ears.
The good news for you is that the mites that infect rabbit ears are species specific and so will only affect your rabbits.

 

[lunarlady]

I'm just confused why he'd prescribe an anti bacterial and anti fungal agent for an arthropod parasite. Generally the treatment I've seen for ear mites is to use revolution (selamectin) or another parasiticide and let the crusting fall off on its own. It is considered very painful to pull the crusts from the ears.
The good news for you is that the mites that infect rabbit ears are species specific and so will only affect your rabbits.

Thanks for your reply! I was told that the shampoo that I got is also good for mites for my bunnies. So far, I've done one wash and will do the second one for the week in two days. However, I've been observing my bunbuns and it doesn't seem like the crust is falling off yet. Am I just being impatient or should I do something about it?

Also, I would really just rather have my bunnies given the injection but I don't think it's available here in the Philippines. The vets that I asked all just prescribed the shampoo. Unless anyone would know a vet here who does the injections?

I've also read that Tea Tree Oil helps take out flees and mites on pets. Do you think that it will help if I mix some in and spray some on my bunnies' ears? I just really don't want it to spread and I just want their ears to be better as soon as possible.

Kindly let me know! Thanks!!!!

 

[JBun]

Revolution is the brand name of a common dog and cat topical flea medication. The drug name of it is selamectin. It isn't an injection, but just a liquid that you put on the skin on the rabbits back between the shoulder blades. Ivermectin is another parasiticide that can be used to get rid of mites. It is given as an injection, and is a very common one used for livestock, though it can be harmful to some breeds of rabbits that have the dutch rabbit gene. I would be very surprised if at least one of those isn't available. I would ask your vet about them, or find a vet that knows about them. Bathing a rabbit usually isn't a good thing to do and can actually stress out some rabbits so much that they can get sick or die. Frontline or ivermectin is much easier to use. All that has to be done is apply it on the rabbit, or the vet give the injection, and repeat it again two weeks later, and the mites are gone. It's much easier than having to keep bathing your rabbit.

DO NOT use the brand Frontline, with the ingredient fipronil, in it. That will kill your rabbit.

 

[tonyshuman]

Tea tree oil can be damaging to the skin. I wouldn't use it. Revolution or ivermectin should be used for ear mites, but like others have said, those are usually inside the ear, deep, instead of on the edges of the ear. Ivermectin should be available everywhere as it has been around for a long time and is used on many species, including people. If your bunny is blue-eyed or Dutch marked, it could be toxic to them however. I don't like what this vet said to you and prescribed. Bunnies shouldn't be bathed, and bathing isn't a good treatment for mites.

 

[roxyllsk]

A vet friend of mine examined my bunny and told me to get the Ivermectin paste wormer that I would use on my horse and use a very small amount on the ear mite areas. My bun was HUGE (english lop) and she told me he would likely ingest a small amount but it wouldn't hurt him and would take care of any parasites he might have internally - I wouldn't do this without talking to your vet on a smaller bunny. My friend is a small animal vet and also runs an unofficial rabbit rescue, so she's fairly experienced with bunnies.

Anyway, he only needed 2 or so treatments and this cleared them right up.

 

[tonyshuman]

The kind of treatment roxyllsk has been described to me before. There is a problem with it, however. First, sometimes the medicine isn't evenly distributed throughout the tube, which is ok for horses because the entire tube is given. If you get an area that is highly concentrated or low concentration of the drug, the bunny may get more or less than you expect. It is better to get the kind that is meant to be injected because it is in a liquid that is more mixable and not thick like the paste. The drug is more evenly distributed in the injectible liquid. You will have to do a lot of math to get the right dose and it can be given orally. Make sure you find a website that tells you the dose to give to bunnies, and use the dose that is for oral administration (PO is the abbreviation) if that's what you're going to do. If you're going to inject, dilute with sterile saline for injection (usually only available from a vet), and use the sq or sc dose (meaning sub-q or sub-cutaneous). Still a bit risky.

Second, the horse paste is hard to measure and even if you give them a tiny amount it will be a much larger dose than they will need. A dose of the gel the size of an m&m is still a dose at least 100x higher than is needed. Ivermectin usually has a large safe dosing range, so this is rarely a problem. However, if there is dutch or blue-eyed in the background of the bunny, or the bunny doesn't eliminate it from the system fast enough, this can be a huge problem.

I do not use ivermectin unless it is given to me by a vet. It is good for ear mites and has a wide safety range, but it is a seriously toxic drug in some situations. I did what roxyllsk did with my bunnies on the advice of several people who are smart and have raised lots of bunnies and treated them with that without a problem. My Holland lop was fine. My Dutch (it was not well documented at the time that Dutch have the sensitivity) was in intensive care for 3-4 days and nearly died. Not worth the risk.