HELP! Possible mites in a house of 13 rabbits!

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Yesterday my friend was petting Toby, my 3-4 month old Holland Lop, and noticed something like a bug bite in between his shoulder blades. I cleaned around it and sprayed some antibiotic((it's brown, I think starts with v maybe?)).

I brought him in to check on it today and sprayed it with antibiotic then let him have play time in the house since it was already set up and he was already inside. But when I went to take him back outside I noticed he also has little bite looking things on the outside of his ear? They're a little flaky, and there's just a small cluster.

The only time I've dealt with mites was when we first got Harper, 2 years ago. He had a small case of ear mites, and that was it. So I could be wrong about it being mites, since every picture I can find shows later stages not very early stages.

What do I do to cure him? And is there anything to prevent spreading it? I have 13 bunnies, 5 of which are babies, plus a cow and a steer. So if this gets bad, it gets REALLY bad.

I can get a picture tomorrow when it's light outside, so I can know if it's actually mites.
 
Vanodine?

I would get Revolution for him at least, or Advantage, and if possible for bunnies that may come into contact with him or areas he's in.
 
Do I simply apply it to the affected spots? For the nearby rabbits, do I apply it between the shoulder blades like the directions say?

I'm pretty sure I can get Advantage and/or Revolution at the feed store near me so I'll go visit them tomorrow.
 
I would apply it between the shoulder blades on all of them. Since the wound sounds like it's right where you'd probably apply it, go an inch or so down the spine.
 
Well I just got Advantage from my feed store, so I guess it isn't required?

What about the babies & their mothers? The first day he was in I didn't notice the bites so I most likely transferred some to the mothers.

Also, I have some Sevin dust from having to treat animals in FFA so can I sprinkle that around the outside cages? It gets fleas/ticks and like a million other buggies.
 
You can also treat with Ivermectin, which you can get at the farmstore. We preventatively treat all our Flemish Giants every six months with it. We use the injectable, but it also can be applied to the skin (it absorbs). For a rabbit that actually has mites, I give the injection once a week for three weeks. I use the same dose as I do preventatively, 0.5 cc. Flemish Giants are pretty big, around 15 pounds so you wouldn't want to give anywhere near this dose to a smaller rabbit.
 
Feed stores may be different as far as regulations of Advantage and Revolution. I know Frontline is almost always available without prescription, but should NEVER be used on rabbits, so sometimes we worry if somebody picks up something at the store to treat fleas/mites without a prescription.

There is also oral ivermectin in case you're not familiar with injecting stuff. I usually recommend Revolution over the others because it's very rare for a rabbit to have an adverse reaction to its active ingredient, selamectin. The active ingredient in Advantage, imidacloprid, and ivermectin are more likely to have adverse reactions because it seems some bunnies are sensitive to them, particularly ivermectin in albino, vienna, blue-eyed and similar bunnies.

The Sevin dust is probably fine to treat the environment but make sure the bunnies don't come in contact with it. This compound is harmful to both insects and vertebrates (including humans), so be careful with it. I would make sure to vacuum it up very very thoroughly before letting the bunnies on the area where it was applied. Even better would be to use a carpet shampoo to make sure it's all gone after it's killed the mites.

For the moms and babies, I would wait to see if it develops. Ivermectin can be given to young bunnies, but I'm not sure about lactating does, and it's better safe than sorry with those sensitive groups.
 
I have injectable Ivermectin also((I won't be injecting it, just putting it on the skin)), but can I use that on Toby if I've already given him a dose of Advantage?

I only used the Sevin dust outside((since it's dangerous)) and the areas where I used it are not accessible to any rabbit.

If I wanted to do Ivermectin preventatively every six months, could I just do it by absorption or does it have to be injected?
 
I am not familiar with using the injectible solution topically. It's clear that others have anecdotal evidence that it works, but I don't know the specifics of that. I know that you're not supposed to use formulations in a way they weren't made for, because they are formulated specifically for a certain route of administration. I can't help with advice on how to use the injectible as a topical because it's not really correct to do so.

I do think, however, that if it is safe to give on the skin at all, 6 months between doses is fine.

Advantage and ivermectin are different compounds, but I would wait 2 weeks before applying a different one just in case.
 

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