Fur Mites

[SablePoint]

Mr. Bun Bun, my 7 year old rabbit, is having an issue.

As I've mentioned about his fur mites before, he's on a drop for them, but if you ask me, the improvement is not as good as I thought it would be. He had 2 drops. His last one was last friday. Do you think I need to order more drops or just wait to see if it improves?
Now I have a question about my vet. I asked him how he got fur mites, cause my other rabbits never had them. The only possible way he could of gotten them is from the wild rabbits that venture our garden in the past, but he said Bun Bun probably had them all his life(from his parents/cage mates) and now that he's old, his immune system is low and that's why they are showing up on him.

Well, now I've seen bite marks on him from the mites itching him too much.
Bun Bun is also having a few behavioral issues right now too(which I will mention in the Behavior section).

Is it possible that Bun Bun could just have some type of skin issue? I mean, I don't want to argue with my savvy, but he said that he didn't need a skin scrape, he just said that they're definitely fur mites. I just want to really know if there's a possiblility that something else is going on.

Thanks for any reponses! Bun Bun and I really need it!
But I'm really tired and I'm going to sleep a bit early, but I'll probably wake up really early to respond to you guys.

Thanks again, and good night!

 

[Maureen Las]

Your vet told you that your rabbit may have had mites that became active when his immune system was not up to par..this is correct info


yes it is possible that your bun could have more than one parasite

first of all could you please find out the name of the drops that the vet gave you to use; that would help us a lot...

 

[ra7751]

Just wondering what the "drop" is. Suspect it's ivermectin. Preferred treatment against most mites is Revolution. And I have a concern with your vet. Insist on a skin scraping. Been there, done that. I have no patience with vets that "just know". And you don't have to argue with your vet...it's an "either-or" situation. You are not asking for anything illegal or immoral.....insisting on a skin scraping is nothing more than insisting on a proper and correct diagnosis. And if the treatment isn't working, that does raise the possibility that your vet shouldn't be so sure of his "diagnosis"(meaning he guessed).

And most likely the mites came in on you....specifically your shoes. I don't know how things are in your "neck of the woods"....but I can tell you personally that chiggers are having a banner year in my area (eastern NC). Mites and the associated itching would be one time I would consider using a steroid in a rabbit....but in this case you already know the immune system is weak. Some vets will use antihistimines but they can bring on some serious side effects themselves. The only real option I see here is to properly identify the bug and treat it accordingly.

Randy

 

[SablePoint]

I'm using Revolution.

I will call my vet today and ask about the bugs and tell him that the treatment is not good and ask for a skin scrape.

Thank you very much for the responses, guys! I appreciate it!

 

[ra7751]

Please post the finding of the skin scraping. I have used Revolution quite a bit and it has never failed to take care of the targeted parasites. Will be interesting to see exactly what is going on.

Randy

 

[SablePoint]

Ok, but my vet said that he didn't need it but more drops.